re: Send shotgun back for repair?

870 Express? Were you shooting cheap Winchester or old ammo?
Try different ammo.
Sounds like it could also be a rough chamber.
Google "870 jams" and you'll get lot's of info.

Youtube video on this subject

https://zombiehunters.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=109&t=100287

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I've seen this many times. It's funny that people often call the 870 (or any other pump shotty), 'jam proof' but do yourself a favor and google, '870 jam' and you'll find 90% of the jams are this exact thing: extremely hard to pull back the pump after firing (with many accompanying comments like, 'lol wut?! 870's never jam, doofus!').

This malfunction happens for one of two reasons:
1) Burr in the chamber (or a burr exacerbated by excessive fouling)
2) Shells slightly out of spec for the chamber (the second part is italicized for reasons listed below)

Unlike say, for 9mm or 5.56, chamber dimensions (and shell dimensions) are extremely variable. 'Jamming problems' are not always due to, 'crap ammo' but usually a problem with the specifications of the chambering itself. 12ga shells will vary in length far more than say, 7.62N rifle rounds (this is also part of the reason why mag-fed shotguns aren't as numerous). Even a burr which would be considered cosmetic in other situations can cause problems in a shotgun.

The fun part is that, generally speaking, the looser the chambering the worse these problems can be!

The way to clear this problem is two-fold:
-To immediately clear it, slam the butt on the ground in a downward motion while firmly holding on to the pump. This should eject the spent hull, allow you to clear the jam, and load another shell.
-To prevent these long-term: Firstly, check for burrs in the chamber. Secondly, clean and lubricate your shotgun. Finally, try out many different defensive and practice loads in your shotgun.

If it happens with XYZ load (even after doing the first two methods) and not with ZYX round--avoid the XYZ loads.

Noteworthy: On occasion, doing the, 'immediate' method sometimes results in the base of the hull being broken off at the extractor (there is a neat little notch at the bottom of the hull in the very same shape as the extractor). The only way to clear that is a straight cleaning rod and a hammer. Fun fun fun (and I hope you have a secondary weapon to transition to).

Anywho, anyone who says that pump shotguns (or any system, really) are, 'jam proof' either haven't trained with them enough or are full of shite.

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