winchester sxp or remington 870 express?

[MinnesotaFats]

lm lookin for another NEW pump action shotgun for around 350$ anyone own one of these new winchester sxp pumps? i read posts saying the newer made 870 expresses arent what the used to be. any opinions on what i should buy? thanks.

 

[CApighunter]

I bought a new 870 about a year and a half ago. The finish isn't all that great and the pressed checkering leaves alot to be desired. Functionally, it is perfect. I love it, but I am interested by the new SXP and would love to get my hands on one. The 870 has a track record and aftermarket parts supply that few shotguns can match. I wouldn't think twice about getting an 870.
CApighunter

 

[Kp321]

The 870 Express is a little rough but rock solid. The Wingmaster is very nicely finished and smooth as silk. Plus, they are US made unlike the Winchester.

 

[243winxb]

Winchester sxp alloy receiver. RemingtonModel 870 shotguns, a receiver milled from a solid billet of steel for maximum strength and reliability. I like Remington. If not a Rem., then a Mossberg.

 

[KDS]

I wasn't impressed with my friend's SXP which was a bummer since I love my Super X3s. His gun would jam shooting the cheaper Walmart promo loads from federal and Winchester. He took it to a local smith who told him he could only shoot brass cased loads. Expensive ammo only in a cheap gun doesn't sound like a good deal to me. Maybe the smith is wrong, maybe my friend just got a lemon, but I saw it choke first hand on 2 different factory loads. We had to take the barrel off to get it to eject the shells

 

[MinnesotaFats]

guess no to the winchester. im sure this is grounds for a new thread that has been beatin to death but my choices now are the 870 express vs the lower end mossberg 500 (not the maverick!). any help would be great.

 

[David G.]

I'm relatively unexperienced with shotguns, but my SXP is ace. I'm sure you could find anecdotal evidence to steer you away from any gun.

 

[CNobbe]

You have to buy what fits you the best. I understand price might be an issue for any gun purchase, but with shotguns, fit is very important.

That said, I have to throw the Benelli Nova into the equation. You can usually find them at good prices, especially used ones. They're as tough as anything else out there.

 

[DrDyno]

lm lookin for another NEW pump action shotgun for around 350$ anyone own one of these new winchester sxp pumps? i read posts saying the newer made 870 expresses arent what the used to be. any opinions on what i should buy? thanks.

You really should add Mossberg to your list. One problem with the 870 is that the elevator is naturally in the down position, which can cause loading problems in a high stress situation. The Mossbergs (as well as their excellent, little, low cost Maverick 88) have the elevator normally in the up position... out of the way for fast loading and reloading.

 

[Hunterdad]

Between the 870 and 500, it's going to come down to how well each fits you. 870's fit me like a glove, 500's not so much. Also, the safety's are different, which could also be a deciding factor.

 

[gamestalker]

I've got all 3, Win, Rem, and Mossberg, and I'll take a Rem 870 hands down any day! I sent the Win in for service when it was brand new 3 times, and the issue kept returning, which was that the VR kept falling off.

The Mossberg is an OK SG, but they aren't an 870, never will be. The actions are much stiffer on 500's, and no matter what you do to them, they still have that stiff cheesy feeling action. And if you don't have some minimal experience breaking one down, you'll likely struggle for hours getting one back together. I can't tell you how many people I've had bring me their 500 to show them how to reassemble it. On the other hand, when my boys were in their single digit years, they would have contests breaking down and reassembling 870's blind folded. My youngest, 8 yrs. old at that time, was tearing one down and reassembling in something like 2 minutes, blind folded.

GS

 

[MinnesotaFats]

i was reading a thread (not sure where to find it now) where a guy was saying new manufactured 870s have gone down hill in a big way. its starting to sound like he may be misinformed? thanks for the replies the 870 is sounding better and better.

