[351 WINCHESTER]

I was out today looking for a 870 and I was told that that the new ones have plastic trigger groups and safeties. The dealer told me the safeties break and are easily replaced with steel. Is this true?

[MAX100]

Someone must be confused. The Mossberg 500 and some 590 shotguns have plastic guards and safeties.

The Express have had plastic trigger guards for a while. The new 870P now have plastic trigger guards but I don't believe any of the 870 shotguns have plastic safeties.

The 870 safeties are very easy to replace. Any average Joe can do it. Vang makes a excellent oversize safety for the 870.


GC

[Fred Fuller]

Don't forget, there are plenty of fine used 870s on gunstore racks looking for a home. No need to necessarily buy new, if you know the design well enough to pick out a good used one. And with 870s that's fairly easy to do- if it hasn't been Bubba'ed, or shot till excessive wear is obvious, it is likely good to go for another generation or three. Look beyond surface condition and pay attention to the mechanical soundness of the piece, and you can easily save a good bit of $ over the price of new ones- and get a gun that someone has already broken in for you as well.

I've been shooting 870s for going on 40 years, and have yet to buy a new one. 870s wear IN, not out.

lpl/nc

[ArmedBear]

My plastic safety button hasn't broken yet, and I have thousands of rounds through the gun.

That said, AFAIK the steel one is a drop-in replacement. Of course, it rusts a lot more easily than the plastic one if you sweat on it.

I'd spend the money on a trigger shoe, not a new safety button, and that's true of any Remington in the series (870, 1100, 11-87, 76X, 74X, 750, etc.). The trigger is an awful piece of sharp steel. It's about the only flaw in the 870, though, and easily remedied.

[MAKster]

The Express models have had the plastic trigger group for many, many years. Even the 870 Police now uses plastic. The only model still using aluminum trigger guard is the Mossberg 590A1. This is really a non-issue. Many report that the plastic is actually more durable than the aluminum ones because it can flex.