870- old vs. new

One is a Dlask one is a genuine Remington. The Teflon coating wears ok but can scratch since it isn't particularily hard although it is baked on. I like the look of the Teflon, and since I don't hunt and shoot only at the range it works. A number of my guns were brinks guns which means they looked like they had been thru the war, but had actually been shot very little. I enjoy fixing them up sandblasting, parking and then Teflon coating them which I can do myself. One of the good things about the 870 family is that as long as the receiver is sound you can replace literally every single part on them with very little fitting required and usually no special tools needed other than a decent set of punches (although staking tools do make it easier). And you can actually get the parts with very little difficulty.
 
jTin said:
I wouldn't hesitate to buy a new express , keep it well oiled to prevent the rust . They work wonderfully
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Just bought a Rem Express "Tactical" in 20 ga for my wife. For the price, other than being stiff with newness, can't find much wrong with it. The butt pad is going to have to be shortened for her LOP.
Handles really nice and lacks the ghost ring rear sight and high rifle type sight she hated on my Mossback.
 
Plus it's milled out of solid steel vs made of aluminum like Mossbergs.

I've owned Ithacas, Remingtons and Mossbergs.

I love the operation of Ithacas, they are great guns. But the Remingtons are so modular, so many parts that you can just screw on and off. Easy to upgrade them.
 
Not too happy with my Wingmaster.

Broke the firing pin while I was camping in a small town. Zero chance in finding a new one for the 3 minute repair. That made the gun unusable for the rest of the trip, day one.
Then I broke the ejector a few months later.

Now I'm having problems with it going into battery, rough action, magazine spring bunching up, the works.

I'm not saying this is typical, but these are old guns after all...

Using my well worked in 590 is a dream compared to this Wingmaster I have.
 
capp325 said:
I've seen two.
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There's probably been a few of the older models that were bummers as well. Once my wife puts a case of ammo through hers, I'll have a better perspective on the current quality. I do remember an Army pal that shot skeet with his 28" MC Rem 870 that did very well. Action was as smooth as the M12 Skeet Guns we had in the garrison club.
 
I bought another new Express, and after about 125 slugs and Buck, I've had zero issues. Smooth, no grit, but the usual finish. Only color issue seems to be at the sight post.
 
Have had issues with Express models, manly tight chambers and weak mag springs. Nothing that cant be easliy fixed, misus the crappy non weather proof finish.

If you have the cash get the 870P or wingmaster.
 
Best new Express you can get is the Magpul. The cerakote is pure win, and besides Winchester Universals, it runs all ammo like a champ.
 
Dsiwy said:
Buy a chamber hone from brownells and it will run anything like a champ :)
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Mine runs Winchester, they just stick sometimes.
For cheap birdshot I shoot either Federal, Score or Challenger anyways for the same price or less.
No need for me to use Winchester shells anymore.
 
Bowie said:
Which does exactly nothing except add weight. The bolt of a Mossberg locks into the barrel, vs. the receiver like a Remington.
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Both guns the bolt locks onto the barrel and i agree there are zero problems with alloy receivers.
 
Dsiwy said:
Both guns the bolt locks onto the barrel and i agree there are zero problems with alloy receivers.
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The 870 has a apparent reported average service life of 225K rounds vs 75K for the Mossberg, according to high volume shooters.

While that's pretty much academic, the 870s receiver being much more tolerant of impact abuse, especially in still being able to function after being smacked into a hard corner, might not be, depending.
 
I just bought my first Wingmaster last week and it definitely feels smoother than my Express models. Maybe the Express models with get smoother over time and use?

I still like my Express 870s, but I'm really digging the older 1970 Wingmaster. The blued steel and wood furniture make it look really classy too.
 
Have owned both; new ( 870 express) and old (870 police). Both functioned flawlessly and never had issues. Differences were the plastic vs metal trigger guard, parkerized vs blued finish and synthetic vs wood furniture. The express is now with a friend and the police is my bush/bear gun.
 
I just picked up 3 Wingmasters for $1000. If you sneeze, it racks the action. Compared to my 887, my buddy's Express and Mossberg, I won't buy anything but a classic from now on. 1 will be a stand gun, 1 will be a push gun, and the last will be a "play" gun.
 
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