Problems with Remington 870

[kcwolf200]

I bought a Remington 870 in January and fired maybe about 25 rounds through it when I first got it. I cleaned it and its been in the safe until today. I took it out and tried skeet shooting for the first time today. Problem was, my gun wouldn't fire half the time.

I would load a shell, take the safety off, and pull the trigger. Trigger would go all the way back but would not fire. Firing pin works every time without a shell in the chamber, but after loading a shell, same thing. I did find that if I slammed forward the slide when racking a round, it would fire much more often. But I mean, slam forward almost as hard as I can. I noticed too that if it didn't fire, if I grabbed the forend and pushed it forward really hard, I would hear a small click and then it would fire.

Any ideas on what this can be? I'm going to call Remington in the morning as the gun is under warranty. I just wonder how long before I'll get it back and what the problem might be.

 

[Yukon227]

take it apart and make sure its put together correctly, it sounds like the action isn't closing all the way.

 

[scott delaney]

check you ejector latch

 

[kcwolf200]

What do I need to check for? If it wasn't put together correctly, would it even work?

 

[sloughfoot]

With a 870, the hand working the action is the safety. Work the action like you mean it. It sounds like you are not getting the action into battery.

Don't bother with the safety button. Until you go to a defensive shotgun class, you won't understand, I know. Just operate the action from the shoulder in a aggressive manner and your failures to fire will go away.

Get training.

 

[Chase515]

I had a similar problem with my 870. Took it in and had it worked on, new extractor and over sized safety installed, with a trigger job. It shoots as well as my mossberg now.

 

[kcwolf200]

I don't think it's the safety. I would agree that it's probably the action not closing. I don't think that I should have to slam it forward as hard as I can to get it to work. Some of the guys I was skeet shooting with took a look at the gun and said that something was definetely wrong with it.

 

[Zoub]

You might have ammo that has swelled and it is sticking in the chamber. Combine that with the fact you may own an Express model. Is your gun an Express?

If so, get some fine steel wool and a 12" wooden dowel. Chuck the dowel in a drill, split the end of the dowel and jam the steel wool in it. Go to town polishing the chamber. You can not hurt the barrel doing this, shine it up.

Clean the bolt assembley, focus on the extractor. Clean the chamber area of your barrel, detail it.

Throw out that crap Winchester ammo you bought (just guessing) and get some Federal in the blue box, around $5.50 per box at Walmart. Four of those are just as cheap as the 100 round bricks and 10x better.

If you can't go 25 for 25 after that, you have a problem.

 

[sbatten]

Is this an 870 Express? My brother in law bought one for his son in law about a year ago and it was not put together correctly at the factory. His had the same symptoms you describe. They took it back to where he bought it and the gunsmith found the problem. Once it was corrected it ran with no problems.

 

[kcwolf200]

It is an express model. I just shipped it off to Remington yesterday to have it looked at.

 

[jblomenberg16]

Tag for updates. I've owned several 870 expresses and not had this issue. 12 or 20 ga?

 

[vitamink]

have you recently changed the stock? Sometimes changing the stocks can jar one of these loose.

i don't know the exact technical name for them, but the goldish bars shown above are permanently attached, if one comes loose, you won't be able to rack a round effectively. I had to have one punched back into place when i found that only 1 out of every 5 pumps ended in a FTF. Once the bar was back in its channel the gun was and still is locked on solid.

 

[kcwolf200]

Mine is a 12 ga. I have not changed anything on the gun. It is still as it came in the box.

 

[Zoub]

Those are called the shell latch. They should not be bent on a new gun. If they come loose, they need to be restaked with the proper tool. If I had a new 870 with that issue, I would be pissed. That typically comes from a lot of use, not 25 rounds.

 

[kcwolf200]

Just thought I would update everyone on what has happened with my shotgun.

I sent it to the nearest Remington repair center. Remember, this gun was new and only taken out to fire a couple of times. Looked just like out of the box. They had it back to me in a week. I opened the box and the first thing that jumped out at me was all the scratches in the receiver and barrel, A few also in the stock. None of this was there before.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the barrel looked pretty worn. I'm pretty sure that this is not the barrel I sent it in with. This barrel is very difficult to get attached to the receiver and is down to bare metal in several spots (breech end on the inside, bottom part of the barrel). Needless to say, I'm not happy.

The final straw was the letter in the box said they tested it and found nothing wrong. I test fired it. First shot, fine. Second shot, failed to fire just like before. Duplicated this several times.

To sum it up, I called the corporate office of Remington. I told them that I had lost confidence in this gun and the repair center. The gentleman was very nice and is sending me a prepaid packing slip to ship it to the factory. I have requested a refund and think I will go and get a decent used O/U since I am really getting addicted to skeet. He said this would not be a problem and they would process my refund as soon as they received it and was very apologetic.

I commend Remington for doing their best to rectify the issue. I told my girlfriend that I have been so used to bad customer service, I don't know what to do when I actually have a company treat the customer right!

Any recommendations on a used good beginners O/U for skeet? I have been told to look in the $800-1200 range.

 

[kcwolf200]

So, here is an update on my 870. I sent it back in for a refund. They have had the shotgun since the end of September. I have kept calling and dealing with different representatives. I am told that they are working on it. Each rep has given me their extension. When I call back to check on my refund status, I always get voicemail. Every message that I have left does not get answered and my calls are never returned. I usually end up calling and dealing with a different representative and the process repeats itself. I am currently on rep number 5.

This is Remington's corporate office that I have been dealing with. I pretty disappointed with Remington and can't see myself ever buying one of their products again. I have been patched through to supervisor's voicemails and still nothing.

So long story short, I have no gun and no money and it appears that it was a "donation" to Remington. Any suggestions?

 

[mshogren]

That really sucks! I would call one more time and tell them if it is not taken care of within 5 business days, then they will be hearing from your attorney and the BATF! Hopefully that will get their attention!

I have been happy with my 870, but maybe I need to shoot it more to make sure I don't have the same problems...

Mark

 

[Zoub]

When you sent it back were you given a work order# of some kind first?

Who did you originally buy it from?

What a cluster F!

 

[Hookeye]

Check your &^%$# (plastic) trigger group. The bolt release lever might be bent and dragging. Bud had a new 870 20 gauge youth with similar issue and that was the culprit. Easy enough fix once located

 

[kcwolf200]

I bought it from Dick's. I do have a repair number that they can pull up my file easily every time I call. It's always "Yep, I see everything here. Let me check on that and I'll call you back" EVERY TIME!

I would check the trigger expect I haven't seen the gun since September. Apparently neither has anyone at Remington.