Unloading the mag tube.

Remington 870 Repair and Gunsmithing.
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ESU843
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Unloading the mag tube.

Post by ESU843 » Mon Nov 27, 2017 4:00 pm

Is there anything that can be done to make it easier to unload the mag tube on an 870,,,, often tough to get the shells out without having to finger the heck out of it?

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Synchronizor
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Re: Unloading the mag tube.

Post by Synchronizor » Tue Nov 28, 2017 5:26 am

I like to use both hands when unloading the magazine from the bottom. One holds the gun upside-down by the receiver, and presses the carrier up & pushes the shell latch aside with the thumb. And with the other hand, using the thumb or index finger, I pull the head of the shell away from the carrier slightly so that it clears it, and control it as it comes out. As the shell slides out of the magazine, the thumb of the first hand moves away to let the carrier flip the shell out into my second hand's palm, where it's held by my other three fingers. Repeat as needed.

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Re: Unloading the mag tube.

Post by DaveC » Thu Nov 30, 2017 10:46 pm

Hmmm. Synch, I'm not entirely sure I follow... Maybe I should wait for a video post?! :D

I depress the action bar release and ease the slide back.
If there is a shell being extracted from the chamber, I bring it back until it will clear the ejection port, and remove it.
Then, I push up the carrier like you do, I guess.
Then I pull the slide the rest of the way back and the shell in the magazine pops out into my waiting hand under the receiver.
Then I just depress the catch--I guess maybe that's "fingering the hell out of it" but it doesn't bother me any--until all the shells are removed.
This is made easy to determine with my awesome Delrin S&J high-visibility follower with tactile front portion... :arrow: gratuitous product placement! :lol: Still, it is awesome! :)

Then I peer into the chamber, and poke one of my fingers into it, and close the action having made sure it is empty.

Say what you will about the Mossberg, but it gets the tube magazine unloaded first, action closed, safety on--of course!-- and then the chamber is cleared.
Alle Kunst ist umsonst, wenn ein Engel in das Zündloch prunst.

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John A.
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Re: Unloading the mag tube.

Post by John A. » Thu Nov 30, 2017 11:17 pm

I just cycle the gun until it's empty.
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Re: Unloading the mag tube.

Post by Synchronizor » Fri Dec 01, 2017 1:53 am

DaveC wrote:
Thu Nov 30, 2017 10:46 pm
Hmmm. Synch, I'm not entirely sure I follow... Maybe I should wait for a video post?!
Yeah, I really should do a video on loading/unloading/change-overs. Maybe when my brother's here for Christmas I'll rope him into playing camera-man for me. That kind of stuff is a big pain to try to do solo with a tripod.

Anyway, the technique I'm talking about is pretty similar to what you see me doing in this clip with an Ithaca 37. Just imagine that the thumb pressing the shell latch is also pushing the carrier up at the same time.

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Re: Unloading the mag tube.

Post by DaveC » Fri Dec 01, 2017 2:43 am

John A. wrote:
Thu Nov 30, 2017 11:17 pm
I just cycle the gun until it's empty.
I don't because if there is a primer that wasn't seated properly, it could theoretically fire when chambered. Also, if there is a piece of foreign material or grit stick in the firing pin hole. So each time the shell is fed through the chamber there is a bit of a risk. Now of course rule No.2 has it that I'd never let the muzzle point at anything I was not willing to destroy... but it would be expensive to replace the shelf of books I use as my "safe direction." :o

To each his own of course. Admittedly the likelihood of the issue I've described above is very highly remote. But I have met folks who've seen things like it happen. :? I do shoot some sketchy ammunition in my shotguns from time to time however... Verdigris and oxidation on the brass from exposure to the Pacific Northwest's bracingly dank marine air, or simply ancient boxes of ammo I got basically as salvage... :oops: Not that I use anything but clean, as-new ammo for going afield or for HD or whatever. :)
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Re: Unloading the mag tube.

Post by BigMoneyGrip » Fri Dec 15, 2017 4:00 am

Sorry I'm late to the party...

I cycle the action. When the round pops out of the mag, I turn the gun on it's side and empty the round through the ejection port. As the action is going into battery (remember there is no round feeding into the chamber, we just dumped it out of the port) stop it about 1/4" short and the next round pops out. You can dump it from the port and repeat until the mag is empty.

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Banshee
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Re: Unloading the mag tube.

Post by Banshee » Fri Dec 15, 2017 10:09 am

BigMoneyGrip wrote:
Fri Dec 15, 2017 4:00 am
Sorry I'm late to the party...

I cycle the action. When the round pops out of the mag, I turn the gun on it's side and empty the round through the ejection port. As the action is going into battery (remember there is no round feeding into the chamber, we just dumped it out of the port) stop it about 1/4" short and the next round pops out. You can dump it from the port and repeat until the mag is empty.

I basically do it the same way.

I hold the gun upside down but with the ejection port angled down on about a 45 deg. Cycle the action back,the shell will drop out of the port as soon as it leaves the tube.If for some reason it doesn't drop out, just shake the gun a little till it drops out of the ejection port. Close the action, stop before is locks, cycle it back again dropping the next shell out, repeat till empty.
The devil danced as he went down, in the hail of arrows comin' Out on the wild Montana ground, Custer died a-runnin'.

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Synchronizor
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Re: Unloading the mag tube.

Post by Synchronizor » Wed Dec 20, 2017 1:57 am

Banshee wrote:
Fri Dec 15, 2017 10:09 am
BigMoneyGrip wrote:
Fri Dec 15, 2017 4:00 am
Sorry I'm late to the party...

I cycle the action. When the round pops out of the mag, I turn the gun on it's side and empty the round through the ejection port. As the action is going into battery (remember there is no round feeding into the chamber, we just dumped it out of the port) stop it about 1/4" short and the next round pops out. You can dump it from the port and repeat until the mag is empty.

I basically do it the same way.

I hold the gun upside down but with the ejection port angled down on about a 45 deg. Cycle the action back,the shell will drop out of the port as soon as it leaves the tube.If for some reason it doesn't drop out, just shake the gun a little till it drops out of the ejection port. Close the action, stop before is locks, cycle it back again dropping the next shell out, repeat till empty.
These techniques are effective at safely unloading the gun, as they avoid chambering anything. They are a bit slower and noisier though, which may be disadvantages in some cases. Another downside of unloading this way is that it tends to beat up the rims of the shells in the tube, since each one slams against the shell latches in turn. If you're just unloading your hunting gun or making it safe when the range is going cold, this isn't that big of a deal. But if this is something you do to your HD shells more frequently than you replace them, the rims can get pretty trashed, and this can lead to function problems. Extended tube springs or other "Extra power" magazine springs ram the shells into the shell latches harder than factory-spec 4-round springs, and can more rapidly wear out rims.

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