Remington 870 vs Winchester SXP

Ghost Tyler

Ghost Tyler

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Ladies and gentle men I finally got my PAL . Going out in the morning and buying my first shotgun . I want to hear what your guys opinions are on the remington 870 and the winchester sxp. Ive gone to acouple store locations and they all say the same thag remington has lost abit of its quality over the years .also that winchester is great company they also make browning products . Let me know what you guys think .
cheers
 
Buy a Remington Wingmaster and you will only cry once as you will have bought only once.
A True Waterfowlers shotgun, but of course everyone will have an opinion as to how to spend your money.
There are less moving parts, ease of take down and very few things to mess up.
Did I mention the wood on these guns are beautiful too .
Next Please.
Rob
 
I have an sxp and my buddy has an 870. They are both good guns for what we paid for them. At that price point. It's all in what feels right to u. They both go boom everytime.
 
I have an 870 express and a sxp. I prefer the winchester. Feels more solid if you know what I mean, less rattling etc.

It's faster to pump with the whole rotary bolt thing. It will actually eject the shell on its own if you shoot 1 handed.

But there are very few accessories for it but I'm not into putting more money into a budget shotgun.
 
Which 870 are you considering? Express?
Do you have a pricepoint? Remington's - and what you get with it in terms of stock, barrel, etc. - run over a fairly wide range of prices wheras, correct me if I'm wrong, but you get more of the same thing within a smaller gap of prices with the SXP.

If you're hunting and such it's probably going to come down to you more than the shotgun. Buy the one you like best since you'll probably practice with it more than you would the other one.
 
The 870 Express and the Wingmaster (at almost twice the cost of an Express) are NOT the same gun in terms of fit/finish. The 870 is still the most "sold" pump shotgun on the market. Doesn't make it the best, just the most popular. We sell a lot of them, can't say I have had even one owner come back looking for service/warranty.

I had a bad experience with Winchester customer service back in their dying days which soured me on everything Winchester, but have to say if my only current choice was between an 870 Express and an SXP I would lean towards the Winchester (which yes, now, Winchester's parent and Browning's parent is the same company - but that's where the line crossing stops - the SXP is built in Portugal with mostly Belgian parts from the parent company Herstal/FN).

The fit/finish on the SXP is (my opinion) superior to the 870 Express - plus, with the Express you only get a modified choke - Winchester throws in an I/C and Full as well. Not a big deal, but you don't have to pay for the two extra chokes and the two shotguns are generally priced almost exactly the same.

As has been suggested you may want to look at one of the various Mossberg 500 combo guns. There is even some of the model 535 3 barrel models still on the shelves (28" VR barrel, 24" Turkey barrel and 24" fully rifled deer barrel) for maybe 100 bucks or so more than most of the Express options.

You have to compare apples to apples if you are in the market for a NEW, entry level pump shotgun. Many will say that the new 870 Express are junk compared to a 20 year old model - maybe so, but in today's market the 870 Express, SXP, Mod 500, plus the entry level offerings from any of the other majors function "just fine" - it's more of how it feels in your hands than any great advantage one to the other.

I would add one more to your mix to check out if you are still "looking". Have a look at the Weatherby PA-08. Priced competitively to slightly less than the others, excellent fit/finish, 3 chokes included.

What I have noticed, since I assemble many many shotguns for the gun racks is that despite all the "perceived advantages" about synthetic stocked guns (if you are looking at the synthetics vice wood) is that for all the "will never warp" in the selling points, Remington has found a way to produce "warped" stocks. Many of the Synth Express models take significant pressure/twisting/shoving to get the barrel to seat properly the first time they are assembled. They seem fine afterwards, but that tells me they are somewhat "stressed" right from the factory which kinda throws the "will not warp" theory right in the trash from the get go.
 
