LOADED MAGAZINE SPRING COMPRESSION ON REMINGTON 870

A few years ago I purchased a Browning Gold Hunter, 12 gauge Mag for ducks and turkeys. After 4-5 years the bolt would not close in normal use, no matter how clean or well lubed the gun was. I called Browning and was told the magazine and recoil springs were "maintenance items and should be changed every two years". The new springs were inexpensive, quick delivery, and cured my problem.

What confused me is I own two Remington 1100's, one from 1972 and one from 1985-87, no springs have been changed and they both function perfectly.

I guess the answer is- see what the manufacture recommends and follow their instructions.
 
I bought a case of WWI 1911 magazines many years ago. They had been loaded and stored for 90+ years. In an effort to recoup my costs, I decided to unload all of them and sell half.
Every round fired (lead ball ammo from 1914-ish).
Every magazine worked perfectly in a modern Colt and locked the slide back on empty.
I learned a lesson here (and made half a mint on two-tone 1911 mags):
Don't worry about magazine springs unless you are constantly cycling them.
 
Recall a few times over the years with my department, that the actual spring was not so much the culprit of problems for being kept fully loaded, as was the ammo.
Some plastic-hulled ammo in the tube for extended periods in patrol cars in extremely hot weather would tend to slightly 'mushroom' on the crimp end. This would, of course create feeding problems.
For a shotgun in any other environment, don't see it ever being a problem.
 
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Mike said:
FWIW.....Engineers say springs weaken from working.....Not from compression or relaxed.........BTW my Win 1912 from 1917 and my Win 1897 from 1919 still have their original magazine springs and they still work as intended..........
Click to expand...

Patience is a virtue. One day they will quit working and somebody will say "I told you so". :rolleyes: :D Larry
 
GO WITH YOUR INSTINCTS, AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION.

All that good stuff. If it makes you rest easier, who cares if it matters or not & doesn't break the bank? I've had springs feel easier to compress/load mags, but never fail to work. I never measured the length of the old springs against the new ones, but could feel the difference when compressing them. If you're gonna replace a spring, may as well splurge & put in a good quality one, if only for the peace of mind. I bought a MB 590 a while back that I FEEL was fully loaded & stood in a corner for decades. The mag spring felt light & was replaced for free. A Sig P226 mag left fully loaded for about 30 years felt light too but worked fine. Can't remember if I had to pay for that spring.
 
Well I guess i am lucky...... today Brownell's sent me a promo code for FREE Freight (no minimums) and so I ordered a FACTORY Remington 870 Mag Spring for the 6 round extended "police version" tube - should be exactly what is in the gun now. I guess we'll all see if the rumor is confirmed or busted. The spring was less than $6 bucks so for that little I'll just do it for curiosity of nothing else. Stay tuned - when it comes I'll take pic's or a video and post.

Again - never had any failures, but it has been loaded 15 years so what the heck!
 
i had a 1970 Dodge Dart with the 318 engine and it was my first really new car. About 100,000 I noticed that the leaf springs were actually flat. Took it in to a shop that specialized in reworking car and truck springs. They stuck the springs in a large gas oven and since I requested an extra helper spring added it to the ones already being cooked. They came out of the oven cherry red. Into the quenching tank. They had rearched both the
original and the helper spring perfectly. While not exactly gun springs as in this thread, springs do weaken due being flexed over a period of time. In the case of my car it was the constant flexing diving under normal road conditions. By the way that helper spring gave a nice forward rake to that old dart. Frank
 
Frank46 said:
i had a 1970 Dodge Dart with the 318 engine and it was my first really new car. About 100,000 I noticed that the leaf springs were actually flat. Took it in to a shop that specialized in reworking car and truck springs. They stuck the springs in a large gas oven and since I requested an extra helper spring added it to the ones already being cooked. They came out of the oven cherry red. Into the quenching tank. They had rearched both the
original and the helper spring perfectly. While not exactly gun springs as in this thread, springs do weaken due being flexed over a period of time. In the case of my car it was the constant flexing diving under normal road conditions. By the way that helper spring gave a nice forward rake to that old dart. Frank
Click to expand...



