Originally Posted by
7.62NATO
If you are willing to spend up to $1500 for the gun and having a shotgun to shoot fowl or clays is important to you, then I humbly suggest that you do it right and get two guns that do their own thing WELL. $1500 is a good amount of money to be willing to spend on a shotgun. The Remington 870 Express is definitely a good gun, especially if you're on a tighter budget. But the fit and finish is nowhere near an 870 Wingmaster or 870 Police. The "parkerized" finish...or whatever it is...on the Express RUSTS and the action is not as smooth.
Okay, so maybe $1500 is a bit over the top. I think most of the autoloading shotguns can get up into that range. I was originally attracted to the 870 Express combo, but it only comes with rifle sights (no cantilever). However-I finally read that there was a big difference between the Wingmaster and the Express. And since there's no combo option for the Wingmaster, I'll have to buy the rifled barrel separately which means I can make sure I get the cantilevered one. So, it's settled.