Trying to find a used 870 for the cabin...

You're comparing an older 870 Wingmaster with a Walmart 870 Express. The 870 Express is a cheapened version of the Wingmaster. Although the Express is certainly serviceable, it lacks the fit and finish of a Wingmaster.

Get the used one if it's a Wingmaster or and older Express.

i grabbed my 870 supermag at a gunshow for 75 bucks.

the barrel had barely any paint on it and the ejector was broken...... but it came with the parts to fix it. so i fixed the ejector, and then spray painted it with krylon textured. i think my total investment was about 80 bucks.

I hear you, Michaelmcgo, and I've been looking for one myself. Generally speaking, when a used firearm approaches 75 percent or so the cost of a factory-new one, I balk. And that is what I'm finding with the 870's.

BTW, I fired a friend's Mossberg Maverick 88 a few weeks ago, consuming several boxes of shells in the process. That is one quick-handling, reliable, and thoroughly enjoyable gun to shoot! In my opinion, it compares very favorably to the 870. Again, used ones are about the same prices as new, about 200 bucks.

I gave $200 for a slightly used 870 Turkey gun with a 21" barrel at a pawn shop. All it needed was a magazine extention and a Hi-Viz front sight to take second place in a tactical shotgun match. I would have taken first place if I hadn't fumbled a reload.

870's are very hard to find used for a reasonable price in my neck of the woods. I've been looking for a beater for several years and haven't come up with any. Also yes it's been my experience that the 870 express has gone down in quality the last few years. I have an old 20 ga express never had a problem. A friend of mine has a brand new one that the first time out lost the detent for the nut that holds the barrel down. Not sure how that even happened but it's my suspicion that it was left out at the factory. I personally think that you would be better off with an older express.

I have 3 870's all used all 12g
2 are older wingmasters that were very badly abused. One of the wingmasters was a trade, the other was from a pawn shop I paid 100$ for it; some gunsmitting and lots of cleaning they are awesome again. The other is a newer express mag in 3.5 inch; I paid 250 for it at a gun show It is my turkey gun.

Pawn shops. I picked up a used 870 express bird gun for $179.

Where ARE y'all? Old 870 Wingmaster & Express models are for sale at nearly every yard sale 'round here. Get out of suburbia & into the COUNTRY. Next rusty, old, beat-up pickup truck you see parked with a graybeard at the wheel...ask 'em where to find a good used 870. They're liable to sell you one from behind the seat. Good Luck!

I used to find good Wingmasters for $300 or so and Express guns for $150 or less. Not any more. Seem folks who have them have decided to keep them.

I bought an old 870 made in 1960 about 40 years ago

for $90 and it is a Wingmaster with an 18" barrel. I keep it in the barn tack room loaded and actually have used it to kill more nuisance animals around the farm than any gun I have. It is one of the best guns ever made and will last several lifetimes. Buy one , you will not regret it. Snoop

I'm with you michaelmcgo, I never see any of these great deals that people are always getting. Prices on used (and new for that matter) guns here in Maryland are way more expensive than anything I see in this forum. Pawn shops and the local gun stores. I guess it's like most goods I've noticed, prices are better down south or in the midwest. I got a 1984 Wingmaster for $325 from a guy in the classifieds and I couldn't be happier with it. I bought a used mint condition Wingmaster super magnum from a gun shop in Virginia for $425. Did I get ripped off, maybe, but they're great guns and I've had too much fun shooting 'em to worry about it.

I really do think that a lot of it has to do with location. The farther south you go, the more guns people tend to have. Thus, the more turnover at the pawn shops and such.

I would look out for a used older version of any of the bigger brands. Remington, Mossie, Ithaca...they're all great. My first shotgun about 4 years ago was an Express. It was OK, and if I still had it, it would make a fine gun gun for the application if for no other reason than it was inexpensive and the synthetic furniture would hold up to the elements.

If I were leaving a dedicated gun at a cabin, it'd be my old 18" 870 Police. Built like a tank, points well, hangs over the fireplace just fine, and I think I traded a nice fixed blade and $60 cash for it. Kinda beat up, but it's cosmetic. You can tell it spent most of its life clattering around on a cruiser rack and not being burnt out on the range.

My absolute all time favorite take-it-to-my-grave shotgun is an old Ithaca DSPS. Smooth as silk and as elegant of a weapon you'll find (well for a weapon that'll blow a grapefruit sized hole through ya, that is). 7+1 capacity, good old wood furniture, and its previous owner sent at least 3 deer to the great beyond with it, so I know it'll do the job in that roll...oh and it's old enough to have a little slam fire fun it should you be into such tomfoolery
It too would make a fantastic cabin gun, and is actually my gun of choice for any outdoor outing down at my stepdad's cabin. I just couldn't bear to be apart from it for so long. It really is THAT good to me