I've owned both 870 express and wingmasters. Never had a problem with either. Only one wingmaster is in the safe for hunting purposes now. Liked the higher level of fit and finish over the express. Wouldn't buy a new wingmaster just due to the price. I dont think any pumps are worth more than $500. I guess I'm lucky and have never had any problems with remington products. 870's, 1100's, 11-87's, and 700's have all been great in quality and function.
Remington 870, are the newer ones as bad?
- Thread starter Siege
- Start date
Here, here spoken from someone with real world experience.
I have had four expresses since 1991 and the only one I had an issue with was the 20 gauge back in about 1996.
Polished the chamber and of course the instant rust forming on the coating of the express almost instantly.
Used lots of G-96 back then.
Sold them or traded off for one reason or another (room in the safe/locker).
I like Remington's (870's)for their ease of operation and break down for cleaning.
Y, I am a Fan Boy and Union Thug and proud of it.
Unions, they brought you the weekend.
Rob
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I've had an 870 Express for many years and haven't hada single hiccup. It had a few upgrades from S&J but nothing fancy. It ate and ejected all the new production ammo I've put through it and just last week put some vintage ammo given to me from a deceased friends' grandfathers estate. S&B paper shells, slugs, buckshot, birdshot, most dated older than I've been alive. The 870 ate everything without a hitch, so I don't get the snobbery.
My experience with 870s is limited to 2 16 gauge Wingmasters both forever flawless, slick operation. My dad's is in very good condition, mine is slightly better, but less though the pipe. I need to keep my dad's for obvious reasons. Mine, I might sell soon, just to make more room under the floorboards. Wish there was a slamfire kit for the WM. Then they would be better than early M37s!!!!!!
Quality is marginal. Triggers are poor. I've always had to tinker with them to slick them up. However, they always work. Personally I would investigate other brands as well.
A Benelli Super Nova for example. I picked up an excellent used one from the EE for an 870 price. Doubt I will ever go back to big green.
A Benelli Super Nova for example. I picked up an excellent used one from the EE for an 870 price. Doubt I will ever go back to big green.
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I've chimed-in on so many 870 threads that I've lost count. THIS thread reminds me of the discussion about what dog breed bites people the most. The answer to that seems to be labs...but because they are more prone to biting, or because there are so many of them around it's bound to skew the results? Answer? Door #2. So, while I'd never say there are no 870s out there that have problems...I WOULD say that I must be the luckiest 870 owner out there. I've had a bunch of them over the years, Wingmasters...Express...Police...and NONE of them have had feeding/extracting/ejecting issues. I have worked on a few Expresses belonging to friends/family, mostly stuck choke tubes...but one was an extraction issue because of a rough chamber. All pretty easy to remedy. With respect to the finish on the newer Expresses...no, they're nowhere near what a Wingmaster is (regardless of vintage)...but an ounce of TLC eliminates any concerns there. At least in my experience owning one for maybe 10 years now. Every time I hear the "surface rust" question, I wonder what level of care people give their guns and more importantly, whether or not they'd treat a $1,000-ish Wingmaster as poorly as they would their Express?
I'll leave it with this~a good friend of mine is an avid duck hunter, and bought an 870 Express Magnum for the job (synthetic stock). Worked perfectly until one day...his boat capsized and the gun sank to the bottom of the lake. I spoke to him soon after, and he'd managed to recover the gun a few days later. I asked how far he broke it down to clean it up and his answer suggested more work needed to be done. I coached him on what to do, what to check...he emailed me the next day and thanked me, as there was water/debris in some spots he hadn't imagined it could get. Everything dried, lubed, reassembled...and has worked perfectly ever since.
Bottom line for the OP~they are great guns, real work-horses...and most issues (in my experience) can be remedied with a little YouTube time and a little elbow grease. Isn't that the kind of gun most people would want?
I'll leave it with this~a good friend of mine is an avid duck hunter, and bought an 870 Express Magnum for the job (synthetic stock). Worked perfectly until one day...his boat capsized and the gun sank to the bottom of the lake. I spoke to him soon after, and he'd managed to recover the gun a few days later. I asked how far he broke it down to clean it up and his answer suggested more work needed to be done. I coached him on what to do, what to check...he emailed me the next day and thanked me, as there was water/debris in some spots he hadn't imagined it could get. Everything dried, lubed, reassembled...and has worked perfectly ever since.
Bottom line for the OP~they are great guns, real work-horses...and most issues (in my experience) can be remedied with a little YouTube time and a little elbow grease. Isn't that the kind of gun most people would want?
It is 53 years since I bought my first wingmaster new it still shoots just as well as it did then. Flawless
I wonder in 50 years even 25 will anyone even know what a Nova is other than something Gm made at one time
Where do you get parts for that Nova by the way. I know a guy looking for some items for quite a while
Cheers
mosinmaster
CGN frequent flyer
Wouldn't matter, cause once the Nova/Supernova has run it's course, just get a Mossberg or Remington. So many around, just got to be adaptable and shoot em all.
However, the Nova debuted in 1999 and is almost 20 years in service and continuous production. If it makes it to 25-30 years, it might just stay on as I can't imagine it costing Benelli that much to produce per unit. Perhaps they know that they don't sell as fast as Mossbergs/Remingtons so they produce at a lower rate, and hence run into less flooding of the market and competing against the used Novas/Supernovas. It also gets users into the "Benelli" name without jumping to $1500 for a semi-auto. They've positioned this model well in the pump gun market. Hell, even Remington tried to copy it in the now discontinued 887. Benelli may consolidate the line into just the Supernova, but the regular Nova is good value for what you pay for especially the used prices at $400.
