Remington 870 vs. Other Pumps

StefanGreybeard

StefanGreybeard

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I see the Remington 870 being constantly suggested as the recommended pump shotgun, both here on this forum as well as on "best shotgun" articles. However, I've also read that there were periods where the 870 had manufacturing/quality issues.

I've been looking, and anything other than the 18.5"models seem harder to find in-stock. Beyond the 870 having sold 11M units, what makes it so great?

Also, if I'm looking at something like a Mossberg 500 or Winchester SXP, is the 870 really that much better to be worth $200-300 more, and how do you know if your getting a "good" model?
 
The Express models cut corners , with plastic trigger assemblies, less finishing, and had issues like rough chambers, but the Wingmaster is a very solid, shotgun.
 
I’ve owned a couple of 870s over the years and liked them but stubblejumper is correct and corners were cut some years. The two main ones for me involved the finish on the barrel and the position of the rib. The barrel was prone to rust spots if there was the least bit of moisture in the air. I never shot it in the rain but did live in a humid city. I’d constantly wipe it down and keep it oiled and had a dehumidifier going and you’d still get light rust spots. The rust came out but it was annoying and none of the other firearms I owned had that problem. On the rib, the only way I could describe it was that it was wavy? Looking down the barrel, it was distracting. Overall, though, the 870 was reliable and affordable. Take a look at the Benelli Nova if you’re looking for a quality pump at a reasonable price. I have one and love it.
 
stubblejumper said:
The Express models cut corners , with plastic trigger assemblies, less finishing, and had issues like rough chambers, but the Wingmaster is a very solid, shotgun.
Click to expand...

I think things have/had changed near the end of Remington’s production lineup, I have a 2017 or so production Express model and it has none of the issues people have encountered. Chamber finish was mirror bright, lots of polymer trigger guards out there that are plenty strong so I don’t really think it’s a big strike against it.
 
870s aren't perfect ... and most issues are quality control issues ... but the 870 is my prefered shotgun platform.

I bought quite a few 870s over the years... all brand new ... and around 1/3rd needed some sort of polishing fix .... either a chamber polish or an action bar polish job, barrel polish ... or some other tweak.

However, non of the Wingmasters needed any polishing. they were all good to go out of the box.

What I like is that there is a huge amount of information out there on these 870s and how to fix them. For nearly any known problem ... there are several YouTube videos out there explaining how to fix the issue .... and this means I can fix most of those issues myself ....

And tons and tons of aftermarket parts are available ....

With respect to the new Fieldmaster ... it seems they are are a step up from the former Express models. They seem to be decent guns. The wood seems to be varnished all around unlike the older Express models. However, the Fieldmasters still use the matte bluing finish and which is a bit more prone to rusting than the polished blue finish on the Wingmasters.
 
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I prefer the Mossberg shotguns more than the Remington, The tang safety, action release button behind the trigger and no finger pinching loading gate just I think are better ergos for me anyways in a pump action shotgun and you can use mini shells in the mossbergs with those adapters or the 590s model. So much fun to do a mag dump of mini slugs from my 590 it holds 13 mini shells
For budget pump shotgun you can get a Maverick 88 for under $400 and google "TFB TV Shotgun burndown" he has some great videos and the mossbergs have survived his torture testing even the budget Maverick Mossberg dared him to try to break it lol

I think between Remington and Mossberg it really comes down to personal preference on the ergos, Price does not protect you from getting a lemon tho but Remington and Mossberg shotguns have been around a long long time now so they are doing something right

There is a reason military and law enforcement have been using the 870 and 590 since the dawn of time
 
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StefanGreybeard said:
I see the Remington 870 being constantly suggested as the recommended pump shotgun, both here on this forum as well as on "best shotgun" articles. However, I've also read that there were periods where the 870 had manufacturing/quality issues.

I've been looking, and anything other than the 18.5"models seem harder to find in-stock. Beyond the 870 having sold 11M units, what makes it so great?

Also, if I'm looking at something like a Mossberg 500 or Winchester SXP, is the 870 really that much better to be worth $200-300 more, and how do you know if your getting a "good" model?
Click to expand...

used the 870 since 1993. We used them at work. Trained with them/taught with them/serviced them. We had 7-10 that had probably close to 50,000 rounds through them each. Ya stuff broke, but they were good guns. I have two now. for a pump gun, the ergonomics/manual of arms/ability to disassemble and clean make them hard to beat.

