I recently have gotten involved with shooting Trap. Out of all the guns that I've tried the one that seems to really "dust em" is a walmart special 870 Express. I've often found myself hitting more targets with this gun than alot of these guys toting $2000.00+ over/under shotguns or single shots. I'm planning on continuing to use it at my local clays range no matter how "Trailer Trash" it might look. I could use some better, more expensive shotguns if I wanted to but this one seems to fit me like a glove as far as shooting trap goes. Has anybody here ever been able to actually wear out an 870 from the constant expenditure of rounds that competitive trap shooting demands? Is such a thing actually possible? I haven't experienced any problems so far but from what I can tell the only way to destroy an 870 is to not oil it and soak it in salt water for a month or two.
Remington 870 reliability
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Hokkmike
Member
I haven't been around long enough yet to see any modern gun wear out, much less an 870.
The pump shotgun has less moving parts compared to the semi versions. I use my brothers Wingmaster that he bought in the 80s. Granted I haven't shot it much, but I would say the older 870s are built better than today's 870. I'm talking finish and the use or real metal versus the plastic parts that come on today's 870. I believe that you will have years and years of trouble free issues with the 870.
My Pa has an 870 he bought used back in around 1976. He has "shot the hell out of it" and I don't think I've ever seen him clean it.
About 6 months ago he put a 18.5" mossberg cylinder bore barrel on it and put it beside his bed full of 000 buckshot. It may not be a pretty gun, but I have NEVER heard of a breakage with them.
About 6 months ago he put a 18.5" mossberg cylinder bore barrel on it and put it beside his bed full of 000 buckshot. It may not be a pretty gun, but I have NEVER heard of a breakage with them.
steveracer
Member
I've posted this before, but...
...because I think it's important information, I'll post it again:
We retired two 870s from my last ship. (Police Magnums) they had over HALF A MILLION ROUNDS EACH. They still worked. I believe the firing pins were replaced at, say, 70,000 rounds.
The new Mossbergs, (M500s) are not bad guns at all, especially if you're a lefty (freaks, all of you
) but they have not been in serivce long enough to determine if they will be quite this tough.
...because I think it's important information, I'll post it again:
We retired two 870s from my last ship. (Police Magnums) they had over HALF A MILLION ROUNDS EACH. They still worked. I believe the firing pins were replaced at, say, 70,000 rounds.
The new Mossbergs, (M500s) are not bad guns at all, especially if you're a lefty (freaks, all of you
) but they have not been in serivce long enough to determine if they will be quite this tough.Schutzen
Member
My Dad gave me a pair of 870's (12/20) for my 15th birthday. They have done very well. I've taken much game and participated in multiple shotgun games. I have had to replace the leaf springs that hold the shells in the magazine on the 12 gauge, but that is all the repairs on both guns. When I get a little more wear on them I'll repost with the repair list.
PS I'm 55 years old and have a much worse repair record than the 870's.
They are one of the toughest and most reliable shotguns made. Keep them clean and they will last!
PS I'm 55 years old and have a much worse repair record than the 870's.
They are one of the toughest and most reliable shotguns made. Keep them clean and they will last!
MassMark
Member
I had problems with my newer manufactured 870 ejecting the contents of the tube when I chambered a round. Sent it back and they fixed it, but I never trusted it. Traded it in on an old PD-issue 870 that looked like it had been through a war. It has never missed a beat, (or a bead)... 
I have put hundreds of rounds through this gun and it's as smooth as butter... My guess is that it will wear out right around the time "Bob The Archaologist" digs it up and wonders what the hell it is...
I have put hundreds of rounds through this gun and it's as smooth as butter... My guess is that it will wear out right around the time "Bob The Archaologist" digs it up and wonders what the hell it is... I'm not a big fan of the metal spring retainer. What a PITA! It's a good way to shoot the magazine spring across my deck. Is that what you mean? I much prefer the notorious "dimples" that make it a lot easier to install and remove the magazine block for hunting, without the catapult effect.
Is there an aluminum replacement for the dimple retainer?
The 870 Express has worked well for me for trap. If it works for you, hey, it's cheap. It will always be a good "backup" gun, no matter what else you purchase in the future. Can't go wrong with buying one now, IMHO.
