Disappointment with new Remington 870

[bamaranger]

870

Sounds to me like the shotgun's problem is almost certainly an ejector spring/ assembly issue. The ejector assembly is retained in the receiver by a rivet. Riveting the ejector assembly, and staking the shell stops is quicker and more affordable than threading those parts and the receiver to accept screws, reducing the cost of the 870 and speeding production. The process has worked since the introduction of the gun, but both assemblies are the Achilles Heel(s) of the design. Curious, does the assembly exhibit any wobble or play (not the spring) if you reach in the ejection port and wiggle the thing? It may not have been installed correctly at the factory.........or you simply may have a wonky spring. Stuff happens.

Aside, I wouldn't label Winchester Universal "premium ammo" but is common and affordable. I don't recognize the buckshot load......Fiocchi maybe? Steel rims and bases are notorious for causing extraction problems, I have seen entire firing lines with rem 870's tied up with failures due to cheap steel base/rim shells. I don't think ammo is the problem with your gun however.


Sounds like Remarms is trying to get this right and I hope they do. A manually cycled firearm should render 100% reliablility short of a breakage, and I would be agitated myself with a new pump that did not run. Best of luck with it.

 

[musicmatty]

Aside, I wouldn't label Winchester Universal "premium ammo" but is common and affordable. I don't recognize the buckshot load......Fiocchi maybe?

I’ve been shooting since the early1980s and have attended many shooting events even to this day…I’ve never experienced or seen anyone else have hiccups with Winchester ammunition or federal. The OO Buck is the pic below..zero issues with this ammo.

I have noticed that when you pull the pump back to open the action, The ejector clip only flexes at the very tip to kick the shell out. I’ve noticed on my pre 2006 Winchester model 1300s that the entire injector clip bows kicking the shell way out. Also, if you load the gun to capacity which is six shells and you start ejecting all of them without firing the gun, all the shells eject properly. So it only happens when the shells has been fired, which actually causes the shell casings to expand. Yikes..not good I’m thinking The gun ships back later this morning UPS so I will keep everyone posted down the road.

I did find some warranty information on the web and it sounds a bit ambiguous. They certainly don’t sound like they stand behind their product With full confidence like other manufacturers such as Henry firearms.

 

[bamaranger]

ammo

Hey, I have no qualms about Winchester ammo in general, just the phrasing in regards to Winchester Universal. Winchester XR turkey loads are the best lead loads going. Before I got into reloading centerfire ammo, their Super X .308/150gr was my go to for whitetail. W-W .38 spl Super Match was the load for competition in revolver matches back in the day.

But there is ammo and there is "premium ammo". The XR turkey load, and the Winchester AA target load are examples of same for shotguns. The Universal loads are price point ammo sold affordably for a reason and one reason is their steel base and rims. Steel base and rims are known to cause issues in some guns, shotguns and rifles (cases) for that matter.

I dug a lilttle on Black Aces ammo, it's imported from Italy, mfg'd by a company called Clever SLR. Clever apparently sells a lot of clay bird ammo. Seems the outfit has been around for 70 yrs, though I'd never heard of it.

None of this has much to do with the ailing Remington. I'm hoping that situation gets resolved satisfactorily in a prompt manner. Best of luck.

 

[musicmatty]

Here’s the latest update.***. This retro 870 was sent back to Remington and they said they received it on June 27, 2023. Let me remind everyone, this is the second time the gun was sent back to Remington. The gun was originally sent back and kept for one month and then came back exhibiting the same injection problem.

I reached out to Remington last Thursday on July 20 and they said, they had polished the chamber and replaced both action bars and the gun was out being tested. Here we are at the close of another week and no follow up from Remington about the gun being sent back to the owner. I’m guessing whatever they did, obviously didn’t work or the gun would have been sent back to the owner by now.

All I can say is this… Regardless of whether they fix the gun or not at this point, I would never buy another Remington product considering how long this gun has been in their possession along with the money I have spent for this new firearm. This retro 870 has been sent back to Remington twice for a total of more than two months in their possession. In my opinion, this is customer service at its worst.

 

[101combatvet]

The 870 is made with two different receivers, one that excepts 3-inch shells and one that will accept 3 1/2-inch shells. Which one do you have?

 

[musicmatty]

I have the standard which is 3 inch maximum.

 

[mehavey]

...they had polished the chamber and replaced both action bars ....

That isn't going to fix the problem you describe... the fired hull clearing the ejection port.

