So how is Remington these days?

Remington is a mess of a company, complete and utter mess. I would still buy the 870 over the Mossbern. IMHO it is worth the slightly higher price. If you can afford it get a 870 Wingmaster or 870 Police, depending on application. The internals parts are better, no plastic and less MIM parts.

I wouldn't spent my money on any new Remington guns. And that's hard to say as a new Yorker.

The only new Remington I have purchased in a LONG time was a TAC-14. It is built on a Express Model and Big Greens QC isn't what it used to be. I only purchased it new because they were being discounted and I never run into used ones. The outside finish is poor, looks like it was sand blasted, not bead blasted, sand blasted. The top of the receiver isn't nice and round, its a bit wonky. There are a couple of small tool marks in the barrel ahead of the chamber area. The action is still pretty smooth out of the box and the gun has been 100% reliable.

The barrel it fitted well, don't care for the new style mag tube retainer, mag tube has the dimples if you plan to add a +1 adapter. Overall it leaves you with a "meh" feeling, this is a working gun and not a 870 Wingmaster with really nice wood on it.

I have the Mossberg Shockwave as well, purchased new. The Mossberg has better overall better build quality than the Remington.

When it comes to 870s or 1100s I look for older Remingtons.

The only thing I have bought new from Remington lately is a receiver for my 1975 870. The old one cracked after 40 years of weekly use on the trap fields plus a few deer and duck hunts. I have four 870 shotguns, three Wingmasters and an express, my boys each have two w.m.s. I would not be afraid to buy a new Wingmaster if I needed one. My several 1100s are all vintage but I've sold quite a few new ones out of the shop and never had one come back for any reason. I've put up with problems with Marlins (Remlins) and am happy mine are old. I hope they survive the latest round of problems. Bushmasters, for the most part are done and mine was the most accurate "out of the box" centerfire I've had.
A grand old company with a rich history being systematically ruined by hedge fund managers with no concept of human machining talent.

Remington is doing okay outside of the internet rumor mill. Also, I am not talking pistols as I have zero recent experience with them. The 1100s, Wingmasters, Versamaxes, and V3s seem to be doing fine. The regular Expresses have a better finish than semi recent ones, except for the ultra short one, but they seem to all work well and the few rough chambers that got told about far and wide are a thing of the past. New 700s are fine, and the new Marlins are a BIG step up from the early ones.

I agree with Virginian and would have no reservations about buying a Remington shotgun. If I can ever make a decision on which shotgun I already to get rid of I’m going to get a V3. I’ve put my foot down with myself to not buy another shotgun until I get rid of one because I own far too many as it is.

Remington shotgun are still pretty good. The V3 is an excellent semi-auto shotgun for the price. My nephew's each have one and they are light easy swinging yet comfortable to shoot shotguns. All the rest of current production shotguns are good guns too when the QC doesn't slip.


BUT despite that said about Remington shotguns Remington the company is a complete and utter mess, far worst than even the internet rumors mills (excepts this one) would have you believe. Remington is a very very sad place to be right now. They have lost too many people that have taken too much tribal knowledge with them. They have killed more brands than they are trying to save. Remington is a shadow of what it was even just five years ago let alone what it was at it's prime. It went bankrupt in 2018 and has had 4 CEOs in the past five years and the latest one is there at the behest of the new owning banks not the board. He thinks he can save the company by going hardcore FUDD or maybe more accurately forced to save the company by going FUDD. Remington might recover, I hope it does, but if this CEO does it his way the resulting company will be an emaciated version of it's former self.

My boys and I really like my Protector. It turned my oldest into an 870 fan.

I bought a new 870 Wingmaster two years ago and haven’t had any problems. I can’t really even see any difference in fit and finish between it and my Dad’s 70s era Wingmaster.

I’ve heard more mixed reviews of the express models.

Jason_W said:

I bought a new 870 Wingmaster two years ago and haven’t had any problems. I can’t really even see any difference in fit and finish between it and my Dad’s 70s era Wingmaster.

I’ve heard more mixed reviews of the express models.

