870 Exress Syn. Tac. questions?

[Gary O]

I just brought home one of these tac shotguns and removed it from the box. It now wears a Super Cell pad and tac flashlight. However, I have not cleaned it. I plan one setting it in the corner at home and using it for home invasion defense. Can I leave it as it came from the factory or do I strip it down and spiff it up? What say you? Thanks...

 

[Nickel Plated]

If you need to ask, it's not ready for HD duty.

Take it to the range, run a couple hundred rounds through the thing, and that'll tell you what, if anything needs to be done tot he gun.

 

[allaroundhunter]

Run some rounds through it.... and take a decent class on low light home defense so you will actually know how to properly use that gun/light combo should you need to.

 

[herkyguy]

take it apart. clean it. reassemble.

I bought one years ago and could hardly get it apart. the quality control on it was horrible. the barrel was wedged into the receiver. it took me hours to file down so it would fit and even then it was tough to reassemble. it was tight, but shot reliably. after a hundred rounds or so, it started to cycle more smoothly and i certainly trust it today.

the 870 is top notch in terms of reliability, but remington has been through some ups and downs with QA. if you're trusting it to defend your castle, it's worth seeing what the innards look like and making sure things are lubricated.

mine wears a Knoxx recoil reducing pistol grip stock and a Leupold prismatic optic on the top. one of my go to guns if the need arises. good luck.

 

[Fred Fuller]

ABSOLUTELY you need to field strip it and clean it, lube it properly, reassemble it and then shoot AT LEAST a few hundred rounds through it to make sure it runs properly and that you are familiar with how it shoots and patterns the loads you plan to use for HD. Of course not all the practice ammo you use needs to be whatever buck or slug loads you plan to use 'for real,' but enough testing and practice needs to be done with duty ammo to prove function and desired results.

Then field strip it and clean it again...

Remington ships new guns with some kind of cosmoline like gunk in them, and this needs to be removed before shooting...

 

[Gary O]

OK. Thanks...

 

[Milkmaster]

Don't forget to read your manual Gary O. The answer to this question and others are there already. You might be surprised what you might find in the manual. Learn to shoot it like it is second nature. In between practice is the only time when one can reliably ...

plan one setting it in the corner at home and using it for home invasion defense

 

[oneounceload]

take it apart. clean it. reassemble.

THIS....THEN go shoot it

 

[BlueSmoke14]

Get all the cosmoline off it and then shoot it.

Target shotgun shells cost less than most pistol ammo.

Have fun...make it go bang.

 

[gamestalker]

Considering how easy an 870 is to break down and clean, there is no reason not to do so.

Once you've given it it's first bath, then take it out and shoot it, a lot. Then repeat the cleaning process.

GS

 

[jutinlee]

Are the Wingmasters justified in regards to the cost versus the Express version? Considering this as my home defense weapon as well.

 

[oneounceload]

The fitr and finish are much better on the Wingmaster. The Express models have been plagued with issues such as rough chambers thus allowing steel-cased ammo to expand and stick making extraction difficult, so make sure you run the gun to see if that happens. If it does, a wooden dowel wrapped in 0000 steel wool with some oil on it, chucked in a cordless drill will take care of that