870 vs Grizzly

S

Scott Bear

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Prince George
Wondering how these two compare. It seems like you can get an 870 Express for the same price as a Grizzly. Is one better than the other?

I've handled both long ago and I remember the 870 being a lot lighter with better handling.
 
I've never owned a Grizzly but I have owned a couple of 870's including an Express. The downside of the Express is the sticky chamber (according to some) and the poor finish. Can easily polish the chamber, can refinish the exterior finish and you'd have an excellent gun.
With the Remington, you do have factory support and somewhat of a warranty (as far as I know in Canada).

The Grizzly is a good gun, albeit heavier, though I don't know where the extra weight is coming from. Perhaps the stock? Or a thicker receiver?
I don't know if the Grizzly is legitimately parkerized, but there's a chance the finish is better than the Express.

I could be wrong, but the Grizzly may have difficulty with interchangeable 870 barrels and fitment.
 
I've handled some grizzlies and they are heavy .. receiver is thicker ... steel everything (at least older ones) and 100% parts compatible with 870 accessories. Finish is terrible. Built like a tank. Comes with a 12.5" barrel. The mag fed ones can have problems .... stick with the tube ones. The grizzlies work.

The express has a polymer trigger and some Mim parts .... reportedly has a so so finish. Never handled one. If you want a super short barrel, you'll have one more thing to buy and 12.5" and 14" barrels aren't always cheap.

Or get an older, used wingmaster 870, so it's light and has all steel parts and just get a short barrel, if you want a shorty.
 
The finish on my grizzly is hands down better than the express I have....smooth and clean as compared to the express that looks like it was finished with a drawfile then painted flat black.
I also have found the grizzly to be much smoother all around..it is beefier though weightwise
 
I had a 12.5 inch grizzly and dropped it the first day I removed it from the box and placed a LONG deep scrape down the barrel. Painted the scrape up and rocked it for a while. It was a great SG. Heavy as a bag of bricks. Sold and regretted the loss of a fine shorty. Purchased a few 870 Police Magnums. They are top notch but I now have an itch for an 8.5" and have been watching Canada Ammos page for a while.

From owning both I would purchase a 12.5/8.5 inch Grizz or an 870 Police over the Express models myself. The finish on the grizzly IMO is next to or cleaner then the express models. The action of the Grizzly out of the box was stiff/rough but they do smooth out nicely.

You cant go wrong
 
I've got a norinco 14" 870 clone and it functions flawless. one thing I did notice is that it wouldn't accept an 870 police trigger assembly. The pins on the reciever have a slightly different spacing, other than that it's like Lego for all other pieces. And the finish will rust like an express if not bathed in oil constantly.
 
It's a good solid SG, but I find all the dimensions to be just a little bit off. That can be a PITA sometimes.

The 20 gauge is even worse. Again, great gun but it's way off for some of the accessories. So far I've made everything fit, but it was a lot of work to get it there.
 
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