Are Remington 870's Really Garbage Now ?

I picked up a newer Express Tactical (the one with the one piece mag tube rather than the extension). Compared to my DA Grizzly the action is smoother, I'm satisfied for the price. Doesn't compare to old Wingmasters like the ex-Brinks gun I snagged for my dad a few years ago. Haven't noticed any finish issues.

The best way into the 870 is buying an old beater Wingmaster that needs some TLC, especially if you're going to be doing any customizing anyways.
 
My 870 express tactical has been awesome, finish is great and I have gotten it soaked and not even wiped it off and it's fine, granted
I live in a very dry province. The action was smooth out of the box and has only gotten better. I'm at about 1k rounds of the cheapest low brass available and it eats it all.
I feel like a lot of mossberg fanboys like to crap of the new 870's and it's over exaggerated, I actually switched from mossberg to the 870 and don't look back at all. My buddy got a mossberg 590 "black water" tried it once and then my 870, he's now traded the mossberg off for an 870. Clunky, rough action and heavy, or smooth, extremely point able (in 18" configuration) with tons of after market support. Calls easy in my books.
 
When was the merger? My 2005 or 2006 express was a reliable, tough gun with a cheap finish. I gave it to a new shooter and bought a 870 police, which is nicer finished but that should be a given. It's not easy to produce a shotgun in new York, pay fair wages and at the same time make it from a milled steel receiver while you're competing against cheaper to make aluminum-receiver models and rising costs of production.
My receiver on my express got a rust spot. But I'd have trusted that thing to my life, never a problem. Only reason I gave it up was to start a new shooter with his collection. And I replaced it with another Remington.
 
I just bought a new express a little while ago and haven't had any issues with it. No sticky chamber no burs. And I've had it out in some light/kinda heavy rain and didn't get a chance to clean It for a couple hours and everything was fine. I still wish I went with the 590a1 though.
 
Remington 870 express is a great buy for the money.
You can always modify/upgrade or refinish it, so many options.
Certainly a must have firearm.

Wingmaster & Police models are worth the extra cash.
 
I've owned several 870's; Police models, Tactical, Marine and Express. The main difference is finish. I've never had rust on one of my 870's; even on 2 week canoe trips (exspress). Keep it slightly oiled and you are GTG. I did have an early tactical model witht the grey finish in 2008; paint started to chip off in large sections so I took it back. Other than that Remington is still top of the heap for me.
 
frankthedog said:
was looking around today and out of the three shops I was in, twice I was told the Remingtons on the market are " garbage " now, being made in China or some similar far off land...any thoughts on this ? it was kind of dissapointing...
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Yes, it's very disappointing that your local gun shops have such ill-informed employees. But what else is new?!

To answer your question the way you intended: No, new Express 870s are not really garbage now. They're just not as amazing as they used to be. They are, however, as good as they need to be to sell zillions of them at that price point. Functionally, they are still as amazing as they were (WITH the caveat about crappy ammo and rough chambers; Easy DIY fix).

New Express models will get superficial rust more easily than I'd like, but frankly it's a cosmetic issue. Moreover, it can be prevented by treating the "matte blue" finish as if it were a really crappy parkerizing job (keep some oil on the surface).

Yes, the Mossberg generally has a nicer finish. It also has an aluminum receiver, and not nearly the long history of widespread use that the 870 has. It depends on what you want out of your shotgun. I'm not saying one is superior, I'm saying they're different. Personally, I don't care how my shotgun looks. I care how it functions. Period. I prefer the function of the 870 design, Express or otherwise.
 
daniel_250r said:
i owned an express, rough inside and out didn't cycle cheap federal target shells well. inside is loaded with burs and the outside looks like donkey ####. i can literally see the marks from when it was a piece of ductile steel its that rough. DON'T waste your money on an express, go with a dominion arms which is chinese yet way better fit and finish or an older wing master. Also mossberg would be suffice.
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Your description of the poor finish is accurate for many current off-the-shelf Express 870s. It also has zero bearing on the mechanical function of the shotgun unless you're using the worst ammunition available (steel case shells) and get an 870 with a particularly rough chamber. Even then, it's a problem that is easily fixed in 5-10 minutes with a DIY chamber polish.