How many up and downs you think they suffered in 100k.
Those are cycles and cycles weaken springs

Had the Dart sat in your Driveway for 15 yrs and NOT moved they would have been as good as the day Dodge installed um.




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My plainclothes/work 870 was one of the older ones from the late 70's, with standard 4rd magazine tube & spring, and was still functioning fine when I turned it in upon my retirement.

Before I had it assigned to me in the early 2000's, it had been a training shotgun at the range, and I'd used it as a class gun for an 870 armorer class I attended in the middle 2000's.

Now, many years ago I bought one of the early Rem Express 870's (standard tube). It and a Winchester 1200 are my only pump shotguns.

After my retirement I had one of the new 870 armorers (always eager to practice on guns ;) ) replace the original stock tube mag spring with a fresh factory spring. Just because. (Besides, he already had the parts.) I anticipate it'll last the rest of my life, especially since I'm no longer going through cases and cases of buckshot & slugs like I did when I was working as an instructor. ;)

Now, having spent many years training/practicing and qualifying with shotguns on an outside sand-covered range, in good and bad weather, one thing I'd opine is that a weakening/weakened mag spring may not be able to keep feeding the shells when the tube mag gets contaminated with sand, dirt, etc. Under exposure to those conditions, a fresh spring, or at least one not on the far end of its practical service life, is probably a good idea for a shotgun that may be employed as a defensive weapon.
 
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My only experience with spring fatigue involved a Remington Model 11 shotgun in 20 gauge, a fairly early one. It had frequent problems with the bolt failing to go completely into battery, even when everything was clean and lubricated. A new bolt spring fixed it (the bolt spring goes into a tube from the tang that goes into a hole in the stock). As I remember the original spring was rusty.
 
To echo some of the thoughts:

Springs weaken by "work"; I shoot a Beretta A400 at targets, roughly 12-15000 a year, so I replace the spring once a year. Compared to the new one, it is ~3 coils shorter (not an inch or more).

Someone mentioned rust - I have that every time I change the spring, so any gun sitting for years should be checked, wiped down and hit with the rust solution of your choice.
 
Well, my Remington factory 870P magazine springs came in
today for my 870 Police Magnum with walnut stocks. I removed
the old spring from the shotgun, and it was dirty and rusty
and measured 18 1/2 inches long. The new 870P magazine
springs measure 23 inches long. I cleaned out the magazine
tube which was filthy, lightly oiled the spring and reinstalled
it into the magazine tube. The letter code on my barrel indicates
my shotgun was made in May of 1973.

My research indicates that the 870P 4+1 standard shotgun uses
a longer magazine spring to enhance reliability.

So, there you have it.
 

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mojave30cal said:
Well, my Remington factory 870P magazine springs came in
today for my 870 Police Magnum with walnut stocks. I removed
the old spring from the shotgun, and it was dirty and rusty
and measured 18 1/2 inches long. The new 870P magazine
springs measure 23 inches long. I cleaned out the magazine
tube which was filthy, lightly oiled the spring and reinstalled
it into the magazine tube. The letter code on my barrel indicates
my shotgun was made in May of 1973.

My research indicates that the 870P 4+1 standard shotgun uses
a longer magazine spring to enhance reliability.

So, there you have it.
Click to expand...

Proportionally, your spring actually compressed more than mine - 4 1/2" (in the standard Magazine length) is quite a bit! I am glad you changed it and serviced the Mag Tube as well. Often we tend to forget about these Springs & Mag. Tubes and credit has to be given to the Engineers who figure in enough of a "compression factor" for these old guns to still work reliably. ;)
 
I always keep my 870P loaded with 5 OO buck rounds. I have a Mesa Tactical side saddle loaded with 2 rounds of slug, 2 rounds of OO buck and one 7.5. This allows me to load a round of choice subject to need.
Remember the last round in the tube is the first one out.
 
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