870 Express review (by an Express hater)

[357wheelgunner]

I had an 870 Express HD a few years ago. It had the crappy finish, 18" bead barrel, extended 6 round tube, and was fitted so poorly the parts rattled around inside. Everything about it was sloppy, and it cost me $300. It also rusted less than two weeks after I got it, sitting fully covered in Remoil in an air conditioned bedroom closet.

It left me considering the Express line as Factory 2nds. I got a Police Magnum and a Wingmaster and I love them.

My wife couldn't care less about a shotgun finish, so we got her a new Express gun. I have to say, something certainly changed over at Remington since I bought my last gun from them. We handled a half dozen Express guns at various stores, and they all had tight, smooth actions, and seem to be very well build shotguns. I have to take back everything I said about the Express line being Factory 2nds. I still prefer Wingmasters and Police Magnums, but I won't hesitate to introduce a few Express guns into my safe in the future.

I should add that the shotgun ended up being $230 in the end at Dicks, after a mailin rebate to Remington and $30 in Dick's giftcards for starting up a Dickcard (not sure what they call it, but it was free and it got me $30). Great deal, IMO.

It came with a 26" barrel and decent wood stocks. I've already replaced the forend with a wooden Police forend, and the stock with a slightly shorter stock, with a very functional recoild pad and a 4 round shell carrier attached. I'll post pics when I find an 18" barrel and finish the gun...Hopefully the wife likes it. So far I've kept it light, and only added what she wanted to it. Now all that's left is for her to BA/UU/R...

 

[rosemont]

I just bought one a few months ago. I think it is a good shotgun, and quite a bargain, but I have never seen the older ones so I am a bit biassed. I will say though, I bought the model with the synthetic stock and fore-end, and had to dremel some of the fore-end edge so it would stop rubbing the barrel at the receiver.

Overall very happy as well.

 

[zombienerd]

The wife and I purchased one recently... Got it home, took it out of the box, and found it had a broken ejector! Brought it back, and it's on it's way back to Remington to get fixed.

I can't be upset, lemons happen, but at least they have great customer service when things DO go wrong

 

[sbarkowski]

Same here rosemont, didnt notice it untill it had worn down the finish to bare steel on both sides. Thought it was just a little stiff and needed to be worked in. And it did, right into the barrel.

 

[Daniel1120]

The express models are definitely an entry level 870... BUT thats not to say you can't find a great one.

I hope she likes it, a woman that can handle a shotgun well is a beautiful thing.

 

[nekwah]

I love my 870 but i must say im dissapointed that the powder coating rusts quite easily. But this is the only complaint i have.

 

[inSight-NEO]

I will never understand how anybody can expect great things out of a sub-$300 shotgun (new). I firmly believe, as with most anything else, that you get what you pay for. Sure, there are some exceptions to the rule, but not many.

I bought this for around $450. Love it or hate it, its still a damn good value.

 

[ugaarguy]

I will never understand how anybody can expect great things out of a sub-$300 shotgun (new). I firmly believe, as with most anything else, that you get what you pay for. Sure, there are some exceptions to the rule, but not many.

You haven't been around the 870 Express much have you? A little Eezox on the matte bluing will prevent rust. The examples above, of the broken extractor, and ill fitted fore end, are the exception to the rule with the 870 Express. They aren't Wingmasters, but they're darn good field guns.

 

[inSight-NEO]

You haven't been around the 870 Express much have you?

No..I cant say that I have. I can say that I never will. I just dont like them. Its not that I have anything against Remingtons. Actually, I am currently saving my pennies for an 870P. But, for my money, anything less than $500 will go towards a Benelli. I have certainly compared the Benellis, Mossbergs and Remingtons at this price range. I do realize that ANY firearm, regardless of cost, can provide the user with any number of problems.

 

[ugaarguy]

NEO, the Super Nova hits a price gap between Remington's Express and Police lines. At the roughly $450 price point the Super Nova certainly competes very well against the similarly equipped and priced Remington 870 SPS variants.

I haven't seen any problems with Super Novas at the shop where I work (I'm co-located with the in house service department), but we don't sell a ton of them either (nor do we sell any significant quantity of 870Ps). We very rarely encounter problems with the 870 Express, which do sell in good quantity. On standard Novas we get at least one a year that's broken at the stock/receiver junction, which isn't really a junction since they're a single molding. Nothing can be done on those except sending them back to Benelli for replacement.

