[DAdams]

I would really like a 870 XCS. I like the form factor and the Nytrite coating.
I don't plan on doing "xtreme duty".
The literature indicates all the internals are coated.
Best price I have found is $659 plus shipping and transfer, so about $700. None local I can find.

If I were to duplicate this starting with a 870 Express and adding the necessry components, 18 inch barrel Speedfeed, sling, tube etc am I money ahead? How much.

Who has an 870 XCS and are you glad you got it?

I have a 870 Wingmaster 20 ga and the controls are burned into my memory.


Thanks.

[chas08]

I don't own one but I did look at one this past weekend at a gunshow.I didn't like the finish near as much as I thought I might. For HD I liked the 870 marine magnum a lot better and it was almost $200 less. And the Waterfowl version of the xcs was just plain Ugly.

[Fred Fuller]

Try buying a plain jane 870- a good used Wingmaster, a LEO trade-in (CDNN just had a few listed), or an older model Express gun. Carefull shopping will get you out the door for about $200 (I bought a nice crisp 1987 Express gun last week for $214 OTD). Doesn't really matter if it's a 2.75" or 3" gun.

Pick up a short factory smoothbore barrel for it- 18" CYL bead sight, 18.5" ImpCyl, 20" rifle sighted CYL or ImpCyl are pretty common. One should be available for less than $100 if you shop around, you can sell the original barrel if it doesn't suit you and recoup all or most of the cost of the short barrel. There was a $70-80 18" CYL bore bead sighted barrel in the barrel box here- when the Express got home it got field stripped, cleaned and the short barrel got reinstalled on it when it was reassembled. The 28" vent rib RemChoke original barrel went into the barrel box for later.

Make sure the stock fits you. Get it shortened if needed, and add a GOOD recoil pad. I put a grind-to-fit LimbSaver (size small, $26) on the Express gun I bought last week, after taking off the old solid Remington pad and 1.25" of birch stock. The new pad added 1" of length to the shortened stock for an overall LOP of 12.5".

Forget magazine extensions for the time being. Learn to 'feed the puppy' with only a standard capacity magazine, and that learning will stand you in good stead later. Put on a Sidesaddle if you want, or a butt cuff, or whatever to carry ammo (preferably on the gun IMHO, YMMV on that).

Make allowances for a white light- I use a pistol rail light on a simple Streamlight rail mount (Item #69906) that attaches under the magazine cap on the current project gun and on several others already in service.

IMHO sling swivel studs are a good idea, that way you can attach or detach a sling as needed. After shortening the stock and adding the new recoil pad I installed a screw-in stud 3" from the toe of the stock, and swapped out the standard magazine cap for one that had a sling swivel stud installed (thanks again, eBay).

Learn to shoot this gun in this configuration until you can run it like you were born with it attached, and a year or three later if you find anything missing that you really need, then add it. But learn to run the basic gun FIRST, before you bolt on a lot of other stuff. If you do that you'll never forget how, and later if you have to pick up a box stock gun and use it you won't be lost without all your goodies.

Stay Safe,

lpl/nc

[ArmedBear]

XCS is an abbreviation for the Latin equivalent of "a fool and his money".:D

For half that money you can get an Express HD gun with a mag extension. Put RemOil in/on it, wipe it down, shoot it. If you're afraid it'll break, buy two of them.

[DAdams]

Lee that is a great outline "how to". Not to mention all the creative fun doing the project(s) portion.

Armed Bear XCS = Fool and his money are soon parted. I was seeking
confirmation of such.

I spent 5 years with an 870 Wingmaster as a virtual body extension, hence from a control and operation standpoint I should probably stick with the model and brand.

http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/shotguns/model_870/model_870_xcs_marine_magnum.asp

"For even more rugged endurance, all internal metal parts are coated with electroless nickel, and the trigger group is plated to resist fouling and oxidation".

So the above statememt is hype? Or is it that it doesn't apply to my application not being a tunnel rat or swift boat operator? Or a saltwater liveaboard. :confused:

======================================================

A little changeup.


I did run into a FN Herstal 17674 "last sold for" $401 on Bud's. All the other 17000 sku were much more expensive so the 674 may just be a pipe dream.

Ah, here's some commentary. Guess at $270 back a couple years ago from CDNN these would have definitely been a "best buy".

http://www.gun-tests.com/issues/18_3/features/firearms_self-defense-shotguns5316-1.html

674 must have been a low end version.

Any comments on the FN quality? At $4-500 other than the project "fun factor" it seems that some of these already converted for hd/pd shotguns which didn't exist a few years ago are coming in price wise for the price of the project gun.

[Fred Fuller]

FN Police?

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=170316

Mine is still in reserve status here and definitely not going anywhere, but I still wish I'd bought an armload of them at that price. Great gun...

lpl/nc

[DAdams]

Hard to beat? What do you guys think?

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/64/products_id/41038

20 gauge, is that a deal breaker for a hd piece? I wouldn't think so.

REM 81100 870 EXP SYN 20 18 CYL 2RDEXT
Model: 81100 $319.00
Delivered
My LGS guy would charge $25 for the transfer so for under $350 this seems to meet the basic criteria.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/dmadams/Remington2087081100model.jpg

[ArmedBear]

I'm sure the internals are nickel plated. I'd maybe pay an extra hundred bucks for the XCS, tops, though, not a cent more. I mean, the internals are going to be oiled all the time anyway, right? It sure won't feel too good if it's dry and filled with grit. You can find some pretty beat up, rusted old pump guns on used racks, and the insides still look and work fine.

Remington's own inexpensive Rem Oil does a great job of stopping rust. You can damn near fill the receiver of an 870 with it, and not hurt anything (except if it soaks into a wood stock or something). When it dries, it leaves a film that's done a great job keeping rust at bay for me.

The Express finish can be rust-prone if you sweat on it. Just wipe it off when you're done shooting in the Summer, with Rem Oil Wipes or Bullfrog Rusthunter Wipes.

Never had a problem since I did that -- and that's what I'd do with ANY gun. That's the deal. I'd do that ANYWAY, no matter what gun it is. A little rust never hurt the thing anyway, if you're talking about an otherwise well-maintained buckshot gun, not a pretty O/U. I was able to wipe off a lot of surface rust from my 870 Express (sweated profusely on it and never cleaned it off) with Bullfrog oil and a rag. You can't tell it was ever rusty.

I've had other guns rust, also, from sweat left on them. I wouldn't trust any finish, even stainless. Saltwater or sweat will rust ANYTHING, as you know from living on the gulf coast. Stainless just takes longer.:)

So now I wipe off and protect my guns. Still, the only rust issues I've ever had with my 870 were on the outside, not the inside. And that's a problem that can be solved with a can of Rust-Oleum for a few bucks, if you really care.

There are guns to be tossed around and USED, and guns to be shot, polished, and treated like fine artwork. I figure this is a knockaround gun, and purchase decisions should be made accordingly.