bigbulls

Exactly what issues are you referring to because all of the 870 models are exactly the same except for cosmetic differences.

s. il. hntr

get the 870 and don't think twice about it. 3 years ago i searched this site with the same question, ended up getting one for $225 (about the same price everywhere). i've dunked it in water duck hunting, crawled through wet grass and mud turkey hunting, and shot deer in an ice storm with it, all without 1 single problem. you will not be disappointed.

hometheaterman

The Express models are known for not being polished and for sure don't have near as nice of a finish. The Express models are known for having the pump stick shut and you not be able to eject certain shells after firing them. Some say theirs only seems to do it with Winchester Shells others say theirs does it with only Federal Shells. The fix for this is to have the chamber polished. Not a big deal but imo a gun brand new out of the box should not have to be worked on. I've not heard of many if anyone that hasn't had this issue with a Express.

The one I had was the Super Magnum and even after fixing that it just had random jams fairly often. Like it would try to send 2 shells into the chamber or not catch the old one to pull it out. Or it would stovepipe. Just random stuff but it was fairly often that I had random jams happen. I've been told the Super Magnum version has always had jamming issues and that the 3" version isn't as bad. Most of the 3" versions still seem to need the chamber polished.

The other big issue I've read about but never saw when I had mine is rust. I've seen quite a few reports of guys claiming theirs are rusting. However, like I said I can't comment as I never had that when I had mine. It wouldn't surprise me though if it had started.

The other issue I see a big complaint about and I did experience is that the finish is pure crap. It wears off very easily on the wood. The synthetic version might fix that. The parkerized bluing on the barrel also seems to wear off fairly easy and just not be a quality finish.

So taking the crappy finish and all the jamming issues these guns have some of which can be fixed by polishing the chamber(but who wants to work on a brand new gun when you can buy another brand without these issues?) I just don't see why you this gun is a good choice. There are many others out there that don't have these issues and don't have a crappy finish on them either.

The Wingmaster like I said is way nicer. It has a nice finish on it so fixes that problem and it also seems to have everything polished and doesn't have these issues with the jamming and pump sticking. It also costs quite a bit more though.


Remington seems to have a lack of quality control. I haven't seen many things from them that didn't have some issue that should have been caught in quality control before leaving the factory.

I've tried to like Remington as they offer decent features for great prices on guns but the quality just doesn't seem to be there.

SJAdventures

Hands down Rem 870.

13pointjomc

Mossberg 500 or Mossberg 835.If you want a pump get 1 of the of the 2 i mentioned,for an auto,Stoeger 2000.For the stoeger 2000,it will be about $500.The 500 pump and the stoeger 2000 are 3'' chambers,835 is 3 1/2''.

13pointjomc

Or a Remington 870.any of the 4 i mentioned are good guns.

stubblejumper

My 870 wingmaster had a metal trigger guard/assembly,while my 870 express had a synthetic triggerguard/assembly.

blktie8

I still have my 870 wingmaster I use today , and it was purchased in 1985

driftrider

I'd save a little more money and buy a Browning BPS. They sell in the $450 range and are the finest pump shotguns made IMHO. I regret selling the one I had, and someday I will own one again.

As for the 870. The Wingmaster is a great shotgun, but the Express version isn't so great. I've owned three 870 Express shotguns, and had issues with all three. One would fail to feed quite a bit, another would not always lock up unless you really slammed the slide closed, and another would sometimes hot unlock after firing forcing me to use the slide release lever to get the action open. I would not own another 870 Express.

Mike