Let us know....

 

[44 AMP]

I would never buy another Remington product ...

The people making Remington guns today are not what I think of as "Remington", that company has been gone for a while now.

"retro" or whatever they call it, the guns aren't the same as the ones from the 50s on up that created the reputation of quality.

I can understand your frustration, and agree, I wouldn't give today's Remington my business, particularly when there are so many of the Remington guns, made in the old days that are still around and fully functional.

 

[Ricklin]

Applies to more than Remington

I'll generally take old vs. new. Most of my guns are older than I. Consider the Mauser 98, going strong for 125 years now, still in production at around 200 million manufactured.
My blued steel and walnut guns will be unchanged and just as functional in another 125 years.
My Glock 19 will not make that first lifespan, never mind the second 125. Polymers will begin to exhibit change the moment the part leaves the mold. Our polymer framed guns are relative youngsters when the relative service life of firearms is concerned, time as always will tell.
Now we can get to the subject of workmanship and quality. That's generally a labor issue, unhappy poorly compensated drones make crap products.

 

[musicmatty]

If musicmatty could post a pic (even better a video) of the problem, that would help.

I would but I don’t have the gun… It’s been gone for more than a month back to the factory for the second time. Keep in mind, this is a brand new purchase. I’m just posting my experience of purchasing a new 870 from Remarms. I don’t think my displeasure is unreasonable considering this is a new firearm and the factory has had it for more than two months (twice returned ) trying to figure out what’s wrong with it.

This thread has gone sideways and that was not my intention. As far as I’m concerned they can close this thread… I won’t be adding to it. It’s a shame it gets hijacked by trollers.

 

[stinkeypete]

I prefer Hi Brass shells as opposed to steel. Brass is a much more 'slippery' metal.

The two shells shown have steel bases. I think that my prejudice is widespread.

Those steel bases work just fine in double barrel shotguns.

I recommend trying some Federal Hi Brass shells and see if a better quality shell doesn't solve your problem. Note that "brass" shells are coated with brass nowadays, not pure brass. Still slippery!

I'm sorry your gun won't run any old ammunition, but that's life.

 

[mehavey]

'High" brass won't solve an 870 extraction problem... if it attracts a magnet
(i.e., brass-washed steel... very prevalent these days.

Brass will contract back off the chamber walls after fireforming.
Steel -- even washed with brass --will not.

 

[eastbank]

i have several older rem 870 expresses(no newer ones), when i got them i polished the chambers right away and filled the recievers with real fine metal polish and worked the the shotguns actions for several weeks when i had time, after cleaning all the polish out and lightly oiling the internal parts they work as well as the late 50,s 870,s i have. i have never had the problems you have had and wish you good luck.

 

[musicmatty]

***Final update ***

I received the 870 back from Remarms last week and finally had a chance to take it out today for a test. Happy to say, the 870 worked just fine, no ejection issues.

Due to the lengthy turnaround time for an ‘ejection issue totaling more than 2 months at the factory having been returned to the factory twice for the same problem, I cannot recommend Remarms in good conscience to anyone.

No company is above fallacy and cannot be faulted for a faulty product making it out the door occasionally. With that said, weak customer service can never be the remedy for such a problem. If this is the work model that Remarms is operating with, I’m not sure they are going to survive… Just my opinion. Hopefully Remarms has not adopted the policy of equity over merit with their employee hiring.

 

[amd6547]

Glad your Retro 870 is functional, now.
One of the reasons I prefer the Mossberg 500 is the easily replaceable/repairable ejector…held in with a screw.
My Mossberg 500 worked like a top for about 30yrs before it started having ejection problems… The ejector screw had loosened. Cleaned it, loktite applied, and screw tightened down. Problem solved, and ready for another 30yrs, even if I’m not.

 

[rc]

I've got a 2007ish 870 HD express I bought new and it never gave me any problems cycling buck or low base birdshot in the original 18.5 inch barrel or a 26 inch field barrel I picked up used. I don't shoot it much but I have shot it enough to know it cycles reliably. Having used the Mossberg 500 series shotguns also if I were to do it again I would buy a Mossberg HD shotgun instead of the Remington. I don't like the floppy elevator on the 870 unlike the 500 series guns where it tucks up against the bolt with the action closed. If you sell the gun, replace it with a wood stock Mossberg or look for an older Ithaca 37 or Browning BPS which are bottom feed and eject guns without the floppy shell elevator like on the Remington.