New Member from NE Illinois

[BLamm]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7BRcF ... sp=sharing

I picked up this beauty the other day.. I intend to preserve its patina but restore the bluing with Vans bluing.. find some appropriate wood furniture and eventually a longer barrel for shooting clays..

So far this site has been very helpful so I am diving in... any wisdom, warnings or resources is very welcome

BLamm

[BLamm]

So.. I am tearing into this thing, what springs and parts should I replace on this mid 70s gem since I am that deep? It was a LEO (maybe range gun? #7) Wingmaster, looks like non-MIM parts?

Seams to me like the firing pin does not stick out to much when fully depressed from the hammer side but I suspect there is a velocity and spring factor to that..

thinking Wilson safety, heavier mag follower, coil springs and maybe a firing pin..

Am I missing something important? am I being overly concerned?
I am not apposed to taking it apart again when something breaks

Thanks

[Synchronizor]

Seams to me like the firing pin does not stick out to much when fully depressed from the hammer side but I suspect there is a velocity and spring factor to that..

The 870's firing pin is an inertial type, meaning that the hammer doesn't directly shove it into the primer of a chambered shell, it just gets the pin moving, and the pin overcomes the retractor spring pressure & punches the primer under its own inertia. If you press the rear of the firing pin flush with the rear of the breech bolt, the pin will not travel far enough forward to clear the breechface.

To check your firing pin, place your slide assembly on a flat surface, place your breech bolt assembly onto the slide assembly, and slide the breech bolt assembly rear-ward on the slide assembly until it's as far back as it'll go. The locking block should be cammed up as if it were engaging the barrel at this point. While holding the two assemblies in this arrangement, use a pointed item like a punch, small screwdriver, or a pen to press the firing pin forward from the rear until it stops. The tip of the firing pin should now be protruding past the breechface. Using calipers or a protrusion gauge, measure how far the pin sticks out. Factory protrusion specs are .03" minimum and .06" maximum. If the protrusion is above or below spec, it's usually due to wear or burring of the firing pin and/or locking block.

Other things to look for with the firing pin; if the rear of the pin is rounded rather than flat, it's an old style pin that you could replace with a new flat-head firing pin to reduce the chances of pin breakage. The firing pin retractor spring has also been updated over the years; old-style springs had evenly-spaced coils, while new-style springs have more tightly-packed coils in the middle. If you have an older spring, and you're pulling your bolt apart and ordering & installing other parts, include a new firing pin retractor spring in your order as well.



Other springs to check out are the carrier dog follower spring, magazine spring, and extractor spring. If your trigger plate pins feel like they're too easy to push out, or they seem to be walking around when you shoot the gun, the trigger plate pin detent springs probably need to be replaced too. The hammer spring is a pain to get to; I wouldn't worry about trying to replace that unless you start seeing light primer strikes. Same goes for the ejector spring. Other parts like the shell latches or extractor could be updated if you really wanted, but I would start with easy-to-get-to springs and any obviously-worn or -broken stuff, and then see how the gun runs. Most of the changes Remington made over the years were pretty minor tweaks; the old-style parts worked fine back then, and they'll work fine now if they're in good shape.

The 870's owner's manual has an exploded diagram identifying all of these parts; if your gun didn't come with a manual, you can download or view it here.

I'm not sure what you mean by a "heavier" magazine follower. With mag followers, lower mass is better. A new-style factory follower might be nice to throw in, as it's a bright orange color to make it easier to tell an empty magazine from a loaded one. There are also aftermarket followers that give you high-visibility, plus a tactile element so you can easily tell them apart from a shell by touch as well as sight. I like the Delrin followers from S&J Hardware, personally.

