So after a long hot day of taring down old barbed wire fence and running chainsaws, I finally get to pop a top and enjoy another evening dove hunt. Nice & quiet and all by myself. Now I've been shooting 870's for a long time and own 5 of them between me and my kids. I have never had a problem with them ever, they work, except for the last 20 gauge that I bought for myself as a back up gun. This particular shotgun has always been a pain to load since I bought it new. I've rubbed the skin off of my thumb several times just pushing shells into the magazine, hard going in. I've oiled the crap out of it, but it doesn't help. This is the gun that I'm trying to break in now. So it's 5:15 and the birds start flying, bird #3 hits the ground and I'm reloading as I walk towards the bird. Shell won't go in and now the action is starting to get stuck when I rack the slide. Here comes more birds over my head, hurry up hurry up.....I use a little more force trying to rack the slide then BAM! THE WHOLE FREAKIN' GUN COMES APART IN MY HANDS, parts went all directions. So there I am standing there with just the wooden slide in my left hand, and the butt stock in my right hand. The barrel popped off and landed 6 feet in front of me. The bolt and whatever you call the other part that goes with it, shoots out 6 feet from me in another direction. The plug lands 20 feet to my right. The spring and magazine tube cap shoots WAY off into the brush never to be found. So I'm standing there in shock and disbelief, trying to process what just happened and what caused it. The magazine tube cap was tight, how did this happen? I had planned on using my Dremmel when I got home to mil out the magazine a little bit, because the fit was so dang tight trying to load shells in it. I have ALWAYS brought a back up gun, but have never needed it. This was the first time I didn't bring a back up, and of course I needed one. Birds started flying really good and I'm just out there looking for all the parts to my lemon 870.

Has this ever happened to anyone before? I'm planning on boxing up all the parts and sending it in to Remington for a warranty claim, hopefully. No idea what to expect there. This year, I can't seem to go dove hunting one dang time without some sort of drama LOL.

I guess it's better that it happened this way vs it exploding on me while shooting at a dove.

Are saying the threads stripped off the magazine tube?

It doesn't look like it.

The magazine end cap that is threaded on, is what holds that whole machine together. If it was not screwed on all the way to the detent, and then came loose, the shotgun fall apart sequence you described usually follows during a pump.

Yessr. I made sure it was tight though. The only thing I can think of is that maybe the threads were cut too shallow on the magazine end cap or tube, and maybe that extra little force was enough to pop it off of the magazine tube. The issue with the magazine not being milled to the correct ID is another issue. Really tight fit trying to load shells. I think the whole magazine tube is defective. Threads on the end and the internal diameter.

Can anyone fill me in on their experiences dealing with Remington warranty work?

I don’t have any experience dealing with customer service on a Remington warranty so I’m no help there. I do have an 870 20 guage that has several thousand rounds through it. I will walk into the bubba room and take some measurements and post them for you to compare as you sort out what failed.

Caveman use gun tool break down fence. Caveman mad gun tool no worky as gun.

Thank you Sir.

I wonder why they went bankrupt???

Thread depth

Outside dia mag tube

Internal dia mag tube

This is an old wingmaster LW magnum 20 that’s smooth as butter.
If you need msmt on something I omitted post up.

Need to see some pics, I have several 870 Wingmasters and have never had a problem.
In fact my first shotgun was an 870 Wing Master I purchased in 1969 for $119.00 brand new.

When was the last time you took it apart and cleaned it?

I fear that with the turmoil going on in around Remington these days, you may have a hard time getting someone to focus on your problem! I hope that's not the case, but hunker down and get ready. And please do tell us of your experience with getting service!

Thank you Smokey Bear, I appreciate that. I will check it out.

Angus, the gun is almost new. Shot very little. Have not taken it apart and cleaned it yet, only cleaned the barrel & wiped out the action.

Mikei, I have a feeling you are right.

"This has been a problem with Remington guns since Remington started using magazine caps. A single wrap of Electricians tape around the magazine tube threads usually takes care of the problem."

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/870-magazine-cap-loosens-up-while-shooting.154466/

That's a cool fix (really), but I would be nervous relying on tape to hold a machine together.

I would suspect the problem was in the barrel to receiver fit, fwiw.

For the record, and since you weren't hurt, I'd love to have been able to see a video of the cluster-fiasco!

It was something else. I couldn’t help but laugh, but was still aggravating because the birds were flying lol.

I’m an 870 owner, and I love the older ones. I have had nothing but bad experiences with the newer ones. I fully believe something was defective on your 870 if it’s a newer gun.

Love them 870s. Your mishap sux, but glad it didn't happen to one of the kiddos!

Hope ya get it sorted out

This has been my experience as well. It has gotten to the point that I have started suggesting that our department start transitioning to something other than Remington for our shotguns. The newer ones have been garbage compared to older ones. To put an exclamation point on that, I've always been told in my 870 armorer classes that LE models are a cut above the non LE models. That doesn't bode well for those non LE guns.
Skinnerback - Smokey is probably on to something, but I would check the detent for the magazine cap too. It probably isn't the issue, but we had the spring and detent that holds the magazine cap snug come out of one of ours. If that happens the magazine cap could work loose.

Damn....glad you’re ok! But I would love to have seen the look on your face when that happened...

It's a workaround hack where the electrical tape serves the same purpose as thread locker. Others report using pliers to tighten the cap so much that it can't be loosened without them. The cap itself most likely works loose from repeated pressure against it as the forearm is held while shells are pushed into the magazine. In this case, an excessive amount of force is needed to push them into the magazine tube.

No one in today's world should have to rely upon tape to keep a firearm functioning.

That may be one of the truest statements I’ve ever read.