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I don't know why you would consider paying such a high price for a new Rem 870 when they are so many older Rem 870's to choose from on the used market. The chrome lifter models ( pre-1970) do have a cult-like following among Rem 870 collector's which claim the chrome lifter guns were essentially hand-built Not sure if this hand-built claim is justified yet in the gun world some opinions eventually become fact.

To my knowledge, you can order you can order any 870 replacement parts from Remington today which will fit any Rem 870 regardless of the year it was made with the exception I believe the extractor has been changed to a beefier profile.

For bird shooting meaning a fast swinging shotgun, the "Light contour" barrels made for the Rem 870 ( and Rem 1100) will let you think you are shooting a fine English built shotgun. A light contour barrel would be an enjoyable addition to an 870 for upland hunting or on the clay bird field.

The Rem 870 one of the few Remington built guns which have never had a factory recall for some issue. Neither has the Remington 1100 but there was a class action suit on Rem 1100 barrels in the late 80's for the amount of steel or rather lack of steel used in Rem 1100 production barrels.

There is supposedly one or two Remington 870 Trap guns in the ATA trapshooting Hall of Fame that are reputed to have 1 million rounds shot in them from "Hall of Fame" trapshooters from the past. Enough said.




Last edited by doctor_Encore; 01/10/19.
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Originally Posted by cra1948
I won one about 15 or 20 years ago. It didn’t impress me...don’t remember if I ever shot it. Gave it to a nephew.

I grew up with Ithaca 37’s and have always felt that they were a better gun...slicker functioning, much sweeter handling.


I had an Ithaca 37 and I will take an 870 Wingmaster over the Ithaca or the Winchester model 12 (had that one too) all day everyday. As a matter of fact if there was a law that you could only own one long gun (perish the thought) I would pick the Remington 870 Wingmaster 12 gauge.

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i've got a Ithaca 37 made in 50's 20ga love it, i've had to many 870 that went junk on me including that 870 that had the straight stock and vent rib barrel 21'' try stripping one down in a duck marsh. my buddy has a wing master from the 1950's and works like a champ!

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I have more than a few older Wingmasters from the 70-80's timeframe and like them very well. In 1994 I was looking to replace a 20 ga. 870 Wingmaster Special Field that had a 21" barrel, it just swung to fast. I shot a lot of skeet trying to get used to it but that short barrel cost me to many sharptails and roosters. I tried about every configuration of 20 ga Wingmaster you can imagine I ended up buying a 26" barreled 20ga Express, it had the best balance of all them in 20 ga. I've shot thousands of shells thru it with no problems from the gun. Sometimes if you reload your Federal hulls too many times and hot you can get enlargement of the hull rim diameter that makes it sticky coming out of the magazine thru the port in the receiver. Cure for that is simple, make sure your hulls aren't past serviceability. The gun of course felt and was rough at first but is as smooth as any 870 now. The facts are while it is nowhere as good a looking a gun as a Wingmaster I've sure shot a lot of birds and skeet with it. One of the items on a Express that needs immediate att'n and replacement is the rock hard original recoil pad for a R3 or Limbsaver type to make it more enjoyable for your use. I don't think any of us older guys really appreciate the way time has decreases the quality of really nice guns and increased the price of them by our dollars being worth less value. The gunmakers cheapened guns up to compete and keep their market share. IMHO if you want the best value in an 870 find a 94-95 version with Rem chokes and the Light Contour barrel. for general all a round use. MB

Last edited by Magnum_Bob; 01/10/19.

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Originally Posted by Dillonbuck
The OP asked about the 870, but for waterfowel, I would recommend a Beretta semi.
Lighter than a newer 870, kick less also,
cheaper, and lighter reoiling than a Benelli.
Pappy's A5 would be the ultimate traditional
waterfowl auto. Assuming the old A5, not the new one.


1967, Belgian of course.


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I bought an express. Best deal for the money out there. It is a little rough but the more you shoot it the smoother it becomes. I put hogue stocks on mine and it has had thousands of rounds through it with out a single hiccup


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I have an Express from the late 90's and although it's not beautiful it works great. It's all steel. I don't know about the current production versions.

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Originally Posted by doctor_Encore
I don't know why you would consider paying such a high price for a new Rem 870 when they are so many older Rem 870's to choose from on the used market. The chrome lifter models ( pre-1970) do have a cult-like following among Rem 870 collector's which claim the chrome lifter guns were essentially hand-built Not sure if this hand-built claim is justified yet in the gun world some opinions eventually become fact.

To my knowledge, you can order you can order any 870 replacement parts from Remington today which will fit any Rem 870 regardless of the year it was made with the exception I believe the extractor has been changed to a beefier profile.

For bird shooting meaning a fast swinging shotgun, the "Light contour" barrels made for the Rem 870 ( and Rem 1100) will let you think you are shooting a fine English built shotgun. A light contour barrel would be an enjoyable addition to an 870 for upland hunting or on the clay bird field.

The Rem 870 one of the few Remington built guns which have never had a factory recall for some issue. Neither has the Remington 1100 but there was a class action suit on Rem 1100 barrels in the late 80's for the amount of steel or rather lack of steel used in Rem 1100 production barrels.

