Question about spent shell ejection.

[rythomas0704]

Ok. So this is probably a really newb question here but seeing as this is my first 870 I feel it is good one, for me at least.

So when I first got my 870 I put only put one shell through it. Just to see how she fired and then I put her back in the house. Mind you I have ample land to shoot on but lately just no time. It gets dark here (Wisconsin) at like 4:30pm and some nights I don't even get home until 8 or 9 pm. My neighbors are cool with shooting but I am very considerate about what time I shoot.

So today I had the day off and finally got to put some rounds down range. I picked up 25 pheasant load to just rip through and see how she did when firing rapidly (buck and slug are not as cheap lol)

I went through the first 7 rounds of pheasant and noticed that when I eject the spent shell it does not travel very far from the gun. Full shells FLY!!! I know weight might be the reason why. However I even had one hang up in the port for a slight second before falling.

I know this gun is only 3 years old and from all the inspection there is nothing I can see wrong.

My other 12 gauge eject the spent shells much further. I have NO problems with my 870 ejecting them close to me as I like to clean up after each time I shoot, but the one that hung up kind of makes me nervous.

I guess I am just asking for any input as to why or if anyone else's 870 acts the same way.

Also. I am not racking it super hard to the rear but just as hard as my other shotguns. Maybe I need to rack harder? I dont know. Other than that she performed superbly and I now consider it my favorite of my shotguns.

[Chief Brody]

Doesn't sound like anything's wrong to me. The harder you pull back on the forend, and the heavier the shell be ejected, the further they'll go. If you don't rack the slide with enough force, you could short shuck and jam the gun. They're built to take it, just go to town on the thing haha

[Synchronizor]

When an 870 ejects a shell, it pulls it back until the left side of the rim hits a little fold in the ejector spring. Since the right side is still held by the extractor, which is still moving rearward, this induces a rotation in the shell about the extractor, flipping the shell out of the ejection port.

An unfired shell is short, and very front-heavy due to the shot column just behind the crimp. Because of this, the forced rotation gives it a lot of angular momentum, and it flips out of the ejection port strongly. An empty shell on the other hand is very light, and its center of mass is in the back, due to the metal base. With the same induced rotation, it will have far less angular momentum, often not enough to spin out and away; especially in the case of very lightweight, low-brass hulls. Instead of being flung out more-or-less perpendicular to the receiver, they will bounce off the ejector spring and be ejected with less velocity in a more forward direction.

If you feel you're actually getting weak ejection and experiencing hang-ups (and you're not working the action like it's made of glass), there are ways to address the issue. But it's normal for unfired shells, fired low-brass shells, and fired high-brass shells to eject differently. My shotgun does the exact same thing. Run a lot of shells through your gun to make sure it's functioning properly, but as long as ejected shells are always clearing the port, I wouldn't worry about it.

[rythomas0704]

Thanks guys. I will put a bunch more through it tomorrow when I get a chance. If you don't get another stupid question then all is well.

I just have one more quick question... again... new to the 870. Never seen this before. But after putting rounds through it I decided to give it a quick cleaning and noticed something. WTF is this????

It is a notch something on the top inside of receiver. Basically if you disassemble the gun and look through the bottom it is right up top. I am sure it is nothing but just wondering what it is for and why it is there.

[Synchronizor]

If you don't get another stupid question then all is well.

A shotgun is a handheld device that uses a contained chemical explosion to accelerate masses of dense metal to supersonic velocities within a couple thousandths of a second. If you're not sure about something, ask. There are such things as stupid questions, but they're scarce in the realm of firearms.

I just have one more quick question... again... new to the 870. Never seen this before. But after putting rounds through it I decided to give it a quick cleaning and noticed something. WTF is this????

It is a notch something on the top inside of receiver. Basically if you disassemble the gun and look through the bottom it is right up top. I am sure it is nothing but just wondering what it is for and why it is there

That notch is caused by the locking block when you rack the slide back. That part locks into a notch in the barrel when the action is closed, and tends to drag along the roof of the receiver as the bolt moves back and forth. You can see the track where it's been worn down. When the slide assembly reaches the back of the receiver, it stops suddenly when it hits the protruding bottom of the receiver stud, but the breech bolt assembly that rides on top of it still has a fraction of an inch of rearward travel before it stops moving as well. As the bolt slides backward over the slide assembly, the locking block cams up and taps the roof of the receiver. Over time, those impacts dent the receiver slightly.

You can see why 870 owners are fond of the gun's milled steel receiver. That material choice lets it withstand the cumulative wear caused by this kind of part interaction over thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of cycles.

[rythomas0704]

Thanks Synch. Appreciate the info. I thought it looked like wear and tear but was not sure. The gun is in such good shape that I couldn't think that was the case. I guess I was wrong.

Ok. Im cool now. LOL Thanks for the help.

[Kentactic]

EXACTLY the problem i had. I switched the extractor out for a non-MIM one and now it ejects flawlessly. The MIM extractor was so loose that there was a great deal of space between the bolt face and the back of the shell as you pulled the action rearward. It wasnt getting a solid ejection because of this.

[rythomas0704]

EXACTLY the problem i had. I switched the extractor out for a non-MIM one and now it ejects flawlessly. The MIM extractor was so loose that there was a great deal of space between the bolt face and the back of the shell as you pulled the action rearward. It wasnt getting a solid ejection because of this.

Was there anything else that you replaced? Or JUST the extractor?

[Synchronizor]

EXACTLY the problem i had. I switched the extractor out for a non-MIM one and now it ejects flawlessly. The MIM extractor was so loose that there was a great deal of space between the bolt face and the back of the shell as you pulled the action rearward. It wasnt getting a solid ejection because of this.

Empty hulls will eject differently than unfired shells even with an ejection system in perfect order. It's physics.

You're are right, a higher-end extractor can help with ejection hang-ups; but just having empties fly in a different direction than unfired shells does not mean there's an ejection problem.

[rythomas0704]

EXACTLY the problem i had. I switched the extractor out for a non-MIM one and now it ejects flawlessly. The MIM extractor was so loose that there was a great deal of space between the bolt face and the back of the shell as you pulled the action rearward. It wasnt getting a solid ejection because of this.

Empty hulls will eject differently than unfired shells even with an ejection system in perfect order. It's physics.

You're are right, a higher-end extractor can help with ejection hang-ups; but just having empties fly in a different direction than unfired shells does not mean there's an ejection problem.

Aaah Synchronizor, my problem was not with the DIRECTION but rather than the force and distance. I even had one hang before falling. They only travel a few feet from me. I MAY have not been racking hard enough but I have years of experience with different shotguns and have never seen such weak ejection before. I am gonna do some more shooting this weekend and double check my results.