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The Express vs Wingmaster is like comparing a Toyota to a Lexus or a Nisson to an Infinity. Sure they start with the same "frame" but all the pieces-parts used vary a lot and makes one the economy version and the other the luxury version.

They have work to do...
I think they should focus on their traditional firearms and leave the modern pistols of their own design alone. I know their 1911 pattern guns are well liked but the rp9 is not a nice gun in my opinion and the r51 & rm380 leave a lot to be desired while offering nothing that other companies don't do better. I hope they do come back strong but it'll take time to recover from their recent mistakes.

Remington has had their share of issues. But I think the 870 is a solid design and is one Remington I'd still buy. I've tried some of the other manufacturers pump guns but keep coming back to the Remington. The only other one that I find appealing is the Browning BPS. But there isn't much aftermarket support for it if that is a priority.

And I don't have any issues with the Express. The Wingmasters look nicer, but I've never noted any difference in reliability and to me a pump is a rugged tool where I'm less concerned about aesthetics. And for the price they want for new Wingmasters I'd go on up to a nicer semi-auto.

jmr40 said:

And for the price they want for new Wingmasters I'd go on up to a nicer semi-auto.

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Me too.

The best 870 I had was an old 870 Police I bought used. I only traded it off because I got an Ithaca 37 that would fill the role.

As time went on and the old hand fit DSPS 37s were harder to come by, I opted to retire the 37 and replace it with a rough and tumble one-n-done SD shotgun.

I looked at 870s again, but I much preferred the 500s egos. I went ahead and dropped a few hundred more for the Reteograde 590a1. It's about as top shelf as Mossberg makes in a pump gun. Then again, it was 700 bucks, sumit oughta be

I dont anticipate needing to by another shotgun for the rest of my days.

mcb said:

The Express vs Wingmaster is like comparing a Toyota to a Lexus or a Nisson to an Infinity. Sure they start with the same "frame" but all the pieces-parts used vary a lot and makes one the economy version and the other the luxury version.

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That seems to be true now. However, my dad gave me an 870 express in 20ga for my 11th birthday back in 1991 and the thing has been a tank. It’s literally just a Wingmaster but not as nice looking.

At some point they seem to have changed the guts of the express.

I was going to buy a friend's 870 some time ago, gun made around 2011, the internal parts were very very sharp. I had lots of cuts on my hands just from field stripping the gun to check things out. It had been fired some but not a ton. It was a miserable gun but worked perfectly. I passed on it. I had (still have) a box of Remington umc 45 acp that had some bullets loaded backwards . it's just cheap weird stuff sometimes , I trust nothing from Remington currently. Except the remoil wipes. I like those

I have purchased 2 upper grade Remington's last year, and both of them have showed excellent quality and workmanship. One was a 200th Anniversary Edition Model 7600 pump in .30-06. The other was a Model 870 Police Marine Magnum. (Order # 25047). I have seen and handled several Model 700's, and they all seemed fine. A lot of this kind of crap comes from the Internet, and is not based on actual ownership or experience. The lower grade weapons do not and will not exhibit the workmanship the higher grade guns do. That is part of the problem. You can't compare an 870 Wingmaster to an Express. Or a ADL to a BDL or CDL. It's like comparing a Corolla to a loaded Avalon.

Years back Remington didn't produce bargain basement models. Only the good stuff. Today their customers demand it..... The same one's who then turn around and b!tch about the quality, because their $250.00 Express doesn't compare to their buddies $800.00 Wingmaster or Police.

You get all of the, "I wouldn't waste my money on one". Or else, "The company and their quality sucks", nonsense. I'm not saying Remington doesn't have a bad gun get out once and a while. Every company does. But not everything they make is crap. That's just nonsense. You only are going to get what you pay for. Remember, all these guys who cry and whine about the Cerberus Capital Management takeover, don't realize that Remington would not exist today, without the money they infused into that company. They have been in financial trouble for years. And unlike Colt, who has had other divisions to carry them all but indefinitely, Remington has stood alone. And between lawsuits, bad management, broken down, ancient equipment and facilities that have needed replacement for decades, they're lucky to be alive at all.