There is supposedly one or two Remington 870 Trap guns in the ATA trapshooting Hall of Fame that are reputed to have 1 million rounds shot in them from "Hall of Fame" trapshooters from the past. Enough said.






My Express was one of the first years, also, Rem chokes were new.

It WAS part of a class action suit.
I didn't take anything. I never had any trouble.


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Originally Posted by smithrjd
Not a gun writer, but no I would not buy one. Especially the Express model. I might consider a new Wingmaster 870, but would look very closely at it and would not buy sight unseen. They are not what they used to be. I would look for a decent used older model 870.



^^^ This ^^^


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Originally Posted by Dillonbuck
Originally Posted by doctor_Encore
I don't know why you would consider paying such a high price for a new Rem 870 when they are so many older Rem 870's to choose from on the used market. The chrome lifter models ( pre-1970) do have a cult-like following among Rem 870 collector's which claim the chrome lifter guns were essentially hand-built Not sure if this hand-built claim is justified yet in the gun world some opinions eventually become fact.

To my knowledge, you can order you can order any 870 replacement parts from Remington today which will fit any Rem 870 regardless of the year it was made with the exception I believe the extractor has been changed to a beefier profile.

For bird shooting meaning a fast swinging shotgun, the "Light contour" barrels made for the Rem 870 ( and Rem 1100) will let you think you are shooting a fine English built shotgun. A light contour barrel would be an enjoyable addition to an 870 for upland hunting or on the clay bird field.

The Rem 870 one of the few Remington built guns which have never had a factory recall for some issue. Neither has the Remington 1100 but there was a class action suit on Rem 1100 barrels in the late 80's for the amount of steel or rather lack of steel used in Rem 1100 production barrels.

There is supposedly one or two Remington 870 Trap guns in the ATA trapshooting Hall of Fame that are reputed to have 1 million rounds shot in them from "Hall of Fame" trapshooters from the past. Enough said.






My Express was one of the first years, also, Rem chokes were new.

It WAS part of a class action suit.
I didn't take anything. I never had any trouble.
Yep, Remington had to replace a BUNCH of barrels. Seems they were making them out of cheap Mexican steel and had a habit of bursting.

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I don't know about current production, but I wouldn't trade any of my three Wingmasters for any other pump shotgun made. I have three 16 gauge corn cob models with the newest one born in 1953. Two have 26" improved cylinder barrels while the other has a 26" modified barrel. All three work flawlessly today as they did the day each came off the production line. I have no idea how many shells have been shot through them over the years. My son has my Father's deluxe 16 gauge he bought new in 1953 as well as another with an improved cylinder barrel.

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I do really like the 870, have owned several and one still in the house. Several folks I know have the newer ones, not the same as the older ones. Express models I know of are trouble and rough as a cob. I also have Ithaca model 37's in 20 gauge, a featherlite and an English Ultra. They would be the last ones to leave. Have two Browning BPS in 12 gauge, needed ones for steel shot with removeable chokes. No issues with these and seem very well made, kind of like the old Wingmaster used to be.

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I'd certainly shy away from a new Express, rough chambers. Haven't heard of this problem with the Wingmaster. New ones are pricey though. Better off with a clean old used one.


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Originally Posted by orion03
I'd certainly shy away from a new Express, rough chambers. Haven't heard of this problem with the Wingmaster. New ones are pricey though. Better off with a clean old used one.


The two Youth Express models in front of me are both bright and shiny smooth in the chambers...


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New one, used one, whatever........there is a reason they are America's best selling best selling pump shotgun. I grew up shooting a Winchester Model 12 20 gauge, and thought it was the cats meow, which it was at one time. I've since owned and shot 870's, Mossberg's, Winchester's, Ithaca's, and BPS's. The 870 was the best of the bunch. I currently have a Winchester 1300 that I really like, with one exception......it has a horrible trigger pull. It's a turkey gun, and I've had it for years. I also have a youth model 870 in 20 gauge that I also turkey hunt with. While it's not as "slick" as some older 870's I've had, it's a typical 870.......it works. The safety is in the right place too.....in the trigger guard.

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Okay. I see there are lots of 870 Express haters. What are the specific issues that everyone seems to have with the Express models?

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Supposedly not as smooth, not as good of parts. I am sure that they are same parts with a different finish. I have had em both although in older models and can't tell a nickles difference.

Express has a cheap wood stock and the rough matte finish, kind of a BDL to Sportsman difference but you don't see anybody complain that the Sportsman 78 was a POS.

THE Express and older Special Purpose models were the same it was just that the Special Purpose had a nicer matte finish Walnut stock, I even saw a few Expresses in the late 90s with Walnut stock/forearms.


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Pump gun work can be smooth and slick, it is directly related and proportional to the skill and ability of the operator. In 1949 Rudy Etchen bought one of the 1 st 870's ever off the line and shot it till his passing in 2001. The gun had over 1 million rds thru it. Rudy owns the 1 st ever 100 straight in doubles with a pump at the Grand American. Bad mouthing 870's to me rates ones credibility not to high. Over the years of using them I've seen more operator caused problems than real ones. MB


" Cheapest velocity in the world comes from a long barrel and I sure do like them. MB "
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Originally Posted by BC3
Okay. I see there are lots of 870 Express haters. What are the specific issues that everyone seems to have with the Express models?

What they read on the internet....


Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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