Rem 870 vs DA Grizzly

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Ofwolfandman

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Which do you think would be more cost effective and or reliable/sturdy...i'm sure some of you have done either or both; buying an DA grizzly and an 26 rem barrel for birds once in a while or an 870 with 26 rem barrel and a 12.5 da barrel for backpacking? I have never shot a newer 870 which I hear have had qc issues but the older ones my father had were awesome. Mainly i want something I can kick the hell out of and have it still tick and do its job.:cool:
 
Buy a grizz mag 12.5' and you can inter change the barrels, they are work horses.
 
I've beaten the piss out of my DA, I got it in the first batch of guns that arrived in Canada years ago.

I'm pushing over 50,000 rounds fired and nothing has broken or anything.

Only functionality mods I did was smooth out some rough bits where the action rails run along and its been awesome sauce since.
 
I have an 870 from a few years ago ( before the recent change in magazine configuration) and it works flawlessly. How ever I have a DA 12.5 barrel on it and the indexing is off slightly. If I did it all again now, I think I would just pick up the 12.5 DA with sights on it and do my modifications to that.
 
Those 12.5 DAs with sights and screw in chokes are looking like a great bargain. Keep in mind, a 26" Remington barrel will cost almost as much as the DA.

I have an HP9 and an 870 wingmaster, love them both. The wingmaster is smoother sure, but the HP9 functions fine and if I scratch it, I'm not going to get upset.
 
I keep posting about the grizzly I bought. Terrible quality and wouldn't chamber rounds out of the box. Sent it back.

I have an 870 express tactical with 18.5 and 26" vent rib barrel and it's very reliable. I believe the new runs of norinco / dominion arms guns have a lot of flaws and manufacturing issues.

On the plus side it didn't cost me anything to send the gun back, was shipped prepaid so it didn't cost me a thing in the end. I guess that's a bonus?
 
SoylentD said:
I keep posting about the grizzly I bought. Terrible quality and wouldn't chamber rounds out of the box. Sent it back.

I have an 870 express tactical with 18.5 and 26" vent rib barrel and it's very reliable. I believe the new runs of norinco / dominion arms guns have a lot of flaws and manufacturing issues.

On the plus side it didn't cost me anything to send the gun back, was shipped prepaid so it didn't cost me a thing in the end. I guess that's a bonus?
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I love my 870 Express, it always goes bang and never jams. Also I love the sythetic stock and not having to worry about dings or scratches. They're not meant to be babied.
 
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Turkinator said:
I love my 870 Express, it always goes bang and never jams. Also I love the parkerizing/synthetic stock and not having to worry about dings or scratches. They're not meant to be babied.
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The 870 Express is an excellent, US made shotgun, with a receiver milled from a solid block of steel. I would not feel poorly equipped with one in any way. I will take the worst one ever made over the best Grizzly ever made. In fact, I will not own a Chinese made firearm.[flame suit on...hahahahahaha]:stirthepot2:

That said, the Expresses are not parkerized, they are matt blued and they will rust at the drop of a hat, in the presence of moisture. It's happened to a lot of people. They are made to a low price point, with features economical to deliver at the price.

It might be well worth it actually parkerizing the receiver.
 
I bought a 12.5 grizzly and the finish rubbed off with my thumbnail and the fit and finish were terrible. Then I got the 8.5 bug and bought one of those. Right out of the box I couldn't get shells in the tube. I had to completely strip it and deburr it. I got it running good and dumped them both. Now I have 8 older wingmasters in various configurations including one I had converted to shoot 8.5 and zero grizzlies.
 
I sold my 870 combo now just have a 12.5" Grizzly.

Granted I may have got a good one but all I can say is it always goes bang when I want it and the ghost rings allow me to pop big lead pills where I want them!

Tough as hell gun for hiking but not a trap gun by any means but dollar for dollar it's a no brainer for a short slug gun. Only had mine for 2 or 3 years now never jams just gets smoother and smoother guess that is long enough for testing?

The 870s are smoother but I want a work horse at a reasonable cost.

Since the shotgun was so inexpensive I had money left over to install a Hogue 12" LOP butt stock, sling, UTG aluminum forend with 20mm rails, and a triangle front grip. It really just feels right for a pack gun and as I don't have a bunch into it I don't mind the odd scratch or ding.

Randy
 
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I sold my DA griz 12.5 and bought a used Wingmaster, and added a DA 12.5 barrel. I prefer the lower weight, super smooth action, and better finsh quality of the Wingmaster. Eventually I will upgrade the 12.5 DA barrel to a Dlask barrel.
 
Barrels between the 870 and DA Grizzly are interchangeable, so that would leave me to believe that pumps/stocks/receiver shell saddles/other accessories are interchangeable as well? Yes? No?
 
I had both a DA grizz, and a rem 870 express, I think the DA was of higher quality. my DA had an 870 side saddle, stock and forend on it, all fit without any issues.
I have since sold both these shotguns and have a Maverick 88, and FWIW I don't think I downgraded even a little bit.

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Having one of each in my safe. If there were no markings on either gun you would probable choose the DA. Only complaint I have with the DA is the bluing/parkerizing/paint will wear just by looking at it...
 
I ended up getting a wingmaster and a norinco barrel. Very happy with it. The barrel actually isnt bad except for the sight which is is ridiculously big. Im going to remove it and put on an optic one.
 
I absolutely trust my Grizzly and have put everything thru it without a hitch.

Very hard to beat the quality after all it is just a tool not a safe queen.

Added my Aimport and have a allen wrench in the forend storage compartment in case I want to go back to the excellent ghostrings which just blow away cheesy bead sights...

Randy

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"...a 12.5 DA..." High priced, big kid's, toy. Totally useless as a hunting tool and worse when carried in a backpack. You will never be fast enough to defend yourself with any firearm that is tucked away in a pack. You won't with a 20 or so inch 870 either, but having one in your hand will enhance your chances.
 
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