There are a number of reasons why I prefer some of the Mossberg shotguns, but if you maintain your 870, it will shoot as many rounds of slugs and buckshot as it would birdshot before problems occur, and it should last many years before any problems arise. But as with any product, problems can occur with an 870; you might experience staked in shell stops that break loose, and jam the gun until they are restaked. The ejector might break off at the rivet. A worn extractor might stop extracting, but of all the potential problems its the easiest and least expensive problem to fix. If you use a sling, and your butt stock has the moulded swivel attachments, you might as well purchase threaded steel swivel studs, cut off and file flat the moulded swivel attachments, drill an appropriate sized hole, and epoxy in the swivel studs. Just for kicks, it might be interesting to pattern your shotgun every hundred rounds or so to measure the wear from shooting a steady diet of slugs. Clint Smith, the owner and founder of Thunder Ranch is of the opinion that after shooting 50 slugs through a modified choke, that it will no longer produce modified patterns, so tracking the wear of even an improved cylinder choke might prove interesting, and any changes that wear might cause to slug accuracy, over the long term.
