Post hunting season 870 cleaning questions.

[Intheaspen]

I need to deep clean my 870 due to the fact that it failed to eject twice yesterday as well as the light amount of rust from hunting hard all duck season. In between hunts I would clean it to the best of my ability however I am thinking of buying enough hoppes liquid to fully submerge the receiver and barrel but am also considering just having a local gun smith clean it up. Let me know your thoughts and ideas. Thank you!

 

[N2TRKYS]

When I duck hunted all the time, I would break mine down after every hunt. Very easy to do and no excuse for letting it rust. Once everything is taken apart, just spray it all down and wipe it off.

 

[Centralcoastca]

Is it a newer 870? By newer I mean not one of the old smooth machined guns unlike the newer stamped guns. My wife’s newish 870 did the same thing when it was brand new just shooting clays, I was talking to a friend who had the same issue with his brand new 870 and noticed that the chamber was not as smooth as you’d expect and polished it up and it worked fine from then on. I did the same with the same results. This was a few years back, but if remember right I used a dremel with a cloth buffing wheel and some red rouge until it seemed smoother. Neither of us have had an issue since.

 

[QuackAttack]

There is no excuse for rust.…clp liberally during season.

however…the 870 is really simple. Don’t shade tree gunsmith it. Do it right, it requires exactly 1 tool to fully disassemble and detail clean. https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...tools/magazine-corkscrew-tool-prod118833.aspx


This tool removes the metallic cap in the mag tube that’s retaining the spring and follower…this area rusts badly. The arms should match pin diameter to remove the trigger group. Then, slide bolt and forearm out as per a bunch of YouTube videos.

Get an AP brush or three…can of any generic penetrating oil…spray it all…scrub off all residue…wipe dry. Hose out the receiver with carb cleaner but fyi, it dissolves plastic and camo finishes. Scrub bore with tornado brush, rod, patches until clean. Remove and clean choke, grease threads.

use fine steel wool and oil to remove rust or stubborn deposits.


Caution- the ejector is riveted in the receiver. Don’t bend or break it.

 

[Intheaspen]

Is it a newer 870? By newer I mean not one of the old smooth machined guns unlike the newer stamped guns. My wife’s newish 870 did the same thing when it was brand new just shooting clays, I was talking to a friend who had the same issue with his brand new 870 and noticed that the chamber was not as smooth as you’d expect and polished it up and it worked fine from then on. I did the same with the same results. This was a few years back, but if remember right I used a dremel with a cloth buffing wheel and some red rouge until it seemed smoother. Neither of us have had an issue since.

Yea would be considered new. I know what you are talking about and I did fix this issue on my gun with a steel wheel however I think the issue now is that its a bit dirty.

 

[packer58]

All good advice, iv'e also used compressed air to blow out debris and then really distribute lubricant throughout the components.

 

[QuackAttack]

Yea would be considered new. I know what you are talking about and I did fix this issue on my gun with a steel wheel however I think the issue now is that its a bit dirty.

Dirty really shouldn’t cause it to fail to eject.

FTE on an 870 is generally caused by one of 3 things-

Broken, damaged, or worn extractor. The claw should be sharp, smooth, and pivot smoothly.

Bent, damaged ejector. This is riveted in the receiver and often a rag will catch on it while cleaning and rip it out or bend it. This is a factory repair.


Lastly, defective ammunition. Some shells are out of spec.


That’s Failure to Eject 101. Failure to Extract is similar, but add chamber finish.