WRT durability, there's one way to break it that I've heard of. Shoot very high volumes of VERY HEAVY loads, over and over again, like some super-long-distance Friday night clay games, for a long time. And that will trash a BT-99 a lot quicker! Mine's currently being rebuilt with the help of a TIG welder, due to such abuse by a previous owner famous for artillery-shell handloads. Same owner has similarly abused his 870s without any ill effect.
An 870 in normal use by a single owner or family won't wear out in a lifetime. I've shot one from the first year they were made (1950). It's seen a lot of use, and works like a new gun.
Dave McCracken
Moderator In Memoriam
There's anecdotal evidence that the receivers start to crack around the 250K round mark.None of mine are near that. Yet...
LIfetime use has to be over 75K rounds. Total parts replaced, two Firing Pin Springs.
LIfetime use has to be over 75K rounds. Total parts replaced, two Firing Pin Springs.
Fred Fuller
Moderator Emeritus
Saw a broken action bar lock on an early 1950s trap gun a while back. That was the only actually-broken part I have seen on an 870. I've heard of broken firing pins and broken/chipped extractors but never experienced or seen one first hand.
I still keep a spare bolt assembly and a spare trigger plate assembly on hand just in case something breaks, those two assemblies will fix 90+% of anything that goes wrong with an 870, and are drop-in fixes for the most part. There isn't a lot else to go wrong, maybe a broken ejector or a bent/dented magazine tube, or plugging a barrel and blowing it up (saw that done once). In fact, most 870 teething problems I see/hear about are caused by the owner's "improvements and accessorizations" or by failing to do appropriate maintenance rather than through parts failure.
But not a lot of stuff goes wrong with a reasonably maintained and safely used 870, they are about as reliable as any firearm design I have ever seen- which is why I like 'em so much.
lpl/nc
I still keep a spare bolt assembly and a spare trigger plate assembly on hand just in case something breaks, those two assemblies will fix 90+% of anything that goes wrong with an 870, and are drop-in fixes for the most part. There isn't a lot else to go wrong, maybe a broken ejector or a bent/dented magazine tube, or plugging a barrel and blowing it up (saw that done once). In fact, most 870 teething problems I see/hear about are caused by the owner's "improvements and accessorizations" or by failing to do appropriate maintenance rather than through parts failure.
But not a lot of stuff goes wrong with a reasonably maintained and safely used 870, they are about as reliable as any firearm design I have ever seen- which is why I like 'em so much.
lpl/nc
waterhouse
Member
That cracked me up. Welcome to THR Schutzen.
At some point I'm worried that they are going to have to stop making the 870, since the guns tend to last a lot longer than the owners do.
I didn't get one of them (too young at the time, and in hindsight I'm glad they are with the folks that got them) but both my grandfathers had a couple 870s, and they were used in a ton of informal clay games as well as hunted pretty hard. These days, the current owners don't participate in many clay games but still hunt them pretty hard and usually just spray them down with some wd-40 after the ducks stop flying. I got bored at the duck camp a couple years ago and decided to actually take one down and clean it, and I think that was the first time it had been cleaned in 20+ years.
Those guns are still going strong, even with the lack of care (borderline abuse) and a fairly high round count. I doubt you'll wear out anything on yours.
Depends on what's been shot through them, AFAIK.
High-volume trap shooters tend to use their 870s for applications that they know are destructive, like overcharged long-range unofficial clay games loads. They use 870s because they are more durable, but also a lot cheaper, than quality break-action guns. At least that goes for the people I know, one of whom caused the excessive wear that my BT-99 suffered. He has a stack of 870s for the express purpose of deliberate abuse.
He's notorious for his ridiculously heavy handloads; it would be hard to damage an 870 with factory 2 3/4" shells.Big waterfowl loads could do the same thing, of course, but nobody ordinarily shoots 250K rounds through a single shotgun except at the range!
alucard0822
Member
I got into shooting trap a couple years ago, but unsure if I would like it or not I didn't want to plop down the money for a bt-99, so I went with the walmart target magnum model. After shooting it a couple of times I installed a hogue stock and a firesight, better recoil pad, better sight acuisiton, and shifted a little more of the weight up front. I hit quite a few 25s with it, but my biggest surprise was shooting wobble trap, being a field gun it is not designed to shoot as high as the over/unders and really made it easier to shoot targets at various heights, a couple of club members let me try their high dollar trap guns, but I liked the 870's quickness compared to the heavy guns they used. I also switch to a red dot sight and 18" cylinder barell during the winter for indoor shooting with 00 buck. I probably have about 25000+ federal bulk pack bird shot, about 1000 2 3/4" 00buck about 500 2 3/4"slugs and maybe less than 100 3" slugs and buck loads, so far no breakages, no problems, and amazingly no misfires.
