Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns ? Remington 870 Mag VS 870 Super Mag

Looking for a Remington 870 with a 24" or 26" barrel, found one that is a Super mag, does anyone know of a negative to me buying an 870 super mag when all I really wanted was a Mag-3"???
The receiver is the same size (weight)either way-Correct?
Has anyone had cycling problems (or?) with a super mag when using 2 3/4" loads??

A guy at the trap club uses a super mag and he loves it. He doesn't have any problems with the 2 3/4 in. shells. His has the 26 inch barrel too. To each his own I guess.

I bought an 870 Super Mag when they first came out. Handled everything but the 3.5 inch shells. It would fire them but would lock up tighter than a squirrels ear to eject the shell. The inside of the chamber looked like it had tooling marks from the factory and I think the excessive chamber pressure with the 3.5 magnum shells would bind it up. I sold it to a guy I knew who polished the inside with a drill and solved the problem. I took it teal duck hunting when I first bought it and it was raining out. When we left I put it in the case and headed home. I kid you not, by the time I had gotten home it was already rusting. I don't know if they all did that but I could not believe it at the time. The matte finish on it was horrible.

Thanks all
So one vote for reliable and one for with a liitle polishing OK
Stroker
That's one rub I've seen, the majority of used express models I've seen have rust.

I love 870's but prefer the Wingmasters. The matte finish on the Express model galls me because I expect more. I like to wipe my guns cloth baby diapers. Try that on an Express Model and lint sticks to it like crazy. Also the plastic trigger groups disappoints me, because I expect more. I don't understand spending the money for an Express when there are used Wingmasters on the market like this one.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=191866724

I own only one Express Model. Its a Police Parkerized Model with a metal trigger group.

I'd have to agree. I've got 2 870's right now and they're both left handers. One is an older wingmaster which I cherish and the other is the express which sees all the dirty work (hunting). I use the wingmaster to shoot trap on occasion and its hard to find such a great handling clay smoker. I've had some nice BT'S, citori's etc., but find myself going back to the wingmaster.

I've got a newer Wingmaster 20 gauge, purchased new in 2007. Its quality is very good....wood is actually better than older Wingmasters I believe. After three years and about 700 shells it is starting so get nice and slick, like the old ones. But the price on a new Wingmaster is high...three years ago I paid $600 and they're only going up. But they sure beat an express...

I have had 3 or 4 of the SuperMags ( I have one now that is my main turkey gun) and have never had any trouble with them (and I shoot 3" shells 99.9% of the time).
I can not say the same for the 11-87 SuperMag.

I have a Super Mag, one of the first made, and it has had some issues. I took it apart once to clean it and when I put it back together - it would not cycle the rounds into the chamber.

I took the gun to a gunsmith and he did some adjustments to the action and now it works much better. The coating that they put on the action and the barrel in my opinion makes the action gritty and it was not smooth like the 870 Wingmaster.

About the only problem you might have with the Supermag would be that you have to make sure to pump it completely in both directions to cycle a round into the chamber. A extra 3/4 of a inch might not seem like much, but in time, it is a world of difference when you have shot thousands of rounds out of a 2 3/4 inch chamber and then move up to a larger round.

I like the versatility of the 3 1/2 inch magnum over the 3 inch, but the 3 inch shells seem to pattern better in my shotgun.

I was the person that suggested to the Remington Representative at the Grice Anniversary sale to call the gun a Super magnum.
At that time, the only gun offered in 3 1/2 inch was the Mossberg. Now it is practically offered by every manufacturer.

You are basically shooting a 10 gauge load through a 12 gauge barrel. When this trend will end, I don't know. But with the price of 10 shells hovering around $18 a box, I don't look for it to continue much longer.

When Grice first took deposits for the SuperMag, I gave them the money for two. When I bought my shotgun, I also reserved the next in line for my brother. Since Straw Buys are illegal in Pennsylvania.
My brother probably only fires 8 shot a year out of his and I hunt with mine - 60 days a year.
My brother probably only cleans his shotgun once a year and is lucky if it gets wiped down with a oily rag 5 times - all of hunting season.
Mine was oiled every day.
My brother had absolutely no problems with his, while mine was in the shop for a couple of months getting issues worked out.
I already have the black matte finish rubbed down to the blue, which his is still as course as a corn cob.
On the side of the action where the pins goes through that holds the trigger group, there is a couple of bronze areas where either they welded something or they held it while they machined it or blued it and if you let it go long enough it will rust.

To solve this problem, what you want to buy is LPS Lubricant # 2 http://www.labsafety.com/LPS-Lubricants-and-Rust-Inhibitor_24541922/

We used this stuff in the machine shop where I worked to protect dies and some robotic arms that we made for Motorola that was for robotic arms that built satellites that traveled on the Space Shuttle.

You can buy this stuff in a non aerosol bottle and one bottle should last a lifetime. This is the best gun lube you can buy.

My SuperMag is my main Turkey/Duck gun. It's seen it's share of 3" and 3.5" shells without a single issue. It's even been used to shoot sporting clays with light 2.75" loads. Mine is camo and has held up just fine.

I bought one when they first came out and never had an issue. Cycled and fired everything just fine. Didn't own it long enough to comment on the finish quality, traded it off for something I thought I needed more.