 

[41magsnub]

I have an early 70's vintage wingmaster and a new SXP with 1 pheasant season behind it. The SXP fits me better and is nicer to carry, however the wingmaster is a higher quality yet heavier gun with backwards controls I grew up shooting a 20ga Winchester Model 120 (basically the "express" version of a model 1300) youth which gives the SXP a leg up for me. Neither has given me any trouble. Even my old 120 has been trouble free after 20 years of hunting seasons on it. The only thing that has gone wrong is about 5 years ago the front bead fell off (easy fix).

Now I start the season with the 20ga and when they start getting up farther out I switch to the 12ga. The nice thing about the SXP is there is no learning curve between the it and the 120. It even swings the same.

I can't speak to new build 870's wingmaster or otherwise.

 

[nathan]

Just go for Remington 870 HD . I have one and changed the barrel to a 20 inch with rifle sight improved cylinder. I sighted it with slugs at 50 yds, can group 3 -4inch circle.

 

[jmr40]

i read posts saying the newer made 870 expresses arent what the used to be.

Somewhat true, but the Winchester sure isn't what it used to be either. The new gun is imported. I could be wrong, but think it is made in China. While similar in design, it is not the old 1300 it replaced.

Most of the problems with newer 870 Express guns are minor issues that can easliy be corrected. Should they get out of the factory? Probably not, but it is much more expensive to make a forged steel gun than an aluminum gun. To keep the price competetive with Mossberg and others they have to cut corners anywhere they can. They could build a gun with better quality and fewer small issues getting out the door. But the average consumer won't pay for it. Most gun buyers won't spend $25 more to get a better gun. They only look at the price tag.

The 870 is a solid design that has proven to be more capable than any other pump in current production. It would still be my choice even if I knew going in that it might need a little tweaking it get it perfect. 9 times out of ten any problems are cured by a thorough cleaning, a little break in and polishing rough chambers.

 

[nathan]

I do like how the Winchester SXP feels and the design of the slide release button and it s location. The Remington 870 has the crude on the left side which can be awkward.

 

[Hunterdad]

If you're going to get a Chinese made gun like the Winchester, then I'd definitely pick up a Pardner pump.

 

[HexHead]

The Winchester is made in Turkey, not China. The new June 2013 American Rifleman gave it a very favorable review.

I looked at the Winchester last year, and it has a very fast, smooth action.

 

[Hunterdad]

Try not to go off magazine reviews.....remember, they get paid to do the review.

 

[HexHead]

The review only confirmed my own impression from handling the Winchester.

I looked at one a year ago. The magazine came yesterday.

 

[41magsnub]

Hunterdad, we should probably ignore your thoughts too. At least the magazine reviewers may actually have any knowledge at all about the gun in question. Have you ever even touched an SXP to have any basis to have an opinion? No?

 

[JRs12Valve]

I'd find a nice used Wingmaster, IMO. Best scattergun ever made. It is the smoothest pump action ever built, and the strongest. I trust no other to uphold my life.

 

[Ken70]

Marine Corps used Mossberg 500 for a number of years. They weren't expensive enough, so they bought a Benelli? Or something like that. Used to be $50 difference between a 500 and an 870, but seems like it's $100+ today.

 

[btg3]

I have both -- older WMs and newer Express. The WMs have the aesthetic advantage, but after some TLC, the Express is just as smooth and reliable and I don't mind if it gets some rough handling.

Oh yeah -- on one my WMs, the highly vaunted all-metal trigger assembly has a crack in the middle of the trigger body. One of these days, I'll email Remington a photo, but I already replaced the trigger assembly, so it's good to go.

Can't go wrong with an 870 -- Express or WM is personal preference, and budget.

 

[Slater]

Regarding metal vs polymer trigger guards, Ruger did a test on one of the outdoor shows where they dropped a 5 pound weight from about 5 feet onto both metal and polymer trigger guards (don't recall which firearm it was). The metal guard cracked from the impact. The weight bounced off the polymer version. So I guess there's something to be said for plastic in certain applications.