The current production 870s work just fine with no modification with reasonable quality shells (e.g. brass-cased Federal at $70/flat). I generally have no issue with the Chinese knock-offs, but it's hardly a waste of money to go with the 870 Express.

FWIW, personally I would NEVER trust a Chinese clone for a serious bear defense shotgun, whereas I would not hesitate to take any new Express 870 for that purpose.
 
My buddy's 870 started showing signs of rust inside his safe. It doesn't make sense for his climate he has there either.

And for what it's worth, his 870 jams every once in a while; it's finicky on ammo. Whereas, my Benelli eats anything you toss in it.
 
Bought mine last year, fist time out had problems and every time since. Now I don't take it out at all, and I can't sell it in good conscience. Whats funny is, a friend at the range bought a Chinese knock off and it was perfect, right away you could see and feel the quality difference. His ran like a clock as well. 870's are #### now in my opinion, to be honest I won't buy anything by Remington now.
 
Stevebot-7 said:
It's maybe worth mentioning that Norinco and Dominion Arms both sell Chinese 870 clones, those might be the ones made in China that you were told about.
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I have spoken to a board member recently who has had recent tours of the Remington Ilion NY facility...and confirms that all of the 870's are in fact still made there.

They mill the whole receiver out of a block of steel.

The receivers are all made the same way, but the Express receives much less polishing/finishing than the higher end guns.

Most all of the manufacturers have things set up with as little hand finishing and fitting as they possibly can, it's the only way they can compete. Thus the apparent quality is not going to match something from earlier eras.

The worst things about the Express are:

The matte blue finish which is just asking to rust if it gets wet
The MIM parts like the extractor.
Cheaper wood/stock.

Those can be fixed but by the time you do...you could have bought an ultra-fine Wingmaster or Police model. So why not just do that in the first place.
 
fortis risk said:
Bought mine last year, fist time out had problems and every time since. Now I don't take it out at all, and I can't sell it in good conscience...
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Why haven't you had it warrantied, then? And, no offense, but if you advertised it (with an honest description, of course) at a value significantly less than the current new price, it would sell very quickly. I'd buy it in a heartbeat IF it was a fair price (less than a new one after the typical discounts and rebates are applied). 870s on the EE always get snapped up very quickly if they are fairly priced.
 
my 870 Express is probably about 10 years old and is one of my favourite guns to shoot. Every year I go to a fun trap shooting tournament and a handful of people end up shooting my 870 because they just love it.

I've had mine out in rain & snow and as long as you clean it afterwards its fine.
 
I have had a 870P for 5 years now and from rain to snow to sand this thing is un stoppable thousand rounds through not a bit of a problem as for the rusting my version is parkerized and have no issue. I could probably pound fence posts with the bloody thing and not harm it. would I buy another one.....yes, yes I would.
As for the express model...well guess you get what you pay for and there is nothing wrong with that.
That being said I do have something against Remington's rifles not sure what, I just don't want one, but will take there shottys any time.
 
I bought an 870 express as well as an 870 tactical both this year brand new, I had not heard of the problems with them at that time, but I have yet to experience any issues with either of my own, they are about what I expect for what I paid for them.

That being said, I do take good care of my shotguns, they are cleaned/oiled after each use and kept in a safe with a dehumidifier. Perhaps things would be diffnerent if I treated them a little rougher.
 
"...being made in China..." Whoever told you that is confused.
"...more affordable version of the wing-master..." WingMasters were not always the top of Remington's line. My 870 says WingMaster on it, but it's not the high end Wingmaster. The Marketing Department came up with the Express line so they could cut costs and compete with Mossberg et al.
"...Since the merge, they are real bad..." The merge with who? And what makes you say the rest?
 
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