Hammer ?

[Karlo]

Hello All:
Totally new to the forum … Here goes:
I received a 17-year-old Remington 870 from a friend for Christmas. I took out the Trigger Plate Assembly to clean it up and noticed the hammer face is a little beat up, which I imagine is from the slide hitting it over the years. Hence, I decided to purchase a new one, the only thing I can find online is what is referred to as a “New Style” hammer, it showed up today … as I compared it to what I have in my Rem870 it is far from the same, the notch that connects with the sear is in a different spot and will contact the notch in the sear sooner. At this point I have not replaced it, after a complete breakdown and cleaning the gun operates very well, seems like new, I have not shot it yet and do not anticipate any problems. I called Remington and they weren’t even sure what to tell me, but they did want to sell me a complete Trigger Plate Housing Assembly for around 100 bucks.
Ultimately my question is; will this “New Style” hammer work in my 17-year-old 870 ?
Any suggestions ? Like do I buy a new sear also to match the “New Style” hammer ?

[Synchronizor]

Can you upload some images of the wear to your current hammer, and the differences between the sear notch locations? I'm aware that Remington has made at least one update to the 870's sear and hammer, but I don't know details about how extensive those changes were, and whether or not you can combine old and new versions of those parts.

[Karlo]

Can you upload some images of the wear to your current hammer, and the differences between the sear notch locations? I'm aware that Remington has made at least one update to the 870's sear and hammer, but I don't know details about how extensive those changes were, and whether or not you can combine old and new versions of those parts.

Pictures ... I'll give it my best try !

[Karlo]

Can you upload some images of the wear to your current hammer, and the differences between the sear notch locations? I'm aware that Remington has made at least one update to the 870's sear and hammer, but I don't know details about how extensive those changes were, and whether or not you can combine old and new versions of those parts.

Here are the pictures you asked for, SORRY FOR THE CRAPPY CELL-PHONE PIC'S !

THIS IS A PICTURE OF THE "NEW STYLE" HAMMER .. .. ..


OLD STYLE HAMMER (still installed) .. .. ..


SIDE BY SIDE .. .. .. ON THE LEFT NEW STYLE .. .. .. ON THE RIGHT OLD STYLE.


PICTURE OF THE GUN IT SELF AFTER REBLUEING, NEW 18" POLICE BARREL (it came with a 28" ribbed, Mod-choked barrel, which I'll use for bird-hunting), NEW STOCK, AND FOREGRIP .. .. ..

[Synchronizor]

Yeah, I can see what you mean. Still couldn't tell you for sure if you're safe mixing & matching a new hammer with an old sear. I suspect it would work fine; both sear notches look like they'd give the sear plenty to hang on to, and the 870's sear is a balanced design that shouldn't be able to be jarred loose by rough handling or impacts. On the other hand, for around $10, it'd be pretty cheap to just play it safe and drop in a new-style sear as well.

But looking at the pictures, your hammer really doesn't look like it's in bad shape. The hammer in my 870 seems worse than yours (far as I can tell), and I have yet to experience any problems.

870 hammer wear.JPG (73.51 KiB) Viewed 4554 times

Replacing an 870's hammer is a pain since the hammer pin is essentially a rivet. Everything else in an 870 trigger plate assembly is held together with simple pins, and can be taken apart with just a punch and a thumbnail; but to remove & replace the hammer & action bar lock (along with the hammer spring & plunger under the hammer), you have to drill out or grind down the flared end of the hammer pin to get it out. And then to get everything back together, you'll have to either try your luck at re-staking the old pin, or buy and install a new hammer pin. It's not really that tough to do, but it is kind of a hassle, and probably not worth it if your current hammer is still in functional shape.

[Karlo]

Yeah, I can see what you mean. Still couldn't tell you for sure if you're safe mixing & matching a new hammer with an old sear. I suspect it would work fine; both sear notches look like they'd give the sear plenty to hang on to, and the 870's sear is a balanced design that shouldn't be able to be jarred loose by rough handling or impacts. On the other hand, for around $10, it'd be pretty cheap to just play it safe and drop in a new-style sear as well.

But looking at the pictures, your hammer really doesn't look like it's in bad shape. The hammer in my 870 seems worse than yours (far as I can tell), and I have yet to experience any problems.

Replacing an 870's hammer is a pain since the hammer pin is essentially a rivet. Everything else in an 870 trigger plate assembly is held together with simple pins, and can be taken apart with just a punch and a thumbnail; but to remove & replace the hammer & action bar lock (along with the hammer spring & plunger under the hammer), you have to drill out or grind down the flared end of the hammer pin to get it out. And then to get everything back together, you'll have to either try your luck at re-staking the old pin, or buy and install a new hammer pin. It's not really that tough to do, but it is kind of a hassle, and probably not worth it if your current hammer is still in functional shape.

Long story / short version .. .. ..
Even though this weapon functioned fine when I received it, I decided to sort of refurbish/replace some parts, such as: non-mim extractor, springs, aluminum mag follower ... anyway, at this point I've gone far enough with the Referbishing I might as well finish. Hence, I was thinking of getting a new style sear, when I'm done this shotgun will be 98% new with a 17-year-old serial number .... LOL !