You can improve reliability of your Remington 870 easily and for just $5. Remington 870 Police shotguns have different Carrier Latch Spring(Carrier Dog Follower Spring). It is from model 1100, the Remington part number F16966.

Standard Carrier Dog Follower Spring is silver, Remington 870 Police spring (from model 1100) is black:

Heavier carrier latch spring improves reliability and may fix feeding problems if you have them. The main purpose of this spring is to lift next round which comes out of a magazine tube. Remington 870 Police carrier latch spring (1100) will do this much better.

Remington 870 Carrier Dog Follower Spring (Standard, Police)

Remington 870 Carrier Dog Follower Spring (Standard, Police)

Remington 870 Carrier Dog Follower Spring Replacement

You can get more reliability out of your Remington 870 shotgun if you upgrade its carrier dog spring, or sometimes called the carrier latch spring. Sometimes you will find that your shotgun has feeding problems which will make it unreliable when shooting it. But if you were to use a heavier carrier dog spring then it will fix these feeding problems and improve the gun’s reliability at the same time. The spring does this by lifting the next round of ammunition after it comes out of the magazine tube. If the rounds don’t get lifted properly then you won’t be able to keep shooting your weapon. This could put you at risk if you’re in a situation where you need to defend yourself. That is why Remington 870 Police shotguns are the most reliable because they use the best carrier dog springs. If you want to put one of these springs in your Remington 870 then you can get it from model 1100, part number F16966. This is the exact carrier dog spring used in the police version of the Remington 870, but the spring is also compatible with other Remington 870 versions.

Tools

There are two tools which can help you in Remington 870 Carrier Latch Spring Upgrade:
-Brownells Carrier Pivot Slave Pin
-VCS Silver Bullet

You can choose the tool you like more, both of them are good. Let’s have a closer look at both of them.

VANG COMP 870/1100 CARRIER PIVOT SLAVE PIN (Sliver Bullet) by Vang Comp Systems

Silver Bullet for Remington 870/1100 is very useful and inexpensive tool. It simplifies replacement of a Carrier Latch Spring. Carrier latch spring upgrade is highly recommended for improved reliability of Remington 870 feeding.

Silver bullet makes assembly of the trigger plate much easier.

How to use Silver Bullet from Vang Comp Systems

I have not found Silver Bullet tool instruction on the Internet, so decided to make one to help you.

Tapered end is used to push the Carrier Tube out:

Silver Bullet and Carrier Tube

Silver Bullet and Carrier Tube

Silver Bullet, Pushing Out Pin

Silver Bullet, Pushing Out Pin

Silver Bullet, Carrier Tube Pushed Out

Silver Bullet, Carrier Tube Pushed Out

Insert carrier pivot tube into the tail of the Carrier Tube to push it through and into place:

Silver Bullet, Carrier Tube, Preparing

Silver Bullet, Carrier Tube, Preparing

Silver Bullet, Preparing

Silver Bullet, Preparing

Silver Bullet, Pushing In

Silver Bullet, Pushing In

Silver Bullet, Pushing Carrier Tube In

Silver Bullet, Pushing Carrier Tube In

Silver Bullet, Pushing In, Ready

Silver Bullet, Pushing In, Ready

This tool lines up all parts when pushing pin in and makes whole process much easier. Of course, you can use a screwdriver for thir purpose but Silver Bullet from Vang Comp Systems is much better. Higly recommended tool.

Carrier Pivot Slave Pin by Brownells and Silver Bullet by Vang Comp Systems

Carrier Pivot Slave Pin by Brownells and Silver Bullet by Vang Comp Systems

Both tools are very good and really simplify the task of the carrier latch spring upgrade. You can see difference on the photo above. I like the tapered end of the Brownells tool more.

How to replace Carrier Latch Spring (Carrier Dog Spring) Video:

To conduct the upgrade, you should make sure all of the ammunition is out of the weapon. Once you have done this, go ahead and disassemble the weapon. Now take the trigger group and push the carrier tube out using a screwdriver. Next, pull out the silver bullet (or carrier pivot slave pin) and then remove the carrier, the carrier dog follower and carrier dog follower spring. At this point, you are ready to put in your new carrier dog follower spring so go ahead and do that. Now just reassemble everything else by reversing this process you just did.

This whole process shouldn’t be too hard as long as you go slow and understand the parts inside the trigger group. After your shotgun is reassembled, test it out and see if the feeding is improved. If you didn’t have a feeding problem before then you might not notice too much of a difference, but at least it will help ensure that you don’t have a feeding problem in the future. If you feel are new to this and feel there are too many parts then have a more experienced gun owner help you out with this. You can also look up tutorial video:

Carrier Pivot Slave Pin by Brownells

Carrier Pivot Slave Pin by Brownells is another tool which simplifies replacement of a Carrier Latch Spring.
This tool makes assembly of the trigger plate easy.

Carrier Pivot Slave Pin by Brownells

Carrier Pivot Slave Pin by Brownells

This tool is good alternative to a Silver Bullet by Vang Comp Systems.

Recommended Product:
Carrier Pivot Slave Pin by Brownells

Carrier Pivot Slave Pin by Brownells

Get Carrier Pivot Slave Pin on Brownells
Recommended Product:
silver bullet vang comp systems Get Vang Silver Bullet Tool on Brownells
Recommended Product:
Heavier Carrier Dog Spring for Remington 870

Heavier Carrier Dog Spring for Remington 870

Get heavier carrier dog spring on Brownells

Conclusion

This upgrade is higly recommended. It is one of those upgrades which are not visible for others but improve reliability of your Remington 870 shotgun and not just for looks.