Reassembly of older 870

[jrmmcejm2]

I inherited my Dad's Wingmaster 870 (serial # starts and ends with V). I was following an online disassembly video and when I pulled out the trigger assembly, I immediately realized my gun had 2 things theirs did not. I have 2 flat pieces that fit either side of the trigger assembly that appear to hold shells in the magazine. When I saw them I remember my Dad spending a great deal of time trying to put them back in with the trigger but I do not know how he finally accomplished the feat. It seems you have to hold both flat pieces in place AND insert the trigger assembly at the same time. Can someone please help me with the trick to holding these in place while I insert the trigger assembly.

[Banshee]

Sounds like shell latches not staked in. A couple of my 870s doesn’t have them staked in place. They will pop out sometimes if you slide the pump assembly back and forth without the trigger assembly out. If you hold the bottom side up they should stay in place long enough to put the trigger assembly in place, if not try this. Lay the receiver in you lap with feed port facing up and magazine on your left if you are right handed. If left handed flip the mag tube to your right and swap right for left when you read this. There are couple of ways to do this, but this method works for me.
With your right hand Place the correct latch in the slot next to your stomach. Hold it in place with the side of your left index finger, place the other latch in the slot on the other side and spread your left middle finger to hold the latch while your index is holding the other one. Place trigger assembly in the opening with the shell lifter pointed slightly down and slide it under your two left fingers. Rotate the assembly bringing the lifter up and the rear end down. It should slide right in place while pushing your left hand out of the way. It takes a light touch holding the latches in place.

[Scorpion8]

Yea, sounds like shell latches. Of course pics would help.

[jrmmcejm2]

Discovered yesterday that they are the shell latches. Thank you for the information. I will give it a try. Your method requires as much finger magic as mine, but yours may actually work.

Thanks again.

[jrmmcejm2]

Here is how I was able to accomplish (see photo).
The right shell latch (56) is flat with little tension so, I wedged it in place with a tiny bit of dental floss and trimmed the edges clean. The floss was placed between the rear and front trigger plate pin holes to reduce the chances of fouling the mechanism. This worked well to hold the right shell latch in place.
The left shell latch (55) has a great deal of tension so, I held the back of it in place with the tiniest roll pin punch available. I inserted the punch through the rear trigger plate pin hole. This allowed me to "finagle" the trigger assembly into place as I slowly removed the punch.
If you guys see a problem with my solution, please let me know.

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