WCH,
No reasonable person can deny how good the 870 is.....It was so good that it ended the the production of the Model 12. Based on how much it cost to make each one. The Model 12 was essentially a had fitted shotgun made from machined parts. While Remington went "modern" and figured out how to make assembly line machines stamp out parts that could be made to fit in almost any other 870. Neither wins the reliability race over the other. However, the Model 12 wins the race when it comes to knowing you have an essentially handcrafted shotgun.
The rest of the story:
https://calibremag.ca/remington-870-vs-winchester-model-12/