If I could go back and tell myself what first gun to get, I'd go with the Remington 870. More options. Get a couple barrels (short smoothbore with sights, vent-rib with changeable chokes) and you're set. (Same applies for Mossberg 500/590) Save for a wingmaster, and consider a previously used one if in good condition. My dad has my grampys Wingmaster. 1963, action smooth as glass and never misses a beat.
 
galamb said:
Remington has found a way to produce "warped" stocks. Many of the Synth Express models take significant pressure/twisting/shoving to get the barrel to seat properly the first time they are assembled.
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galamb said:
Remington
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After what they did to Marlin I don't even buy their ammo. In my opinion if they opened a funeral home people would stop dying.

Interesting what you said about the PA-08. I've never held one or really even looked. Care to start a review thread or post some pictures so people can look and the 870/500 crowd can throw mud?
 
Between the 870 and the SXP, I'd choose the 870. The Winchester design is good enough while the gun is in good condition, but over time, the bolt locking lugs will wear the barrel recesses resulting in failures to fire. Getting spare Winchester barrels and aftermarket accessories is a challenge.

I like some of the Mossberg components better than the Remington, and the Mossberg is a copy of the old Remington M-31 design. The ejector is held in by a screw rather than a rivet, so it doesn't require a gunsmith to replace, and the Remington ejector is subject to breakage, if the gun is taken down and reassembled carelessly. The action bars are pinned and spring loaded rather than fixed. The shell stops are loose, rather than staked, so again don't require specialized tools or the services of a gunsmith when one comes loose. There are two ejectors rather than one. Where the 500 falls down, but the 590 and 870 don't is in the way the barrels are retained. The 500 has a lug attached to the barrel with a screw that threads into the solid end of the magazine, so there is a degree of difficulty involved with cleaning and maintaining the magazine, if it does not unscrew easily from the receiver. The 590, 870, and Winchester barrels are retained by a threaded magazine cap, and provide easy access to the spring, follower, and magazine tube. The 870 has the best system if you want magazine extensions, or a multiple barrel system.
 
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If you think you'll want to hang all kinds of daft aftermarket stuff on it, buy the 870. Otherwise, try 'em both on for size and buy the one that feels right. Either one will do nicely for hunting.
Winchester doesn't make Browning anything. Although both companies are currently owned by Herstal Group, Fabrique Nationale (FN) of Belgium.
 
I have an SXP Defender, and I LOVE it. Best gun I own (I only own 3 though). I used to have an 870, but didn't like it for fit & finish reasons, and extractor issues (cheap shells). My SXP loves ANY ammo, even the cheapest crap. Plus, it's FAST. The finish is awesome, and it's smooth, and reliable. I've never had one issue in the ~1K shells I've gone through (cheap target shells, slugs, buckshot). The gun is easy to take down to clean, as well. Did I mention that it's FAST?
 
Jason Glynn said:
I have an sxp and my buddy has an 870. They are both good guns for what we paid for them. At that price point. It's all in what feels right to u. They both go boom everytime.
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Yes. The SXP has the edge though because it might also go boom when you don't want it to.
 
I don't know of a single guy who bought a Remington 870 Wingmaster and regretted it. There is a reason why Remington sold literally millions of them, even before they introduced their entry level Express line.
 
I've had three shotguns. My first was a Winchester 1300 Ranger, which I think has many similarities to the SXP? It was a great gun. I sold it recently only because I no longer had a reason to keep it. I also had a Remington 870, but it was the "Tactical" model. It was ok. The quality control problems plaguing Remington was apparent. I currently own a Benelli Super Nova pump. Great gun, though admittedly ugly :)
 
I will do this sometime in the next day or two. I have a 26"er I love so much I even bought an 18" barrel for it.

FF
skimmer said:
Interesting what you said about the PA-08. I've never held one or really even looked. Care to start a review thread or post some pictures so people can look and the 870/500 crowd can throw mud?
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I have an 870 Express. Couldn't be happier with it. I got the 3 barrel combo from LeBaron and it does everything I need it to do.
 
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