Hello from Western North Carolina. New 870 Express Owner

[mjoseph20]

Hello all. I just purchased my first shotgun the other day: Remington 12 gauge 870 express synthetic 28" barrel. I have made what appears to be a common rookie mistake and bought that junk bulk Winchester ammo from Walmart. Literally, the first shot ever taken with the gun was very difficult to eject. After wrestling through 25 rounds, I gave up and bought some different ammo (Estate Cartridge Game and Target 2-3/4") from the range and it worked flawlessly. What other reasonably priced rounds worked as well? I have always found Federal centerfire and rimfire ammo to work well and was wondering if Federal target 2-3/4" shells work well in 870 expresses? I would be using the ammo for trap shooting. Thanks in advance for your advise.

[Carlo1137]

Hello all. I just purchased my first shotgun the other day: Remington 12 gauge 870 express synthetic 28" barrel. I have made what appears to be a common rookie mistake and bought that junk bulk Winchester ammo from Walmart. Literally, the first shot ever taken with the gun was very difficult to eject. After wrestling through 25 rounds, I gave up and bought some different ammo (Estate Cartridge Game and Target 2-3/4") from the range and it worked flawlessly. What other reasonably priced rounds worked as well? I have always found Federal centerfire and rimfire ammo to work well and was wondering if Federal target 2-3/4" shells work well in 870 expresses? I would be using the ammo for trap shooting. Thanks in advance for your advise.

I recommend doing this if you have a new shotgun. Go buy 100 rounds of any target loads that are on sale. Inexpensive low brass # 7 1/2 or 8 shot will work fine. However, do not get the Winchester Universal Target loads as these will cause issues, they are crap. You are only shooting to test feed and function. This is called the " 100 for 100" which means 100 rounds for 100% confidence in your weapon before you deploy it for duty or rely on it to defend yourself of family.

Rack this weapon hard. Understand this. The 11-87 and 870 are the same weapon, however, the 11-87 is semi-auto and has a gas system that sends the bolt to the rear and a heavy action spring that slams it forward. You can not rack it back harder then that gas system nor ram it home harder then that heavy action spring. I tell you this so you will know that you can not hurt your weapon shooting it this way. Most all feed and function problems you will have will come from you being to genteel with this weapon.

After firing about 10 rounds. Put a very small drop of oil on the outside of the action bars where they enter the receiver. This will oil the channels in the receiver that the action bars slide in and will help smooth out the parkerizing or factory finish. repeat this after the next 20 rounds and again after the next 30. Of note: this is a good trick for you if shooting in competitions as it helps insure smooth and speedy function..........GO EASY ON THE OIL.....oil is not your weapons friend inside the receiver and if you over oil any weapon you are asking for gunk to build up.........

Have fun and be safe!

[RecurveArcher]

Hello from another new 870 owner in WNC!

[jbaskinusn]

Congrats on your purchase. The Federal Target 2 3/4" work just fine through it. I bought some of those walmart winchester boxes too, but I bought 3" slugs and 3" 00 Buck, which both fed through my Express Tac just fine.


The far left two boxes where the Federal loads. at 7$/box of 20, I couldn't pass it up.

[Synchronizor]

I have made what appears to be a common rookie mistake and bought that junk bulk Winchester ammo from Walmart. Literally, the first shot ever taken with the gun was very difficult to eject.

Cheap Winchesters are crap, I've seen multiple shotgun brands and models choke on them.

I gave up and bought some different ammo (Estate Cartridge Game and Target 2-3/4") from the range and it worked flawlessly. What other reasonably priced rounds worked as well? I have always found Federal centerfire and rimfire ammo to work well and was wondering if Federal target 2-3/4" shells work well in 870 expresses?

I really liked the Remington target loads; they were reliable and had nice tight crimps. Unfortunately, the Wal-Marts in my area stopped carrying them in bulk packs, so I've switched to the same load in Federal, which are pretty good too.

While cheap ammo is a major contributor, some Expresses have roughly-finished spots where shells are fed into and extracted from the chamber. Cheap, low-"brass" loads made to a low price point (and with similarly low quality control) will sometimes expand when fired, enough to hang up on these rough patches when you try to extract them. Eventually, the gun will break in through use and the rough spots will wear down and stop being a problem. If it's really bad though (happening very frequently with non-crap ammo), you can speed up the process with some careful grinding. Just be sure not to overdo it.