Scorpiusdeus
member
I believe the Remington 870 is by far the most carried shotgun by LE in the world. In the last say 20 years or more a "diversified" group of people have gotten into LE, and many of them are not "gun people".
These officers mishandle, batter, bruise, slam, drop, and abuse the crap out of shotguns. I've still yet to see one broken.
I do believe the Remington 870 is one of the finest shotguns ever made.
They may not be as pretty as some of these "high end" shotguns you see at competitions, but they are AWESOME just the same
These officers mishandle, batter, bruise, slam, drop, and abuse the crap out of shotguns. I've still yet to see one broken.
I do believe the Remington 870 is one of the finest shotguns ever made.
They may not be as pretty as some of these "high end" shotguns you see at competitions, but they are AWESOME just the same
22LongRifle
Member
My favorite 870 is a standard weight 20ga with a 28" impoved modifed choke on it. Its a nature swinger on doves and pheasants.
The only 870s I EVER had troubles with were early model EXPRESSs. The plastic trigger assembly gave me fits after a duck season. The other was a 20ga LIGHTWEIGHT. It was an older one. Great for about three or four shots, but after that, it would sieze ip/expland making it difficult to cycle and feed. Sweet carring all day for quail. I made it my deer/slug gun.
I personal don't like to take a "nice" gun to the field. I'm weird like that! I had a really nice Beretta 390 that I used for clays and practice all year, then sold it and bought an old 870 for $150 to use for dove for opening day!
I shoot Mossbergs now, except for the standard weight 20ga 870, due to the safety being on top! Being a Lefty sucks!
Jerry
The only 870s I EVER had troubles with were early model EXPRESSs. The plastic trigger assembly gave me fits after a duck season. The other was a 20ga LIGHTWEIGHT. It was an older one. Great for about three or four shots, but after that, it would sieze ip/expland making it difficult to cycle and feed. Sweet carring all day for quail. I made it my deer/slug gun.
I personal don't like to take a "nice" gun to the field. I'm weird like that! I had a really nice Beretta 390 that I used for clays and practice all year, then sold it and bought an old 870 for $150 to use for dove for opening day!
I shoot Mossbergs now, except for the standard weight 20ga 870, due to the safety being on top! Being a Lefty sucks!
Jerry
Man With A Gun
Member
Next to an Ithaca Mod 37 that was 55 years old the day I got it, the 870 is almost the toughest shooting machine I have ever seen.
RockyMtnTactical
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The 870 has been around for a long time. I have seen some really trashed 870's, but they all still worked!
Oohrah
Member
Been around doing click bang since the mid 50's. Owned an 870
Wingmaster Mag since 62 and it had never failed with factory or reload
and still own it. Added a ribbed barrel with choke tubes ten years ago,
just cause!!!!!
Wingmaster Mag since 62 and it had never failed with factory or reload
and still own it. Added a ribbed barrel with choke tubes ten years ago,
just cause!!!!!
We retired two 870s from my last ship. (Police Magnums) they had over HALF A MILLION ROUNDS EACH.
I read in a magazine article a gun writer say he had a half a million rounds through the 870 he used for trap and skeet. I guess you can plan on at least a couple of hundred thousand.
I read in a magazine article a gun writer say he had a half a million rounds through the 870 he used for trap and skeet. I guess you can plan on at least a couple of hundred thousand.
Kelem
Member
The lord only knows how many rounds have gone thru both my express and wingmaster, not showing any signs of wear yet but i am deterimined
kmrcstintn
Member
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as with any firearm...
2 things can cause wear...use, use, use, use...etc and ABUSE
1 thing can cause fluke breakage...bad metallurgy which is very unlikely
shoot it and enjoy it...good strong action and components...the platform has been around a long time and has been sold to millions in its various configurations over the years...
2 things can cause wear...use, use, use, use...etc and ABUSE
1 thing can cause fluke breakage...bad metallurgy which is very unlikely
shoot it and enjoy it...good strong action and components...the platform has been around a long time and has been sold to millions in its various configurations over the years...
The Deer Hunter
Member
It might wear out in 20-30 years if you use it as a paddle/shovel/hammer/firewood. But with regular use it should last way more than 30 years.
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