870 express refresh

D

Dubpaw

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Hey folks,

I'm new to all this shotgun stuff..just picked up a new to me 870 express mag. It was stovepiping a fair bit on arrival... got her cleaned up seemed to have alleviated that for now. In regards to freshening it up/ improving over stock...the intent for now is as a reliable hunting shotgun.

Carrier dog follower "heavy"
Seer spring "heavy"
Extractor - volquartsen
Hammer spring wolff XP
fire pin spring wolff XP
mag spring wolff XP
follower vang comp

The shell latches feel unbalanced on compression when i assemble/disassemble. Is that a design of the shotgun or is this something that needs attention? The action/bolt stiffens significantly as it reaches the halfway open position, is this normal?

Thanks
 
Save some money. Polish your chamber and detail strip and lube the gun. All that other stuff is just fluff designed to take some money out of your pockets. If the gun runs well leave it alone. Spend the money on shells and go out and enjoy it. Shotguns used in competition and law enforcement/military can benefit from your list of parts but a Remington 870 Express is a hunting gun and it will do the job very well just as it came from Ilion.

Darryl
 
Listen to Madtrapper. It's not broken, it just needs to be cleaner really well, lubricated, and tried gain before spending a red cent. If you DO need to change anything, I would start cheap:

1) Put in a better mag follower - I like the S&J ones. the vang comp ones are more money, but not better performers.
2) Change the MIM extractor for a milled one - the Wingmaster/Police extractors, also available from S&J, are perfect. You don't need a pricy volquartsen part.

If you need to replace more bits than that, I would be very very surprised.

Lastly, take a look at the chamber. If it's not smooth, polish it.
 
*sigh* does anyone else find this sad? My first shotgun (or any gun for that matter) was a Remington Wingmaster. It worked great from day one and still does. No polishing...no ceracote...no followers...nothing. I strongly believe a new gun, especially with a name like Remington, should work perfectly right out of the box. If it doesn't, consumers should return them. The company would eventually straighten up....alas, I think we are doomed. Hello China....I'm ready to buy your crap.
 
The 870 express is very good right out of the box. Like I said it needs no improvements. The chamber polish is advised on the shotgun especially if the shooter insists on shooting cheap Winchester target loads. As for followers and non MIM extractors I still feel those "upgrades" are reserved for shotguns you may risk your life on. Unless a cottontail or a mallard duck becomes aggressive I doubt the upgrades would make any difference on a hunting gun.;)

Darryl
 
madtrapper143 said:
The 870 express is very good right out of the box. Like I said it needs no improvements. The chamber polish is advised on the shotgun especially if the shooter insists on shooting cheap Winchester target loads. As for followers and non MIM extractors I still feel those "upgrades" are reserved for shotguns you may risk your life on. Unless a cottontail or a mallard duck becomes aggressive I doubt the upgrades would make any difference on a hunting gun.;)

Darryl
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Very sage advice all around here! Thanks for the contributions and suggestions, all of you!

Cheers,
Barney
 
dilly said:
*sigh* does anyone else find this sad? My first shotgun (or any gun for that matter) was a Remington Wingmaster. It worked great from day one and still does. No polishing...no ceracote...no followers...nothing. I strongly believe a new gun, especially with a name like Remington, should work perfectly right out of the box. If it doesn't, consumers should return them. The company would eventually straighten up....alas, I think we are doomed. Hello China....I'm ready to buy your crap.
Click to expand...

Fwiw, the current plastic Wingmaster followers are the same junk installed in an express.
 
I guess the point I'm trying to make is, consumers should insist on Remington spending 5 cents more on every 870 to properly polish the chamber so every shell on the market works reliably. Maybe an extra 20 cents for a better follower...consumers should not have to modify a new product to make it work or keep it from rusting. It's the apathy that makes me sad...
 
Claven2 said:
Fwiw, the current plastic Wingmaster followers are the same junk installed in an express.
Click to expand...

Junk?? There is nothing wrong with polymer parts in certain locations. This is one I have never seen an issue with. Have you??
Many would say it is done for safety issues with the nice colors they now come in. I would kind of agree
I know I have never had one fail etc
Cheers
 
dilly said:
I guess the point I'm trying to make is, consumers should insist on Remington spending 5 cents more on every 870 to properly polish the chamber so every shell on the market works reliably. Maybe an extra 20 cents for a better follower...consumers should not have to modify a new product to make it work or keep it from rusting. It's the apathy that makes me sad...
Click to expand...

The problem is that consumers today forced remington to produce this lower grade shotgun. If not they would have been out of the shotgun business since the majority of pump shotgun buyers will not lay out the cash for a high end wingmaster
5 cents on a part is nothing to us looking at it that way but in a million guns it adds up
People today will not pay for quality pump actions that is quite clear which is why maverick model 88's, winchester sxp, 870 chinese clones etc etc are being sold hand over fist so what was Remington to do

I look at it this way. In 1965 I saved and bought my first brand new wingmaster which was 10 bucks short of three weeks pay. would a buyer do that today??? Not in your life. But put out extra cash now for a quality wingmaster even if it is a grand for a new one, take care of it and you will pass it on to your kids vs how many of the cheaper ones will we still be talking about in 50 years let alone using. not too many IMO
Also how many problems will that cheaper gun create for you and missed game opportunities
Cheers
 
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3macs1 said:
Junk?? There is nothing wrong with polymer parts in certain locations. This is one I have never seen an issue with. Have you??
Many would say it is done for safety issues with the nice colors they now come in. I would kind of agree
I know I have never had one fail etc
Cheers
Click to expand...

The plastic ones are functional, but they are thin. The aftermarket ones are more robust, better made, and often have textural features that allow the shooter to manually feel when a mag is empty, even with a lightly gloved hand.

My personal favorite followers are the early steel oem ones.
 
Claven2 said:
The plastic ones are functional, but they are thin. The aftermarket ones are more robust, better made, and often have textural features that allow the shooter to manually feel when a mag is empty, even with a lightly gloved hand.

My personal favorite followers are the early steel oem ones.
Click to expand...

May be thin but I have never seen one split. Cannot say the same for browning golds or bps. Broke a few of those over the years
Cheers
 
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