i have a 870 20 gauge wingmaster and i have ap problem with it. i got it as a christmas present from my boss and it is probably 15 years old or more and he said has never been shot a bunch of time. well i have had it two years and when you pump it is stiff and when you go to shuck a shell back in it they sometimes do not go in smoothly and required "double pumping." i have shot the gun a ton to see if it was just new and have no idea what it could be. i have cleaned it and done everyhitng i know. anybody have any ideas? the gun is an awesome rabbit hunting gun its just the gun is not functioning properly. i have many wingmasters and they all are 100 times smoother than the 20 gauge. thanks.

It's real tough to troubleshoot certain things from a distance. This is one such case. A gunsmith would need to handle the shotgun to determine the cause. You can look to see if the forend tube assembly and it's arms are out of whack. Maybe the bolt carrier/slide is a little rough, or the right or left shell latches are out of whack. It really needs an eyeball on it to see what's happening.

Sounds like there is a problem with one or both of the shell latches (#57). Load a dummy or a 2 3/4" empty into the magazine and then watch carefully as you cycle the bolt back. If it fails to pop a shell out of the magazine, squeeze/push the latches and see if that makes the shell pop out.

Also, make sure there is good spring pressure on the cartridge. Push on the head of the case in the magazine. Your follower or the mag spring could be hanging up.


Is it an SP with the mat finish? Those things are rough as cobs but they can be smoothed up and they will break in eventually.