Would you trust your 870 express?

Do you trust your 870 Express?

  • Yes, right out of the box

    Votes: 287 73.4%

  • Yes, after tinkering with it a bit

    Votes: 55 14.1%

  • No, thats why I bought a Police/Wingmaster

    Votes: 49 12.5%
  • Total voters
    391
I voted yes, leverlover nailed it: the Rem 870 is the "pinnacle of simplicity and reliability!" Some smith's comment about preferring a Mossberg in a life and death circumstance is just astonishing.
 
Calum said:
It is a valid point, and you don't own the Internet. :rolleyes:
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Very mature response. I'm not saying it is'nt a valid point. However what I am saying is that too many threads on CGN start out with lagit topics and end up as a pissing match over things that have nothing to do with the topic, and it takes away from the usefullness of the thread.
 
1300_stainless said:
I would love to have a Police 870, but considering the price and what I personally use the gun for it's not economical. We've all seen the list of differences between the 870 express and police. If I needed my shotgun to protect me/ and to preform my job on a daily bases I can see these added features as necessary. There's no arguing that the police is a more refined firearm.

That said though, I've never had a reliability issue with my 870 express. bought it used, and shot it a lot, fallen on top of it, dropped it etc. No FTF, FTE etc, not even with cheap shells. I've also modified it a bit, added an aftermarket mag follower, replaced the j-lock and soon I will polish the internals a bit.

Anyway here's my question for the other 870 owners, just because I'm curious. Do you trust your 870 express for any situation? Right out of the box, or tinkered with? I personally trust mine for any situation with the simple modifications I've made, but maybe I've been lucky.

UPDATE
I think I should have reworded the first option to "yes, in factory configuration" as opposed to "yes, out of the box" I agree that nothing should be trusted without inspection/testing. But I have no idea how to edit a poll and now that it's started and has results that would kind of screw it up.
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0 issues for me right out of the box. I would trust my life to my 870. Over all of my other guns!
 
I would not trust mine. It has jammed many times. It has been reliable lately since I tinkered with it, but when it was new it would jam constantly, it's a known problem.
 
I would like to add to my response that my 870 Express supermag combo has been 100% reliable and I've never once questioned it. However, the finish on it is terrible and the only bad point in my opinion. It is some kind of spray on textured "fleck-stone" kind of POS finish. It is very prone to rust, and would benefit from a good stripping and blueing or GunKote or other such treatment. However finish is not a factor in defense/hunting, just looks and longevity. However from a pure "will it flawlessly go bang when I tell it to" point of view, I have absolutley 100% faith in my 870 express.

In fact I loved it so much (except for the finish) that I bought an 870 Marine Magnum. This is hands down my favourite gun. My baby.I will be buried with it when I die. (So when I come back as a zombie, I can kill myself :D )

Long live the 870! (But I'd never look a Mossberg 590 in the mouth either).
 
I owned a 870 express during the 90's. It often failed to feed. The lower edge of the front of the shell would hit the lower edge of the front of the chamber. I sold it and bought a 870 police and have never had a problem with it. On the remington armourers course we were told that 870P's were taken off the line to a different part of the factory and given extra "care" to ensure their reliability. I can't remember exactly what was done to them.
I was the armourer for a full time Tac Team. The oldest shotguns in inventory were blued wingmasters with chrome bolts (flexi-tab update done) They were reliable until they got really hot from extended firing. Then shell extraction would get more difficult. When we got new 870 Police's they worked great even when hot just like my personal 870P.
 
drvrage said:
I would like to add to my response that my 870 Express supermag combo has been 100% reliable and I've never once questioned it. However, the finish on it is terrible and the only bad point in my opinion. It is some kind of spray on textured "fleck-stone" kind of POS finish. It is very prone to rust, and would benefit from a good stripping and blueing or GunKote or other such treatment. However finish is not a factor in defense/hunting, just looks and longevity. However from a pure "will it flawlessly go bang when I tell it to" point of view, I have absolutley 100% faith in my 870 express.

In fact I loved it so much (except for the finish) that I bought an 870 Marine Magnum. This is hands down my favourite gun. My baby.I will be buried with it when I die. (So when I come back as a zombie, I can kill myself :D )

Long live the 870! (But I'd never look a Mossberg 590 in the mouth either).
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I agree the express finish is weak and rusts pretty quick. However a good coating of oil will go a long way. I will admit that cosmeticly the express is clearly a cheaper gun.
 
