870 WingMaster - Modification to reduce "Short Shucking" ?

[Virginian]

"Short shucking" is 100% operator error. In order to properly cycle the action, and eject the empty, the bolt must come fully back. It is directly connected to the fore end, no gears or levers, so nothing to modify... or go wrong. I have seen every make of shotgun short shucked at one time or another. Lots of times it happens when someone goes from one that is nice and slick with a few thousand rounds through it to one that is still pretty new and stiff. But, most new Wingmasters aren't that stiff to start. I had trouble when I first went to using a very small, tight floating blind, but I worked through it. Not the gun's fault.

[Virginian]

That modification doesn't stop short shucking, it just limits the side effects from doing it. I have never done it in 40+ years with 870s, but I have sure seen guns tied up with a shell under the carrier and bolt, and the ones I have seen did not come from short shucking, it came from someone not pushing a shell far enough into the magazine for the shell latch to engage and hold it, and then the shell popped back into the receiver under the bolt and carrier. There are several ways to clear it, but I was always able to use a pocketknife and push the shell back into the magazine without disassembly.

[Synchronizor]

Generally, the problem caused by short-shucking is that the action bars don't come back far enough to move the shell latch, so the next shell isn't released from the magazine, and you end up closing the action and pulling the trigger on an empty chamber. Modding the carrier system won't do a thing to address this. You could, in theory, make a custom fore-end tube assembly with action bars that have camming surfaces set further back to release the next shell from the magazine sooner during the slide stroke, but then the timing of the carrier will be off, and the early feeding could interfere with ejection.

Like Virginian said, short-shucking is all operator error, and you can do it to any shotgun, regardless of the design. If you want a pump gun to run reliably, get in the habit of pulling the slide all the way back until it stops of its own accord before bringing it back forward. If you're in a rush and start abbreviating that forward-back motion to try to save time, you'll lose a lot more time trying to shoot with an empty chamber.

The flex-tab doesn't do anything to stop short-shucking, it addresses the possibility of a shell coming out of the magazine when the action is closed and wedging itself between the slide assembly and shell carrier. On older 870s, this would usually bind the action. The updated flex-tab carrier and new-style slide assembly and breech bolt keeps the action from binding in this situation. More information and a demonstration in this video.