They are heavy because of the barrel. I have compared the barrel on my 870 deer gun to my dad's 11-87 and the 870's barrel is twice the thickness. Remington did that on purpose to: 1-reduce recoil and 2-make it more like a rifle and giveyou more consistent shots.

At least I will be in stand and not walking around all day. So weight doesn't really bother me. The thing about the 870 Express version of the slug gun is it doesn't come with the Remington/Limb Saver R3 recoil pad, which is standard for all Remington Special Purpose Synthetic guns. The Express version comes with the standard hunk of rubber for a "recoil pad." When I test the gun out at the range, I will make a decision on whether I shouldgo out and buy an R3 to put on the gun.

The R3 recoil pad can't be put on guns with wood stocks because every stock varies depending on how much it needed to be ground down. It can't be put on recoil operated automatics because it takes too muchrecoil out that the gun wont function. Just something to keep in mind.