BCRider said:
I understood that the Express and Police share the same innards and the police just has a few more nice touches such as the tac' stock and tapped holes on the receiver for mounting sights and other accessories. But other than that the guns are the same.
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Sorry Bud..............right off remingtons sight


Important differences between Remington 870 Police and 870 Express shotguns
The 870 Express has been an important part of Remington’s offering to the sporting market. It
was designed to meet a price point in the commercial market while still providing classic 870
functionality. All of Remington’s 870’s have interchangeable parts, even if they have cosmetic
differences. It is also important to note that many manufacturers use the 870 Express platform
for their Police / Combat models. Without exception, every manufacturer who utilizes our 870
platform serves to upgrade their system to a more efficient, street worthy platform.
While the 870 Express is still an 870, the best pump shotgun on the market, there are some very
important cosmetic and functional differences between it and the 870 Police. To our customers
in Law Enforcement, Military, Corrections, and Security, whose lives depend upon the unfailing
performance of Remington shotguns, the Police modifications are of paramount importance.
Synopses of the variances are provided below.
• 870 Police shotguns go thru a special 23 station check list – ranging from visual
inspection, functional testing, test firing, and final inspection.
• All Police shotguns are assembled in a “special build area” at the plant in Ilion, NY.
This section is secured and serves only to build LE and Military shotguns, with the
same factory personnel working at that assignment each shift.
• All parts that enter the “special build area” are visually inspected by hand to ensure
top quality and functionality.
• Due to heavy recoil in buck and slug loads, all 870 Police guns have a longer
magazine spring which ensures positive feed and function.
• A heavier sear spring is used to generate a reliable, positive trigger pull between 5
and 8 lbs.
• A heavier carrier dog spring is used to ensure when the carrier elevates the shell, it
will be held there until the bolt can push it into the chamber. This ensures positive
feeding when using heavier payload rounds.
• Police shotguns do not have an ISS (Integrated Safety System) which is a locking
mechanism on the safety of commercial shotguns. This type of locking mechanism
can cause delay to an officer who needs the weapon but does not have the
appropriate key. LE shotguns have the standard, proven, cross bolt safety.
• The fore-end on the Express model is longer and not compatible with many police
shotgun vehicle racks.
• The Police shotguns utilize the heavy duty SPEEDFEED Stocks and Fore-ends.
• The Express model will not allow for the addition of an extension tube without
physical modification to the tube and barrel, which can nullify the warranty.
• The Express model has a BEAD BLAST BLUE finish while the Police models utilize
either High Luster bluing or Parkerization.
• The Express model utilizes a synthetic trigger housing while the Police models use a
compressed metal housing.
• The Police shotgun barrel is locked down with a “ball detent” system in conjunction
with the magazine cap vs. a lesser grade “synthetic magazine spring retainer” lock
down as used on the Express system.
• The receivers used in Police guns are “vibra honed” to smooth out rough finishes
and remove burrs before parkerization or bluing.
• Police shotguns use machined ejectors and extractors, as opposed to powdered metal
cast which are utilized on the Express models.
 
Well folks, I get paid overnight, and I'm definitely picking up an 870 Express (lefty).

The one our local outdoors store has is fairly old stock - and I prefer that. I suspect it's the same 870 I played with two years ago or so, when I was thinking of getting back into guns. I say this, because I picked up a new 870 Express (standard RH model), and there's definitely a rougher "feel" to it. Thinking it was the same thing, I picked one up in 20 gauge, and yep, same thing, that annoying "stiff" feeling.

Now for a synthetic handguard, and collapsible stock. :D
 
leverlover said:
out of box? maybe, but over time... mossberg aluminum melts and dies.

dont see many 20-25 year old mossbergs doo ya?
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Wrong! I have seen many old Mossberg shotguns still shooting fine.

I voted NO! My new 870 wouldn't feed all types of shells and loved to jam.
Yet when I buy a new Mossberg, it feeds everything and doesn't jam, weird.......:p
 
I trust my 870 100%. I figure I have about 10 000 rounds through it and it has jammed on me about 2-3 times. The times it did jam on however was shooting doubles in trap, and chances are was a result of human error and not gun malfunction. The finish is mediocre at best but for $300, what can you expect. Given the choice in a life or death situation, I would probably reach for my Beretta semi-auto 12ga. first. That gun has never failed me.
 
firemachine69 said:
Well folks, I get paid overnight, and I'm definitely picking up an 870 Express (lefty).
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Make sure you can get the barrel(s) you want in LH before you go out and buy a LH model.

I had one and couldn't get a rifled barrel - for sabot slugs for it! They didn't make them for the LH models at the time.

I sold it to another lefty who wanted it for birds only. Then I got one in RH.

No problem to shoot or operate the RH model as a lefty - and most importantly, all barrels are available.

Good luck - SD
 
if it was a pistol like an H&K or Sig yes cuz there is proof that the technician testfired it at the factory.

but i dunno if the remingtons are testfired. i would assume yes, but i'm not sure. but then again, i figure it should be safest to be extra careful when shooting straight out of the box, especially a 12gauge.

the magnum slugs still scares me on the first shot. hahahaha. i'm still never ready for what to expect as recoil.
 
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