Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Need price check on 870

A friend of mine passed away and his wife is wanting to sell this shotgun. What is your estimate on value?
‘91 870 exp - 12ga Rem pump sgun exp

This is in the original box. I am not sure if it was even put together to shoot.

Opinions please.

I'm assuming it has the 28" barrel and wood stocks?

If it was stored in the original box, check it over real well for rust. These shotguns were known for that. If it's pristine, it should be worth around $400.00. If it is rusted up, your guess is as good as mine. Those older Express models were good shotguns, but the finish was not very good. When I duck hunted mine, I could almost see rust forming, when out in the blind...

I think it’s a 28 in barrel. How do you tell from the box label?

Barrel length won't alter the price on this. $400 give or take is about where this is gonna be. No collector value, no vintage value. I had one of these, same experience as BSA.

It’s a good shotgun for form and function. I have one with untold thousands of rounds through it with nary a failure. The Express model with the matte finish is a rust catcher for sure. Either keep a lot of oil on it or paint it. I got tired of de-rusting mine and painted it camo. That said, I was hunting in the never ceasing rain and salt water of coastal Washington where everything rusts or corrodes. I would think $400 is a fair price, not cheating the lady at all.

I took a very nice 870 12 ga. with vent rib barrel to a large gun show. I bought it new about fifty years ago. It sat on my table pretty much unlooked at for an entire weekend. I think I was asking $400, apparently too much. 870s are good shotguns, but there are very few who have an interest in them. Lots of them around.

Yours was a Wingmaster without screw in chokes. If in fact it's 50 years old. Most hunters these day want one with screw in chokes. I've seen some used Wingmasters in the $275.00 range. It sounds to me like the OP's may be new in the box. Even though it is the lesser Express model, they are still pretty popular. Even more so than some older wingmasters because it is chambered for 3" shells, which yours may only be chambered for 2 3/4". There are multiple reasons why some guys may not have wanted to buy your shotgun. Also, expecting high dollars from a gunshow sale just isn't going to happen. At least most guys are looking for a real good deal when they go to a gunshow. Myself included..

Have to agree with the others. I’ve been looking for an older Express in 20 ga to make into a turkey gun. Can’t find a decent one but the 12 seem to be running in the $375-$450 range

Older Wingmasters are really nice but they tend to sit and often go for short money. Here anyway.

When I want to know what a firearm is worth, I look at what they are selling for on Gunbroker and Guns America. The services that sell to "the country, or even the world.
Ratty preowned 870's are selling for $400, even early models. Decent 870's sell for more, pristine 870's a lot more.

You take a 20% commission hit selling through a FFL to a FFL, but the problem of selling to the wrong buyer, is not your issue. You don't need to wrestle with the USPS, etc., but you can skip the local FFL and ship to an FFL.
These days, when you sell a firearm to a friend, a friends friend, or some "Joe Smith" at the door, you are responsible in most states for anything that happens when it's in their possession. Don't do that.

You may want to check gunbroker yourself. You'll see that the real "ratty" express models sell from $175-$275, while a like new one may sell for $350+$55/shipping. A LNIB one, is safe to say, worth what I said in my first post. I saw one sell for $173.97 with $45/shipping= $218.97 plus tax. It sold for that price, based on its condition.

As with everything you sell, condition and rarity is everything. Even when talking 90's Remington 870 express shotguns. I also saw one sell for $455+$39.99/shipping. The majority of them are from $280-$430.00. Then add in shipping costs. Hence the reason I said the OP's may be worth $400.00 if it is new in the box. Also see where I told him to check it over real well for rust. If it has rust on it, reduce value accordingly..

Yep, exactly!

I've had a 12-gauge 3" magnum 870 Wingmatser since 1979--which I ordered, believe it or not, from the local J.C. Penney store in Missoula, Montana in 1979. At that time screw-in chokes weren't available, so I ordered two barrels, a 26" improved-cylinder and a 30" full, both ribbed. Used it a LOT, including on a trip to Argentina in 1996, for both upland birds and waterfowl.

But eventually bought a 28" barrel with screw-in chokes--and a rifled barrel for big game. It has since taken deer, a cow moose, and my biggest black bear, on Vancouver Island. It's the most versatile hunting gun I've ever owned, and ain't leaving.

Dunno why anyone would want to sell one at the prices the originals go for today....

IMO the best hunting shotgun made.
I have 5 in my possession. 4 12ga and 1 20ga.
Had an old sportsman model that the ejector broke off. Had a backyard gunsmith fix it. He did a terrible job on it. I wound up trading it to him for a Super Blackhawk 10.5” that I later had turned into a Bisley. It’s a good shooter.
I remember a time hunting ducks on Lake Erie during a storm. Sand blowing everywhere, so much that that 870 would barely pump. My buddy’s Remington 58 was unusable. My other buddy had an old10ga SxS. He always had to have the biggest. Later on down the road that old SxS started firing both barrels occasionally with one trigger pull. Big time shoulder surprise.