 

[inSight-NEO]

Ugaarguy..I will concede your point(s). Keep in mind that I dont mean to suggest that the Benelli line of shottys are the "end all be all" of shotguns. However, given my particular needs (home defense/features/price), I felt that the SuperNova tactical was my best option. I just simply wasnt interested in acquiring a "will do" shotgun, such as the Express model. But, trust me, I fully understand that Benelli shottys come with their fair share of problems. My SuperNova is not exactly perfect. Heck, even my Sig Sauer P220 is prone to issues now and then. But, I love them both.....

Either way, I respect your input.

 

[ugaarguy]

NEO, please also understand that I have nothing against Super Novas (standard Novas, well, I think that's been covered). The Super Nova really does offer quite a feature set, on a high quality shotgun, at a very competitive price. Fit and finish are definitely better than on an 870 Exp. There is no real 870 competitor at that price point. The 870 SPS T comes close, but they're only offered in camo, and are really set up as turkey hunting guns.

Remington really needs a strictly home defense setup, economy version, of the 870 Police model. Skip the secure LE build area, hand picked parts, internal polishing, and vibra-honed receivers. Skip the walnut or Speed Feed synthetic stocks, and skip the expensive finish options. Do keep the beefed up extractor, magazine spring, and shell carrier lift spring since it's being set up as a purely defensive model. Instead of the porous matte bluing of the Exp line they should use a durable, yet inexpensive, spray on coating. The Exp line's current laminate furniture is fine; just shape the fore end like the one on the police models to ease administrative load and unload procedures.

Until then, the Super Nova is really the only choice for folks who don't want to pay the premium for an 870P or WM, but want a nicer shotgun than the Express. I don't fault you for buying a Super Nova at all.

 

[BADUNAME37]

I once had an 870, and I remember the stock was finished very poorly (rough to the touch), and I believe it had a solid rib on the top of the barrel which looked like crap.

Why I bought it, I'll never know. Now, in comparison, my Mossberg 500 was about the same price, or even less, and is built better than that 870 was.

This is not to say there are not nice 870's out there, I guess I got the "Econo-line."

 

[sbarkowski]

inSight-NEO, $450 for the Benelli Tactical? Is that an average price for those things in your area or did you just score a good deal? Im assuming your located somewhere in the U.S.A. and your pricing is amost always cheaper than here in the great white north (Ont. Can.) I already have the regular supernova but was wanting to pick up the tactical version as well because I cant get the pistol grip stock and the barrels are impossible to find not to mention expensive. Here the tactical version starts at about $750

 

[Pumpgunner870]

As per my forum handle, I enjoy running 870's.

My primary skeet/sporting clays gun is an Express I got back in 2003 for $190 NIB while working at Sports Authority.

I started shooting skeet with it and i'd have to say that it probably has somewhere in the neighborhood of 25,000 shells through it in the 5 years i've had it. My only addtions is a cheekpad and Limbsaver slip-on recoil pad. The wood is a bit worn, but the action is slick and haven't had a problem with any parts breaking.

Took the skeet club top gun trophy my first year with it. I do like going out and playing with the guys that have a much more expensive shotguns, looking down there nose at me as if i'm not worthy to squad with them, and then running the course straight, international style.

I also have an 18" HD synthetic stocked version for home defense and three gun matches. Never had a hickup.

Only problem i've had with them, and this is a problem with all of them, is rusting. If left in the safe without wiping it down after a weekend it will get a fine coating of orange rust dust. I have started to wipe mine down with Eezox and it has greatly improved the rusting problem.

 

[inSight-NEO]

inSight-NEO, $450 for the Benelli Tactical? Is that an average price for those things in your area or did you just score a good deal? Im assuming your located somewhere in the U.S.A. and your pricing is amost always cheaper than here in the great white north (Ont. Can.) I already have the regular supernova but was wanting to pick up the tactical version as well because I cant get the pistol grip stock and the barrels are impossible to find not to mention expensive. Here the tactical version starts at about $750

Yes..I live in the states. I purchased mine at a local gun shop which, for the most part, seems to have fair prices in terms of firearms. For around the $900 starting range, I could probably snag an "M" series shotgun. But, Im not ready to shell out that kind of cash just yet.

