Don't have the synthetic, but have 3 870 Expresses, 2 in 20 gage for my son and one in 12ga for me. Mine is set up as a deer gun and I put a Boyd's thumbhole stock on it. One of my son's is set up the same way, the other is his bird gun. All of them work smoothly and flawlessly and have never failed to perform. One of the guys I hunt with has a synthetic, and he loves it. The key thing is that they all have the same 870 action. Pick a stock that you like. I personally am a fan of the thumbhole for deer. The finish holds up just fine, like any other gun, after a hunt, clean and oil it, store it properly. The 870 comes completely apart pretty easily. The one area that some people miss is the area between the forearm and the barrel.