They still have a long and difficult row to hoe. I hope they survive. It would be a shame if they didn't. You just can't replace 200 year old gun companies like tires on a car. They still know how to make nice guns. If the public, and their management would just let them. And in the meantime, if you want a nice Remington, they're out there. You just have to be willing to pay for them.

Virginian said:

Remington is doing okay outside of the internet rumor mill. Also, I am not talking pistols as I have zero recent experience with them. The 1100s, Wingmasters, Versamaxes, and V3s seem to be doing fine. The regular Expresses have a better finish than semi recent ones, except for the ultra short one, but they seem to all work well and the few rough chambers that got told about far and wide are a thing of the past. New 700s are fine, and the new Marlins are a BIG step up from the early ones.

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I can vouch for the quality of new Marlins. I bought a new 1894 last April or May and it's a much better gun than the same model i bought in the 90's.

The Exile said:

Just got back from the gunshop, was determined to walk out with a glock and maybe a shotgun but the clerk encouraged me to walk away and think things over; however I might have at least walked away with a shotgun if I had seen something I liked. I wanted something in a more home defense barrel length and the four he showed me were the Benelli Nova, the Winchester SXP, the Remington 870, and a Mossberg 500 in 28" configuration because somehow they were out of HD length shotguns in that model. I mentioned that I was interested in doing some customization with it and he told me to steer towards either the Mossberg or the Remington. The 870 felt good in my hands but I've been hearing for a very long time now that there are serious issues with Remington so I didn't feel good about the purchase and walked away.

Should I even be considering the Remington? The crossbolt safety is already a bit of a turn off and it's a bit more expensive but considering they both felt good in my hands, would it be too bad to say "screw it, gimmie that Remington"?

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I'm planning on getting the Maverick 88 12 gauge as my HD shotgun some time soon. 7+1 capacity for around $200. People that have them seem to love them

BlueHeelerFl said:

I can vouch for the quality of new Marlins. I bought a new 1894 last April or May and it's a much better gun than the same model i bought in the 90's.

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LOL.

https://www.marlinowners.com/forum/marlin-rant-forum/

Trey Veston said:

LOL.

https://www.marlinowners.com/forum/marlin-rant-forum/

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So far mine has not had any of those issues, but to be fair I don't have a huge round count through it so far.

And all gun manufactures have issues to fair as well. I've seen a some posts in this sight as well with people vowing never to buy another new S&W ever again. There's a live post right now about lousy Smith customer service

The Exile said:

Is there a trick to IDing old Remingtons?

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Different rollmarks, deeper blue which is less glossy, more real wood and metal look (if you can figure that out), better looking walnut, I guess you just have to be old like the guns. They began in 1950, I in '44. Mine are mostly from the 70s. They look markedly different from some new ones the guys in the club have.
One buddy showed me his new TC and the wood was more plain than my standard Wingmaster.

BlueHeelerFl said:

And all gun manufactures have issues to fair as well. I've seen a some posts in this sight as well with people vowing never to buy another new S&W ever again. There's a live post right now about lousy Smith customer service

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I’ve never understood that mentality because no company is perfect and no company of any size has 100% good employees. It may not be true but it seems like many gun owners hold firearms manufacturers to a higher standard than any other type of company.

I’ve never heard an automobile owner say they’ll never buy a particular car brand again because they had to get warranty work done once or twice. But I’ve seen gun owners do it over and over. I don’t believe a company should be judged by their mistakes but should be judged by how they respond to their mistakes. My first online gun purchase was from a small dealer in Utah. When my FFL notified me the shotgun had arrived and I went to get it, it was the wrong gun. I’d ordered a 20 gauge but a 12 gauge had been sent. I called the dealer, he sent the correct shotgun out that afternoon priority and I received it the next day. So yes the dealer made a mistake but the way he handled the solution made me a more loyal customer than I would have been had there not been an issue.

I’m talking about one-off issues, not ones that are habitual and systemic.