Go buy 100 rounds of any target loads that are on sale. Inexpensive low brass # 7 1/2 or 8 shot will work fine. However, do not get the Winchester Universal Target loads as these will cause issues, they are crap. You are only shooting to test feed and function. This is called the " 100 for 100" which means 100 rounds for 100% confidence in your weapon before you deploy it for duty or rely on it to defend yourself of family.

Rack this weapon hard. Understand this. The 11-87 and 870 are the same weapon, however, the 11-87 is semi-auto and has a gas system that sends the bolt to the rear and a heavy action spring that slams it forward. You can not rack it back harder then that gas system nor ram it home harder then that heavy action spring. I tell you this so you will know that you can not hurt your weapon shooting it this way. Most all feed and function problems you will have will come from you being to genteel with this weapon.

After firing about 10 rounds. Put a very small drop of oil on the outside of the action bars where they enter the receiver. This will oil the channels in the receiver that the action bars slide in and will help smooth out the parkerizing or factory finish. repeat this after the next 20 rounds and again after the next 30. Of note: this is a good trick for you if shooting in competitions as it helps insure smooth and speedy function..........GO EASY ON THE OIL.....oil is not your weapons friend inside the receiver and if you over oil any weapon you are asking for gunk to build up.........

Is that you, J.D.?

[Carlo1137]

I have made what appears to be a common rookie mistake and bought that junk bulk Winchester ammo from Walmart. Literally, the first shot ever taken with the gun was very difficult to eject.

Cheap Winchesters are crap, I've seen multiple shotgun brands and models choke on them.

I gave up and bought some different ammo (Estate Cartridge Game and Target 2-3/4") from the range and it worked flawlessly. What other reasonably priced rounds worked as well? I have always found Federal centerfire and rimfire ammo to work well and was wondering if Federal target 2-3/4" shells work well in 870 expresses?

I really liked the Rmington target loads; they were reliable and had nice tight crimps. Unfortunately, the Wal-Marts in my area stopped carrying them in bulk packs, so I've switched to the same load in Federal, which are pretty good too.

While cheap ammo is a major contributor, some Expresses have roughly-finished spots where shells are fed into and extracted from the chamber. Cheap, low-"brass" loads made to a low price point (and with similarly low quality control) will sometimes expand when fired, enough to hang up on these rough patches when you try to extract them. Eventually, the gun will break in through use and the rough spots will wear down and stop being a problem. If it's really bad though (happening very frequently with non-crap ammo), you can speed up the process with some careful grinding. Just be sure not to overdo it.

Go buy 100 rounds of any target loads that are on sale. Inexpensive low brass # 7 1/2 or 8 shot will work fine. However, do not get the Winchester Universal Target loads as these will cause issues, they are crap. You are only shooting to test feed and function. This is called the " 100 for 100" which means 100 rounds for 100% confidence in your weapon before you deploy it for duty or rely on it to defend yourself of family.

Rack this weapon hard. Understand this. The 11-87 and 870 are the same weapon, however, the 11-87 is semi-auto and has a gas system that sends the bolt to the rear and a heavy action spring that slams it forward. You can not rack it back harder then that gas system nor ram it home harder then that heavy action spring. I tell you this so you will know that you can not hurt your weapon shooting it this way. Most all feed and function problems you will have will come from you being to genteel with this weapon.

After firing about 10 rounds. Put a very small drop of oil on the outside of the action bars where they enter the receiver. This will oil the channels in the receiver that the action bars slide in and will help smooth out the parkerizing or factory finish. repeat this after the next 20 rounds and again after the next 30. Of note: this is a good trick for you if shooting in competitions as it helps insure smooth and speedy function..........GO EASY ON THE OIL.....oil is not your weapons friend inside the receiver and if you over oil any weapon you are asking for gunk to build up.........

Is that you, J.D.?

No, I'm not JD, I got it this tip off the API website and it has worked good for me. Note: I used more appropriate words and said its called the 100 for 100, since I did not invent the directions