Finally, if you plan on using this shotgun for defense, I would suggest looking at updating the action with flex-tab parts (new-style breech bolt, slide assembly, and carrier assembly, with a new-style fore-end tube assembly as an optional but recommended addition). This isn't cheap, but it prevents a specific type of feed jam (usually an operator-induced malfunction) from locking up the gun, which you do not want happening in a life-threatening situation. If you decide to do this, hold off on the breech bolt upgrades/updates, since you'll probably be replacing the entire assembly with a new one.

[BLamm]

The 870's firing pin is an inertial type, meaning that the hammer doesn't directly shove it into the primer of a chambered shell, it just gets the pin moving, and the pin overcomes the retractor spring pressure & punches the primer under its own inertia. If you press the rear of the firing pin flush with the rear of the breech bolt, the pin will not travel far enough forward to clear the breechface.

To check your firing pin, place your slide assembly on a flat surface, place your breech bolt assembly onto the slide assembly, and slide the breech bolt assembly rear-ward on the slide assembly until it's as far back as it'll go. The locking block should be cammed up as if it were engaging the barrel at this point. While holding the two assemblies in this arrangement, use a pointed item like a punch, small screwdriver, or a pen to press the firing pin forward from the rear until it stops. The tip of the firing pin should now be protruding past the breechface. Using calipers or a protrusion gauge, measure how far the pin sticks out. Factory protrusion specs are .03" minimum and .06" maximum. If the protrusion is above or below spec, it's usually due to wear or burring of the firing pin and/or locking block.

That all looks good, thank you..

Other things to look for with the firing pin; if the rear of the pin is rounded rather than flat, it's an old style pin that you could replace with a new flat-head firing pin to reduce the chances of pin breakage. The firing pin retractor spring has also been updated over the years; old-style springs had evenly-spaced coils, while new-style springs have more tightly-packed coils in the middle. If you have an older spring, and you're pulling your bolt apart and ordering & installing other parts, include a new firing pin retractor spring in your order as well.

its the old style firing pin and spring.. going on the list


Other springs to check out are the carrier dog follower spring, magazine spring, and extractor spring. If your trigger plate pins feel like they're too easy to push out, or they seem to be walking around when you shoot the gun, the trigger plate pin detent springs probably need to be replaced too. The hammer spring is a pain to get to; I wouldn't worry about trying to replace that unless you start seeing light primer strikes. Same goes for the ejector spring. Other parts like the shell latches or extractor could be updated if you really wanted, but I would start with easy-to-get-to springs and any obviously-worn or -broken stuff, and then see how the gun runs. Most of the changes Remington made over the years were pretty minor tweaks; the old-style parts worked fine back then, and they'll work fine now if they're in good shape.

The 870's owner's manual has an exploded diagram identifying all of these parts; if your gun didn't come with a manual, you can download or view it here.

more springs on the list (I presume springs are the first thing to give up on an older gun, every other high wear part looks like it is in good shape)

I'm not sure what you mean by a "heavier" magazine follower. With mag followers, lower mass is better. A new-style factory follower might be nice to throw in, as it's a bright orange color to make it easier to tell an empty magazine from a loaded one. There are also aftermarket followers that give you high-visibility, plus a tactile element so you can easily tell them apart from a shell by touch as well as sight. I like the Delrin followers from S&J Hardware, personally.

I see articles and reviews about aluminum and stainless steel followers and the one currently in the gun looks more like a dome cap for a spray bottle then what I am seeing on line.. I like the idea of the delrin..

Finally, if you plan on using this shotgun for defense, I would suggest looking at updating the action with flex-tab parts (new-style breech bolt, slide assembly, and carrier assembly, with a new-style fore-end tube assembly as an optional but recommended addition). This isn't cheap, but it prevents a specific type of feed jam (usually an operator-induced malfunction) from locking up the gun, which you do not want happening in a life-threatening situation. If you decide to do this, hold off on the breech bolt upgrades/updates, since you'll probably be replacing the entire assembly with a new one.

I understand the concern here.. I think I will move forward with the minor upgrades for now, I can only find so many coins in the couch each month

Thanks for sharing..