870 shell extractor problems

[FullChoke]

I am using a Remington 870 20 gauge that I won at an NWTF banquet. I have begun having problems with the extractor not, well, extracting and ejecting the spent shell from the chamber after a shot. I thought that I had this problem solved last squirrel season by cleaning it as well as I could, but it has started cropping up again. Has anyone else run into this problem and what steps did you have to take to solve it?

Thanks.

FullChoke

[SumToy]

Look at it to see if you can see any wear on it.   The spring could be bad.  If you will pull the barrel off you can slide the bolt out.  Just slide it forward and you will feel under the bottom of the gun the 2 latches that hold the shell is the mag tube will need to be pushed in to let it slide by.  Then you can roll it around on the table at look at it. 

[FullChoke]

SumToy,

Thanks for that tip on getting the extractor out of the receiver! I did not know that was how to get it to release. I took it out last night, inspected it (firing pin spring and everything else looked good) and cleaned and oiled everything thoroughly.

I will shoot some dove shot through it to check for shell cycling, but the action already feels more solid.

Thanks again.

FullChoke

[FullChoke]

Well, my 870 extractor problem did not go away. I called up a MONSTER BIRD in Arkansas this year and he got completely away because I could not put a follow up shot on him. The same problem cropped up that morning in which the extractor would not grab onto the spent shell and eject it properly, allowing the next round in the magazine to jam up into the receiver.

I did a Google search for "Remington 870 extractor problem" and quickly found that this is a common problem with these latest guns. After reading several other bulletin boards, I found what looks to be a solution.

The newer Remington 870s come from the factory with a protective corrosion resistant coating on just about every metal part in the green box. This coating must be cleaned completely off of (and out of) the internal mechanisms and all of the sub-assembly parts.

Here's what I did. Removing the Breech Bolt from the receiver per SumToy's instructions, I removed the Extractor, Extractor Plunger and the Extractor Spring from it. Here is a short video showing the simple dis-assembly and reassembly procedure. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=resS020suPA). The hole that the Extractor Spring sets in was so full of this coating material, it had captured the spring and it would not come out. After some tool fashioning, I was finally able to get a hold of it and pull it out of the hole. I soaked the 3 parts in Hoppes and thoroughly swabbed out the spring hole with Hoppes and Q-Tips until it was finally clean. Everything was wiped down, lightly oiled and reassembled. I haven't run any rounds through it yet, but the Extractor now looks like it is functioning like it should.

I have never had to tear any gun down to it's individual components in order to clean it before it would function properly out-of-the-box, but I have had to do that with this one. Be aware that the newer Remington shotguns may need this level of attention before using them.

Good Luck. 

FullChoke

[R AJ]

This is a great post and information that we all need to be aware of. With all the imports and changes in lubes and protectants it is easy to put a gun together and try her out. It may work for awhilw but then the heat on the grease and a little dirt build up to sit over the summer can be a bad thing for sure.

My first experience was a used 870 perhaps 25 years ago. It looked great and for some strange reason I decided to try it out with some buckshot. I pulled the trigger and nothing . Tried again, same thing. I ran it by the gunsmith to check it out. He said it was the most gunked up firning pin /bolt assembly he had seen. It was keeping the firing pin from going forward far enough to strike the primer.

In your case the grease was not letting the extractor recede far enough to get around the base of the shell. Good luck to you.

[FullChoke]

I haven't shot it since I cleaned it, but I cycled a lot of rounds through it the other day and could not get it to malfunction like it did before. It ejects shells with a good force even when I pump it gently. I would say that this cleaning episode has fixed the problem.

Cheers 

FullChoke

[FullChoke]

I have a side question to this.

Would I be better off completely cleaning all of the oil out of the spring hole and off of the spring, plunger and extractor and lubricating everything with powdered graphite instead? Oil on these parts would attract and capture dirt and dust and would be likely to hinder the travel of the spring and plunger, while graphite would not.

Thanks.

FullChoke

[woody]

Fullchoke does it happen with just 3" shells?  It could be the chamber is a little rough and the longer shells stick in the chamber and the extractor slips off.  Just a though.  I had this problem with an Ithaca and they have 2 extractors.  Just polished the chamber and my problem went away.

[FullChoke]

Woody,

Thanks for the question. I have shot 2-3/4" and 3" shells through it and had the same problem with both. The shells are not sticking in the chamber at all. Occasionally the extractor would just barely catch the lip on a shell and pull it back into the receiver, but not eject it. The next shell from the magazine would then cycle up into the still-occupied receiver and clog up the process.

I believe that the ejector spring and ejector plunger that are housed in the breech bolt were being fouled with the waxy preservative that Remington has begun putting on their shotguns, thereby preventing the extractor from working. Once I had the problem identified and thoroughly cleaned up, the gun now grabs every shell correctly and ejects it from the receiver with a good force. I have had no problems with it since then.

FullChoke

[woody]

Woody,

Thanks for the question. I have shot 2-3/4" and 3" shells through it and had the same problem with both. The shells are not sticking in the chamber at all. Occasionally the extractor would just barely catch the lip on a shell and pull it back into the receiver, but not eject it. The next shell from the magazine would then cycle up into the still-occupied receiver and clog up the process.

I believe that the ejector spring and ejector plunger that are housed in the breech bolt were being fouled with the waxy preservative that Remington has begun putting on their shotguns, thereby preventing the extractor from working. Once I had the problem identified and thoroughly cleaned up, the gun now grabs every shell correctly and ejects it from the receiver with a good force. I have had no problems with it since then.

FullChoke

Good info to know for the future if I ever run into the same problem.  Sounds like it is running good now.

[FullChoke]

SBB,

Sorry to hear that you are having trouble.

Make sure that you remove the extractor, the extractor piston and the spring from the breech bolt assembly. That video I including in an earlier post shows how to do it. Once I had everything cleaned, I thoroughly dried them and then dusted the hole with powdered graphite and put it all back together. I have not had any other trouble ejecting shells since then.

As a matter of fact, the gun now slings the shells completely across the room.

FullChoke

[Deputy 14]

Just for future reference if any of you guys have any other problems like this it is worth investing in a new extractor from Remington.  They make two different models, the one that is put into production guns (Express, Wingmaster) are made from formed metal.  You can purchase the other model which is carved from a solid block of steel, these are the ones that they put into law enforcement guns and are substantially stronger.  Definitely worth the extra $15 to prevent the catastrophic meltdown of not having a second shot when you need it.

[Eric Gregg]

I too have had problems with my 870 extractor. It was the spring. Per my gunsmith, to keep it from happening again, make sure to drop one drop of Rem Oil in the hole where the spring and extractor are. This will keep it from rusting, which is causing the spring to break. Humidity, one drop of moisture, getting out of a warm truck out in the woods, can cause condensation in that hole and make the spring rust. Do it before season and after season and you will be good to go.
Remington knows about this problems as they have kits for the extractors. I work in service, and I know you do not build kits unless there is common problem that needs to be addressed.
I love my Rem 870, but that is the only Achilles hill.