870 Express - would I be buying a problem gun?

[RatDrall]

I had an 870 Express a few years ago that rusted, even though it was coated in Remoil and sitting in an air conditioned closet.

My wife got one two years ago and we haven't had a problem, it's coated with Breakfree CLP sitting in the safe.

Go ahead and buy the Express, they're good user guns, although the Police Magnums, or an older Wingmaster, are nicer guns...

 

[ArmedBear]

Bullfrog Rusthunter is good stuff for it, too. I just haven't found it lately.

 

[Tim the student]

I hunt with my Express in all kinds of weather. It is my beater gun, and the one that gets used in nasty weather.

I don't have any rust on it - but I oil it if its been out in rain, snow etc. I know it is more prone to rusting than my other guns, but I am aware of it, and take care of it as if it is more prone to rusting than my other guns. I wish I didn't have to, but it is what it is.

 

[ArmedBear]

Well, the way I figure it, no matter what gun I took out in nasty weather, I'd oil it. So I don't have to do anything with the Express that I wouldn't choose to do on another shotgun anyway.

IME sweat is the worst thing, or anything with salts in it. I've missed cleaning a spot on a less rust-prone gun, and I got rust, too, where I'd gotten a drop or two of sweat on it. So I oil any gun that might need it. I may not do a full-on cleaning if the gun's not dirty, but I will oil everything when I put a gun away.

The only problem I can see, really, with the Express, is if you do keep it in a truck, it's not going to be getting the consistent drying out and oil wiping that it does when you keep it indoors.

 

[Pony Express]

I bought an 870 express in september and 0 failures to date. If I had an extra couple hundred bucks I would have bought a wingmaster. But turns out my express works flawlessly, so no complaints here!

PS, I didn't like the plastic trigger guard that came with it so I bought a new "police" model that was metal from the Remington country store-probably over-priced, but now I have 2 trigger plate assemblies!

 

[mljdeckard]

If buying an 870 Express is a bad idea, I suppose that mine is waiting for the NEXT 10,000 rounds to prove it.

Seriously, I bought it to have a gun I can beat up and drag through the mud and sagebrush (Which I HAVE extensively,) and shoot whole cases of S&B 7-1/2 through it in a single day, and if it's ever malfunctioned, I don't remember. If it ever breaks, all of the parts are readily available.

Any gun can break. ALL machines eventually fail. But if I had to grab two guns to do the job in hunting, it will be a R700 and an 870. Last Saturday I was out looking for coyotes with a 700 VSSF 22-250 and an 870.

To believe that these guns are not reliable or unlikely to do the job is to stretch the imagination of millions of users who have proven this to be incorrect over the last several decades.

 

[herkyguy]

1 failure with mine and i short-shucked it. fixed it in about two minutes. other than that, 1000s of times pulling the trigger, 1000s of times the gun goes bang. cheap ammo too. i love my 870 express synthetic.

 

[RainDodger]

I was a federal agent for many years and qualified every quarter, with an 870 of one kind or another. Some with stocks, some with folding stocks and pistol grips. In all that time, I don't recall ever seeing one malfunction. For that reason, I bought one myself and it has had no problems either. I don't know about the "new" ones, but I'd be confident buying another. If it has a burr in the chamber, fix it and move on down the road...