YMMV

Boltgun
 
Between the Remington and the Mossberg, by and large it’ll boil down to preference. The Winchester Sxp is manufactured in Turkey so it’s priced more economically as compared to the Rem or Mossy.

I prefer the 870 to the 500. Most would take an old Wingmaster over a new 870. I’d take a new Fieldmaster over an old Wingmaster at this point for practical hunting use. Either way avoid Express models. There are some updated parts that you’ll get on the Fieldmaster that you won’t have in an old Wingmaster. Particularly the ejector that indexes into the barrel and houses the ejector spring. The old ones will break. The new ones won’t. You may also find non spring tab carriers on some old guns that you likely wouldn’t want. The ejectors in an 870 are a pain to replace if you’re doing it yourself. The finish on the new Fieldmaster is matte but it isn’t prone to rusting like the Express’s that preceded it. Folks also tend to prefer the milled extractor that’s found on Wingmasters as opposed to the Metal injection molded ones on the express and Fieldmaster. I’ve yet to see either break so to me it isn’t something to worry about. Folks tend to replace followers. Again, two decades of experience with 870 PM’s and SPM’s that are older than I am, I’ve never seen a factory follower fail. Failures I have seen in very very high mile 870’s have been trigger springs, a shell release latch breaking, and a lot of old ejector barrel index breaking off. New 870’s potentially will be tough to find until the consolidation of manufacturing in Lagrange Georgia is finished. The past two years were really the last opportunity to get a good quality Ilion gun out of the legacy factory on legacy tooling. The new RemArms and Ken Darcy did a really good job of bringing quality back to Ilion. Shame to see it close but the economic reality is what it is. Supply could be spotty over the next year or two until Lagrange is built and running at full speed.

I’ve owned Mossbergs and still own one at the moment. They’re alright. Actions are not as smooth on my mossbergs compared to Remington. Mossberg fore ends tend to be really loose and rattle. The Remington fore ends are solid. The polymer tang safeties on the models that have them are prone to breakage. It’s an easy repair, and switching to a metal one remedies this. Field strip and removal of the fore end and breach bolt is easier and tooless on the Remington as compared to the mossberg. I don’t prefer the tang safety (just have a long history using cross bolts). 500’s don’t feature the “clean out” tubular magazine. 835’s are overbored to the extent the manufacturer advises against shooting slugs out of their shot barrel. There have been instances of action bars wearing through a portion of the aluminum receiver causing a small strip of aluminum to peel off. The shotgun being essentially destroyed as result. It’s rare and I’d imagine that would take quite a lot. All that said there’s no special tools required to work on the mossberg for the most part. There are for the 870. Everyone’s mileage will vary.

The budget Turkish options are like the proverbial box’s of chocolates… Some have good luck with them. I just steer clear.
 
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StefanGreybeard said:
I see the Remington 870 being constantly suggested as the recommended pump shotgun, both here on this forum as well as on "best shotgun" articles. However, I've also read that there were periods where the 870 had manufacturing/quality issues.

I've been looking, and anything other than the 18.5"models seem harder to find in-stock. Beyond the 870 having sold 11M units, what makes it so great?

Also, if I'm looking at something like a Mossberg 500 or Winchester SXP, is the 870 really that much better to be worth $200-300 more, and how do you know if your getting a "good" model?
Click to expand...

A good vintage Wingmaster is the only way to go. The Express models are perfectly serviceable and reliable, but the fit, finish and internal polishing leaves a lot to be desired.

You mentioned Winchester and Mossberg - I'd have no issue buying one of those too, also a nice Ithaca can be had for less than any of the guns you've mentioned and is probably better than all of them.
 
stubblejumper said:
The Express models cut corners , with plastic trigger assemblies, less finishing, and had issues like rough chambers, but the Wingmaster is a very solid, shotgun.
Click to expand...

I found the early Express's from the 80s to be pretty decent.

But nothing beats a Wingmaster.
 
Several older guns are worth looking at. Ithaca 37 Winchester model 12 and Stevens 520/620 are all solid designs that saw long LE and military service. They fell out of fashion because They were too expensive to make. Both Stevens & Winchesters are take down designs: the whole gun; not just the barrel off. Handy for many reasons.
 
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