Remington 870 Express Quality?

[WVleo]

Hi, I bought My only new shotgun 19 years ago and got the 870 express 12ga. turkey special ( not camo ) with a 20" or 21" barrel . Shot 1 turkey that spring and put a Hastings rifled barrel, Simmons shotgun scope and had the stock fitted ( removed 1 1/2" - 2" at gunshop ) and this shotgun has taken probally 30 deer over the years. My other 870 express models I bought in pawnshops at very good prices. One a 870 express Youth model 20ga., My other 870 is also a 20ga. express with a rifle sights 20" barrel. All breakdown easy for Me and have been 100% reliable. My Daughter is using the rifle sight model for HD up in Pa. She has been shooting that same shotgun for 15 some years since She used it deer hunting in WNY during the 1990's. One thing about a matte finish, You keep it oiled up a little over the years and it stays matte. LOL . Love the " Wingmasters " wood and blue steel, but when it came to dragging threw WNY woods with snow,ice,branches,treestands and whatever the express model was the working shotgun to fit My needs....WVleo

 

[Ironclad]

I have an 870 express that I bought a couple years ago. Even after cleaning it real good several times, I have had failures to extract with Federal and Winchester bulk pack. I'd say around 1 or 2 in a hundred get stuck in the chamber.

I have never had malfunctions with any good hi brass ammunition, except with one box of Federals where 20 out of 25 failed to extract. I can't rightly blame that on the gun though. I imagine that was out of spec ammo.

Overall, the bulk pack stuff is only for practice and clays, so I don't worry about it too much. I'm perfectly comfortable hunting and leaving it next to my bed with decent high brass shells.

 

[benellimax4]

"IMO, problems with Expresses are quite overblown....."

I will violently disagree with that statement. I love 870s. They are my favorite pump shotgun. I have 4, my son has one. All 5 of them initially had problems with shells sticking in the chamber. I have cleaned, polished, and even had the chamber re cut on one of the guns.

Eventually, I got all the guns running well. I have met and seen many people with the same problems. A simple Google search will confirm this.

Again, I am glad I bought the 870s. They are a joy to shoot and they work well now. However, Remington has a HUGE problem with quality control.

A pump shotgun should work right out of the box.

 

[guns54]

Fred Fuller your very right, A lot are saying it rust and its not.I know this is an old post. Have a good day. Thanks fred fuller.

 

[gamestalker]

Winchester Universals have locked up every 870 I've tried them in. Old, new, WM's, Express, an old Special 12, none of them would cycle those Universal's.

GS

 

[tacxted]

I bought a 870 2 or 3 years ago. The 870 tactical with Ghost ring sights. Its a solid gun. My only complaint is the finish, its not very durable. A good finish in my opinion is the glock slide finish, if that was on the 870 I would give 5/5 stars.

 

[Boomie]

I have two Express 870s, a Super Magnum I use for flying things, and a regular 870 Express for ground things. I have used both extensively for about a decade, have no idea how many rounds have gone through each (i.e. a lot), and have taken both in the field in horrible weather. In that time I've only had two issues;

1) Winchester bulk ammo sticks in the chamber. This is the only ammo that does this. It's an easy fix - use Federal bulk ammo for cheap stuff, not Winchester. I've had no problems there.

2) The finish can be a little rust prone (but not nearly as bad as what some people report). After using my Supermag as an emergency boat paddle it had some very fine rust on the exterior of the barrel by the time I got home. I ended up duracoating that gun (for the camoflauge, but also rust prevention) and it hasn't been an issue since. This was only an issue on the exterior coating on the barrel - the internals have always been just-so.

So this is only two data points (out of 10 million+), but there it is.

 

[MrWhipple]

I have a newer 870 Express and although it is not as nicely finished as my old Wingmaster it has been nothing but reliable. No complaints.