Remington 870, jamming?

[LearjetMinako]

Okay, normally something like this would be posted under the off-topic or tailgate section. But I will ask straight out. I have a Remington 870 SuperMag Express (the one that can take 2-3/4", 3", and 3-1/2" shells). And its starting to have a jamming issue. Now the only shells that I have shoot through it is Winchester Field & Game load (12ga, 2-3/4", #8 shot, 1-1/8 oz). While this load worked flawless at first, after about 100 rounds later, the shotgun just wants to jam after every round. I highly believe its the shell load fault. As it only happens after firing a round. Then when I go to re-cock, the shell is jammed inside the barrel. I took a ram rod and gave it a little extra help and that worked. I tried a different load (Remington 3-1/2" BB steel shot, 1-1/4"), those shot off just fine and cycled without problem?

I guess what I'm trying to say, is there any other Rem 870 users that have had this kind of problem?

 

[Ranger4657]

yeah, i have one and it had the same problem (myne is a pump) . when you would fire occationaly the pump would get stuck and shell would not eject. ( lost several birds to this =[ , what was wrong with myne was the two side arms inside the gun that you press in to remove the bolt.. one had become un tacked, and was free floating inside the gun.
we had a smith retack the arm back on to the sidewall of the inside of the gun and problem was fixed, i dont know if youve disasembled your gun in a while, but the mechanics of a pump are simple... and theres only a few things that could go wrong, id dissasemble it and see if anything looks outta the ordianry.

 

[74duster318]

Those wouldn't happen to be walmart value pack rounds would they?

Definitely take it apart and clean it, checking for anything out of the norm.
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[Hahnsb2]

So it isn't extracting the shells?

I'd also be suspect of the shells themselves. I've been using Remington, Federal, Estate, and Winchester game loads in my 870 without a problem.

 

[mentalbreakdown00]

I have had a prob with the wal mart value pack 100 rounds getting stuck in my 870.... same as you are describing after shot, but a new round would cycle throough flawlessly

 

[dwsykes]

I've had some Federal 2 3/4'' shells get stuck like that. I use a set of calipers and matched them against other Federal shells I had before. They were ever so slightly bigger for some reason. Just enough to peel plastic of the outside of the shell and jam. These over sized shells were bought about 3yrs ago though...

 

[LearjetMinako]

I should have mentioned that it wasn't 100 rounds in a straight shoot out. Thats only about 100 rounds that the gun has ever fired. Shot a box of 25 flawless, complete clean afterwards. Second box of 25, it started to jam towards the end. Once again, complete break-down and clean. Went to shoot clay traps today and blasted away 50 or so rounds. But just after 15 rounds, it was jamming and being a bitch about it. Either way, blasting clay from the air was too much fun.

Ranger4657, good tip. I'm going to look right into it for that problem.

Walmart brand? Acutally I got them at Academy. But still, its one of those value packs, 100 for $25.

Edit: It wasn't jamming every round. Just jams like every other full magazine load.

 

[Ranger4657]

yeah ive shot several different types of rounds in both my 870s and reload my own as well and the bolt arm was the only thing thats ever caused the super mag to jam.
the other 870 has shot flawlesly all 6 years ive owned both
never had a jam till the arm came loose

 

[74duster318]

Buy better ammo. Cheap stuff has pretty crappy consistency. That may be the only problem.
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[Ranger4657]

unless the gun is a semi auto or auto it shouldent have any effect on how it ejects sence its not ejected by any of the force the round exerts, you pump it out... lol
now that i think about it, it could also be the arms directly on the bolt that grab the shell...

 

[LearjetMinako]

The shell exstractor (I know its spelled wrong) is working correctly. The whole bolt moves floats freely expect the shell thats stuck. I know the shell arm works because I was pulling hard on the pump.

One thing I noticed on the ammo is high the brass is. The 3" and 3-1/2" that I shot before were high brass. That cheap 2-3/4" is a low case type with a silver base metal.

 

[74duster318]

unless the gun is a semi auto or auto it shouldent have any effect on how it ejects sence its not ejected by any of the force the round exerts, you pump it out... lol
now that i think about it, it could also be the arms directly on the bolt that grab the shell...

It's called over expansion. Cheap shells have a tendency to expand too far and lodge themselves in the chamber. Primarily the brass portion, and more common on the high brass shells.

It could also be burrs or other defects in the chamber itself. This would explain why it would happen with better ammo...

Ammo does affect how the gun opperates, even if it's a pump gun...
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[feellnfroggy]

Dirty guns also jam. I only skimmed all the posts, but if you dont clean it regular it will jam like nothing. My brother has the 10 shot walmart 22 semi. His began shooting and misfiring every other round. I took his gun apart and he had NEVER cleaned it. teh caron build up was over 1/16 inch thick. With guns even 1/32 will give you problems and it doesnt take long to build up. After you clean it, like was suggested try a different ammos not neccesarily the most expensive. Does it do it with slugs or birdshot or buck? Dont put your oil directly on the gun, put it on a cloth and lightly wipe your gun down, as far as the action goes use only a few drops enough to coat it but not over do it. Oil lubricates, but it also catches and holds carbon.

Last but not least, look for nicks and birs in the chamber of your weapon. I have a jenning J-22 P.O.S. and somehow the chamber has been marred preventing it from properly ejecting and prematurely wearing out hte ejector spring.

 

[74duster318]

The shell exstractor (I know its spelled wrong) is working correctly. The whole bolt moves floats freely expect the shell thats stuck. I know the shell arm works because I was pulling hard on the pump.

One thing I noticed on the ammo is high the brass is. The 3" and 3-1/2" that I shot before were high brass. That cheap 2-3/4" is a low case type with a silver base metal.

Steel case ammo, in general, sucks. It can cause a whole mess of problems.
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[LearjetMinako]

Dirty guns also jam. I only skimmed all the posts, but if you dont clean it regular it will jam like nothing. My brother has the 10 shot walmart 22 semi. His began shooting and misfiring every other round. I took his gun apart and he had NEVER cleaned it. teh caron build up was over 1/16 inch thick. With guns even 1/32 will give you problems and it doesnt take long to build up. After you clean it, like was suggested try a different ammos not neccesarily the most expensive. Does it do it with slugs or birdshot or buck? Dont put your oil directly on the gun, put it on a cloth and lightly wipe your gun down, as far as the action goes use only a few drops enough to coat it but not over do it. Oil lubricates, but it also catches and holds carbon.

Last but not least, look for nicks and birs in the chamber of your weapon. I have a jenning J-22 P.O.S. and somehow the chamber has been marred preventing it from properly ejecting and prematurely wearing out hte ejector spring.

I know it wasn't dirty. Every firearm that I own gets a break-down to get a good cleaning after use. That is basicly removing the bolt/slide from the firearm. And after so many boxes on the pistols, all parts are removed for a cleaning. I don't over oil. Just as you said, just take a cloth, add a little oil and wipe down.

I think its the shell. If the base is steel, then it really makes sense. Had this problem with a friend's rifle. Was shooting steel casings, 2nd shot, jammed. And we broke bolt extractor trying to force it out.

So I guess I'm going shopping this week for the right shell to shot.