Problems with Remington 870 jamming

[IndyJibaya]

What kind of jam, not feeding, not chambering, not ejecting, 870 double feed jam caused by not fully & briskly working the slide? Pics help.

Thank you and everyone for the help. I don't know much about guns, do not know what kind of jam, nor can I unjam it when it happens, have to get a friend to, don't know how despite having seen it done a bunch of times. I am not mechanically-minded at all. I can load and shoot it, that's about it. I just wanted a simple, reliable gun for home defense that I wouldn't have to be working on or trying to figure out.

Here's a pic of the gun, if this image insertion works. It's currently jammed, of course, has been for months. I'm so sick of dealing with this gun I don't even like looking at it anymore.

Edit -- OK Imgur image link insertion did not work, and I can't post the URL because I haven't made 10 posts yet. So I don't know how to show you all pics of the gun. If it's not fixed through the tips here very quickly I'll likely put it up for sale and look for a different shotgun, perhaps in the classifieds here.

[michiganlouie]

Check the two shell latches. on my 870, one of them came loose, it was sliding back and forth in the slot. Fortunately, I was able to peen it tight. How I peened it, I honestly can't remember. Have had the gun since 1979, and that's the only problem I have had with it. I don't know if that your problem, but I can see how a loose latch can cause a jam.

[IndyJibaya]

Oh, your mention of "double feed jam caused by not fully & briskly working the slide" might be part of the problem, but not all. Once when a friend was helping me try to get the gun to work, he said I needed to use more force in sliding that part, but being female with weak upper body strength this is hard for me to do. This friend of mine is a strong male and the gun jams a lot less when he uses it.

[IndyJibaya]

nevermind, accidental repeat post

[IndyJibaya]

should have 10 posts soon then I will be able to show you pics of the gun

[IndyJibaya]

870's are usually extremely reliable. I had a buddy with a similar issue with his 870 and even after a complete disassembly of the trigger group I couldn't find the problem so we just replaced the entire trigger group and the problem went away. I would suggest doing the same. They're not that expensive and at least you'll have a working gun at that point.

I wonder if this might have already been done. Like I wrote, it's been taken to two different gun shops, first guy just basically unjammed it and said it seemed to work fine for him. But it kept jamming, second gun shop replaced some parts but this was years ago, I don't remember what it was and no longer have the receipt for that service.

[IndyJibaya]

Also just checked and that gun shop that replaced part(s) on this gun is no longer in business, so can't contact him to find out what he did. It was in Cadillac, MI on business 131, a bit north of downtown area.

[IndyJibaya]

Contact Remington for the best solution.
or
Talk with the person where you purchased it, if a store.

Want it to run at top speed contact one of the Clubs that hold shooting events. USPSA, 3-Gun, SASS - Cowboy Action events
they may have resorces in your area to direct you to a shop or person who can correct the issue.

The Factory would be the First Choice! you need a complete disscripition of the problems encountered. How did you correct it. Type of ammunition used.

a 870 can run fast when tuned for reliability. But that also depends on the shooter's experience and training.

Good Hunting and Fast and Shooting -

Thank you, but would this gun still be under warranty purchased 5-6 years ago? Also, I purchased it through an online gun auction website, who then shipped it to an authorized local dealer to do my background check and transfer it to me.

[IndyJibaya]

I kind of suspect that the auction seller, despite claiming it was new, and it did come with owner's manual and seemed new, somehow knew it had an issue and this is why I was able to get it for a good price. A few people have told me this happens quite a bit in online gun auctions where buyers can't inspect or use the guns before purchasing, just have to take seller's word on their condition.

[IndyJibaya]

I don’t believe the present owner of Remington is honoring the old companies warranty, but could be wrong.

I would take it to a good gunsmith if you are not personally able to diagnose and repair it yourself. There are old Remington repair shops scattered around the state that would be a good place to start. Both Williams gun sight and Dick Williams were Rem warranty shops at one time that I know of.
As noted by a earlier poster the old M 870 is an extremely reliable firearm and should not be too hard to fix

Thanks. So in your opinion and given all the issues I've described, do you think it would be worth me investing in more repair work, despite previous repair visits not fixing the problem? Or do you think I'd be better off selling it and buying another shotgun, one I can test out before buying?