Help with 870 PLEASE!!!!
 

hey all i recently bought a couple boxes of buckshot (00 and #4) and after firing a few rounds of each i learnt 2 new things which arent good things i guess:

1)the 3 1/2 magnums kick pretty good ;)

2) right after i fire, the forend comes back and the gun pumps itself and throws the shell like an autoloader...is it sopose to do this? i know that its sopose to unlock so u can pump it without pushin the button...but i didnt think it was sopose to throw the shell out by itself...or is it???

plz plz plz help me out on this as i dont wanna damage my gun....

thx

ch312

RE: Help with 870 PLEASE!!!!
 

canadian, you didn't say whether you are shooting off a rest or not. It could be that you have the forearm sitting on the sandbags and the recovery from the recoil is causing the forearm to slide back, ejecting the shell. Try shooting it offhand.
Your right, those 3 1/2" shells do recoil pretty stoutly out of the 870. But at least you didn't do what I did with my 870 super mag. Shoot at geese passing directly overhead while lying on my back. My poor shoulder had no where to go on that frozen ground. Needless to say I only did that trick once.

RE: Help with 870 PLEASE!!!!
 

i think #1 answerd #2, mine does the same thing shooting big nastys , just hold on tight and enjoy the ride

RE: Help with 870 PLEASE!!!!
 

i was shooting standing up....heh kinda made me stumble as i ddint think it gimmie a little nudge like that...hahaha

actually its funny that u mention that bronko....

3 years ago when i was in grade 10 i went turkey hunting for the first time with my single shot 12g 2 3/4 full shoke....ended up callin in a tom that weighed 20lbs, 10inch beard, 1 inch spurs...he was about 25 yards away walkin from left to right and im right handed so it was cool untilhe sprinted like 20ft to my right...so i didnt wanna risk changin shoulders as there was absolutly nuttin between me and him....so i decided id yelp a few times to get him to extend his head all the way and when he did i jerked over very fast and he didnt even move and i let em have it...

ended up gettin him but its a good thing i wacked him good cuz i had to sit for a few minutes cuz of the pain in my shoulder...i was shootin 1 5/8 loads...not heavy i guess but out of a 5lb gun they kick pretty good.

so...i ended up shootin him with my right shoulder pressed hard against the tree...boy oh boy did i eevr feel it....especially since that was the shoulder i injured in a rugby game 1 month be4...i cracked it in 3 places and there was a couple chips and i pulled almost all the muscles in it...doc said i shouldnt use it for 2 months....but hey gotta get that tom

went to the doctors the next day to get another x-ray and i ended up making the largest crack even bigger and to this day it still isnt healed fully...i can only throw a football as far as a typical female, can only take about 25 shots of the light ammo for shootin clays, guess its wrecked for the rest of my life....but ill have to get my arms chopped off be4 i stop huntin!!!!

peace

ch312

RE: Help with 870 PLEASE!!!!
 

the mags have tons of kick... that's why they're fun!!! hahaha this sounds ok to me, just hang on tighter!;)

RE: Help with 870 PLEASE!!!!
 

Hi Canadian Hunter312,

What is occurring is common with very heavy recoiling ammunition. Your 870 action unlocks after the firing pin drops. And the action is not actually "opening by itself".....it is opening as a result of the momemtum of the recoil. I am assuming you are holding the forearm with your nonfiring hand. When you shoot the heavy recoiling loads your nonfiring hand in an effort to "hold on" to the firearm is actually starting the reloading cycle. (I use to shoot a .35 Whelen in 7600 that was prone to the same thing. The action is NOT "blowing open"......you are actually starting to cycle it unknowingly in response to the recoil. If you watch the entire firing sequence on stop action photography.....it becomes very apparent!) And there is even an advantage......take advantage of the "headstart" to get that action quickly cycled.

Your shotgun is okay! That frequently happens with pump action guns and heavy recoiling loads. Pressures have long since dropped to safe levels by the time the action unlocks! Don't worry about it......and enjoy your shooting sessions!

Dave

RE: Help with 870 PLEASE!!!!
 

thx for the info guys i was just worried a little cuz i aint heard of a pump throwin the shell like an autoloader....

i guess it would make for some pretty fast shootin considerin all i gotta do is pump forward only instead of back then forward....

ima gonna go this weekend and buy some big ol turkey loads and see if they kick a little....any suggestions on a good turkey load? what chokes eem to be th e best overall?

thx

ch312