Running an 870 Without an Ejector Spring

[Synchronizor]

A lot of folks aren't aware that on the 870, the ejector and ejector spring are actually two different parts that work together to flip shells out of the ejection port. The ejector is a rigid part riveted to the receiver that has a tab that catches the rim of a shell as the bolt pulls it back, and flips the shell out of the port. The ejector spring sits inside the ejector, where it is compressed by the rearward-moving shell until the front clears the chamber, at which point it gives the shell an additional push as it is ejected.

870 ejection system ED.PNG (88.83 KiB) Viewed 7253 times

Little-known fact: small-frame (LW 20ga, 28ga, and .410-bore) 870s don't even have ejector springs to give the shell the extra push. The ejector alone is sufficient to kick out the narrower shells.

Now, the 870 is often bashed for requiring specialized tools and gunsmithing work to remedy a broken ejector spring. However, since the ejector spring only assists the ejector itself, I'm not convinced that the function of large-frame 870s would really be so inhibited without it. If the ejection spring breaks in a situation where the gun is needed, could the user pull the broken spring out of the gun and keep running it with reasonably reliable ejection?

Since I'm not quite ready to cut the spring out of my gun to try this, I'm wondering if anyone here has ever had the opportunity to run a large-frame (12ga, 16ga, or some 20ga) 870 without an ejector spring. My guess would be that, if you racked the action hard, the ejector alone would still be able to kick out shells. Ejection obviously wouldn't as reliable without assistance from the spring, and the spring should be replaced when possible, but at least it wouldn't become a single-shot weapon like other guns with a single ejector/ejector spring.

[badboybeeson]

point in fact that many of the knock off rem 870 guns from packistan, iran, china make the gun wuth out the spring, the guns are crap but most of the time they do eject the shell.
so does make you wonder iff its really needed

[Randomguns]

Hmmmm, All the "knock off"-"crap" that I have has the spring in them. OH, WAIT... that wasn't the point at all, I'm sorry!

[Synchronizor]

point in fact that many of the knock off rem 870 guns from packistan, iran, china make the gun wuth out the spring, the guns are crap but most of the time they do eject the shell.
so does make you wonder iff its really needed

In the larger-gauge 870s, the spring certainly helps, and ensures ejection even when the action is opened slowly. It would always be better to have it than not. However, most (logically sound) criticisms of the 870's ejection system pertain to mid-engagement breakages, or other SHTF-esque situations where the gun must be maintained and relied upon without the use of specialized tools or your friendly neighborhood gunsmith. But if large-frame 870's are capable of running reasonably well with the ejector alone, then they would actually be better off in those scenarios than the models with which they are often compared. Yes, the Mossberg 500-series shotguns have ejectors that can be replaced with just a screwdriver (and that's an excellent design feature, don't get me wrong), but if the part breaks, it breaks; and the gun will not eject until that part is replaced. If an 870 user can simply pull out a broken ejector spring and keep running the gun with the ejector alone, I would consider the 870 to have the advantage on that comparison point.

That is an interesting point about the 870 clones. Are there specific models that you know don't have ejector springs? The ones I'm most familiar with are the H&R Pardner Pumps, and I know those have springs.

[oldgunsmith]

A good friend of mine bought a used 12 ga. 870 at a gun show many years ago. He had been hunting with it for sometime and one day, He wanted me to check it over to see if it needed any new parts as the gun was quite old. I found that it did not have an ejector spring. He said the old gun ejected just fine, so we never put a spring in it. That has been over 20 years ago and he has never had a malfunction of any kind.