 

[sbarkowski]

yeah thats what I mean. We pay out the @$$ in Ontario for guns but ammo isnt toooo bad. Hornady .17 hmr 50rds go from $15.99 to $18.99, Remington core-lok .30-06 about $25.00 a box, cheap winchester about $18.00. An M series would probablly cost me about $1400 or more. A good price for the SBE II is $1685.00. My 700 specail run was $1050. The Savage .17hmr was $600, the supernova was $569, the list goes on. Then taxes!! I often think of how many more guns I could own considering how much I've already spent for what I have if I lived in the States. And pistols and AR's? forget it! Restricted licences required (seperate course than non restricted and cost about $150) Pistols and anything built on the AR platform or anything full auto must be trigger locked in a locking case at all times unless in use. And you can only use them at a licenced shooting range plus you have to aquire a permit and inform the Police everytime you wish to transport the ristriced firearm from your house to the range. Its just not worth all the BS to me. Im making myself depressed talking about it. Maybe its time to relocate? lol I'll wait and see how the Obama thing goes first. Good luck to you guys in regards to that btw.

 

[Al Thompson]

Only problem i've had with them, and this is a problem with all of them, is rusting. If left in the safe without wiping it down after a weekend it will get a fine coating of orange rust dust.

Me too. I gave up and started painting the darn things.

Krylon is your friend.

 

[buttrap]

Dito here on the paint idea.

 

[monkyboy1975]

never really had too much of a rust problem with mine, I just take it out every few months and give it a good wipe down; and that thing has seen some serious rain, I remember one deer season it seemed to have rained for a week straight.

 

[inSight-NEO]

You don't own one and you don't like them yet you just advised people that they shouldn't expect great things from them??? That just doesn't make sense to me friend. I think a lot of criticism of the Express comes from people like you to be honest. You have zero experience with them and you base your conclusions on an assumption that you get what you pay for.

First off, I realize that what I said earlier may have seemed a bit too harsh. I, however, have had experience with these Express guns in that I have shot several of them (owned by friends of mine) when I was considering my first shotgun purchase. I also shot a Mossberg 590 at a local range, along with a SuperNova. A decent amount of research and "hands on" testing went into my final decision....Alas, I decided on the SuperNova. Are there better guns, sure. But, for my needs the SuperNova tactical had the features I was wanting within a price range I could afford. I dont need to own a particular type of shotgun to know whether or not its right for me. So when I say I dont particularly care for the 870 Express, I stand by it. Im sure the same thing goes for all of those here who hate Benelli shotguns. But, Im willing to bet that only a handful of those guys have any real experience with them as well. It all the same thing....preference and opinion.

BTW- I own several Sigs and have yet to have any issues with them. I also have a Springfield Armory XD-45, so I dont necessarily promote "expensive is always better". However, the Sigs do shoot better than the XD and have proven more reliable. Is it due to price? Probably not. Sigs are just overall better guns. Do the Sigs have less durable coating vs the XD...yes. But, there is more to a gun than how well the coating sticks. I will take tarnished and reliable over pretty but less reliable any day of the week. Unless its a showpiece, who cares?

 

[Dave McCracken]

NEO, for the record.....

I do not hate Benellis. They seem to be very good shotguns.

I do loathe Benelli prices. For what you get, they're as overpriced as heck.

MSRP on a Cordoba is about $1700 US. The one I handled was a fine shooter, but not $1700 worth.

Were the company to produce a similar auto comparable to say, the 391 at that price range, I'd be less inclined to dismiss them.

 

[inSight-NEO]

NEO, for the record.....

I do not hate Benellis. They seem to be very good shotguns.

I do loathe Benelli prices. For what you get, they're as overpriced as heck.

MSRP on a Cordoba is about $1700 US. The one I handled was a fine shooter, but not $1700 worth.

Were the company to produce a similar auto comparable to say, the 391 at that price range, I'd be less inclined to dismiss them.

True. The Benelli SA's are ridiculously expensive. Plus, much to my regret, replacement parts (barrels in particular) cost way too much and are hard to find. Other than that I feel that my particular gun was a good deal. I paid around $450, minus tax, for my SN tactical w/ ghost ring sights and a pistol grip stock. Not too bad for the money. But, as you noted earlier, from there the prices go way, way up!! This is why I will be acquiring another shotgun for more steady use. Im just not sure which one yet. Im kind of interested in the Remington 870P (not wanting to grab an Express and "modify" it to Police standard) as it seems to hit a fairly reasonable price/quality point. Ive considered the Wingmaster, but this shotty doesnt seem to be very popular with the "add-on" (tactical) market...from what Ive gleaned so far. And the military grade Mossbergs seem a bit too expensive. Either way, thanks for the input sir.