870 plastic trigger guard?

Nope! WM and police guns have metal (aluminium alloy?) guards. The plastic ones were introduced with the Express line as a cost saving measure.
 
smoking hull has it correct.

The trigger guard was one of the changes along a variety of others such as the j lock, the bead blasted and blued finish, the rougher chamber, magazine spring retainer system, MIM parts instead of tool steel, pressed on front bead sight, and whatever I can't remember ...
 
I wouldn't sweat it. A buddy of mine has an Express with the plastic triggerguard. The thing has seen lots of time and hard use in the field and is still going strong. That having been said, if it bugs you that much, take manbearpig's advice and swap it out for a Wingmaster/870P aluminum jobby...

hsld.
 
It looks like a quality plastic. It doesn't flex at all. I did a test fire this afternoon and all is well with the action. I just wondered if it was a new cost cutting change similar to the plastic guard introduced on the 10/22's.
 
It's strong enough to double the size of my middle finger, if I fire more than a 5 pack of buck shot at once. The gun is nothing on my shoulder, but my poor finger gets it everytime.
 
Plastic or no plastic it arrived in perfect condition and functions properly with no quality issues I can see. I'm already over the plastic.
 
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I looked at a new, 2007 Wilson Combat Police Magnum at Epps the other day. The finish is the same as my expresses and the trigger guard is plastic. I was not really impressed. It even had a J-lock!
 
The plastic will absorb bumps and bangs better than the cast metal ones will. Craftsman was right a gun designed to save lives should not be equipped with any sort of a lock J or otherwise.

cheers Darryl
 
RePete said:
The original Expresses had a metal trigger guard. I have one.
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Did you buy it like that, brand new from the store? If so I stand corrected!

By the way, I think this issue of metal versus plastic trigger guards is trivial and a simple matter of personal preference. Many handguns nowadays have all plastic frames, including the guard, like Glocks and others. I haven't heard of one of those trigger guards breaking.

Plastics engineering can be pretty amazing today. They tailor the formula for the application and can come up with impressive properties.
 
RePete said:
The original Expresses had a metal trigger guard. I have one.
Click to expand...

RePete is correct! I've got one of the original 870 Express guns and its all metal. It was actually the first gun I bought with my "own" money, earned from a summer of cutting lawns and winter of shoveling driveways. I couldn't tell you how many rabbits, ducks, geese & turrs that shotgun has taken over the past 20 years. I know I wouldn't part with it and the action is unbeliveably smooth. It was a travesty when the Remington bean counters forced a switch to plastic and then later the idiotic J-Lock. I've got one on a later 870 I picked up as a tactical shotgun. It is being switched out ASAP.
 
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