My first gun was an 870 Express (2007) and it was fine, no rust or extraction issues. Ugly compared to Wingmasters that I acquired later down the road. Mossberg 500s were also great too, killed my first deer and ducks with it. Tried M12, and M37 which were superb. Currently on a Nova which is ugly as sin but does everything so well for me that I cannot sell it. It's loaded with all the features and is low maintenance. Have been fancying a BPS lately for the walnut and blue, but being overly heavy and complex doesn't seem to make sense to own.
However, the Nova debuted in 1999 and is almost 20 years in service and continuous production. If it makes it to 25-30 years, it might just stay on as I can't imagine it costing Benelli that much to produce per unit. Perhaps they know that they don't sell as fast as Mossbergs/Remingtons so they produce at a lower rate, and hence run into less flooding of the market and competing against the used Novas/Supernovas. It also gets users into the "Benelli" name without jumping to $1500 for a semi-auto. They've positioned this model well in the pump gun market. Hell, even Remington tried to copy it in the now discontinued 887. Benelli may consolidate the line into just the Supernova, but the regular Nova is good value for what you pay for especially the used prices at $400.
My first gun was an 870 Express (2007) and it was fine, no rust or extraction issues. Ugly compared to Wingmasters that I acquired later down the road. Mossberg 500s were also great too, killed my first deer and ducks with it. Tried M12, and M37 which were superb. Currently on a Nova which is ugly as sin but does everything so well for me that I cannot sell it. It's loaded with all the features and is low maintenance. Have been fancying a BPS lately for the walnut and blue, but being overly heavy and complex doesn't seem to make sense to own.
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^I've held those BPS a number of times...and I don't know if decades of Remington use are to blame, but I don't find that they shoulder/point nearly as well as a Remington. I've also read a fair bit about (trying) working on them. I think the simplicity of the Remington seems more appealing but in the interest of transparency...I've never worked on a BPS. The BPS are very pretty guns though. My most recent shotgun purchase? A used Mossberg 500 Persuader. (=fun gun) Honestly? I really like the thing, and I've shot other 500s as well. I don't think they're any better/worse than 870s to work on..just a little different. I also don't think the lines are quite as nice as 870s, nor does the finish on the receiver (being aluminum) every completely match the barrel/mag tube...for what that's worth. However, I would pick a Mossberg 500 over the Benelli pumps. If I'm sacrificing looks...the Mossberg is a smaller sacrifice than the Benelli.
I look in the EE often, and the Mossberg 500s seem to be the best-priced pumps. I have nothing but positive things to say about them, but my experience with them is nowhere near the time I have with 870s. PRobably never will be at my age.
Cameron SS
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Ground Zero
I own three 870s. All express. Never had an issue with any of them. Can't understand what all the fuss is about. Maybe I'm just lucky.
Every time I have ever had any issue with any shotgun, pump or semi, it has always, 100% of the time, been cheap ammo.
Every time I have ever had any issue with any shotgun, pump or semi, it has always, 100% of the time, been cheap ammo.
mosinmaster
CGN frequent flyer
^I've held those BPS a number of times...and I don't know if decades of Remington use are to blame, but I don't find that they shoulder/point nearly as well as a Remington. I've also read a fair bit about (trying) working on them. I think the simplicity of the Remington seems more appealing but in the interest of transparency...I've never worked on a BPS. The BPS are very pretty guns though. My most recent shotgun purchase? A used Mossberg 500 Persuader. (=fun gun) Honestly? I really like the thing, and I've shot other 500s as well. I don't think they're any better/worse than 870s to work on..just a little different. I also don't think the lines are quite as nice as 870s, nor does the finish on the receiver (being aluminum) every completely match the barrel/mag tube...for what that's worth. However, I would pick a Mossberg 500 over the Benelli pumps. If I'm sacrificing looks...the Mossberg is a smaller sacrifice than the Benelli.
I look in the EE often, and the Mossberg 500s seem to be the best-priced pumps. I have nothing but positive things to say about them, but my experience with them is nowhere near the time I have with 870s. PRobably never will be at my age.
I want to like the BPS, but I don't understand what the Browning engineers were thinking re: cleaning/disassembly. I haven't read much about malfunctions regarding the guns, so I guess you can go shoot multiple seasons in the duck blind and upland and the internals are relatively clean due to the bottom eject? Still nice to clean everything out at the end of the season. And why did they overbuild the steel receiver, they easily get away with a less bulky receiver like the 870.
The only issue I had with my Mossberg 500 was the dropping of rounds from the magazine tube. It happened once, and I think it was either due to the magazine tube backing itself out or the cartridge interrupter timing with the lifter somehow were out of time so it got released before the lifter came down or after it went back up. Screwing in and loc-tite on the mag tube solved this issue and it never happened again. Mossbergs are great for carrying on long hunts due to the aluminum receiver and it balanced pretty good.
The Nova is definitely forward heavy and long given the 3.5" receiver. It's just a bastard to carry to your hunting spot, but once you're set up and just waiting for birds or game it's alright. Our forefathers carried M1 Garands, Lee Enfields, and other 8 pound + rifles into combat with ammo and grenades and here we complain about weight and recoil like sissies in the 21st century
You got me lusting for an M500 with a short 18.5" barrel. Been looking for a backpack gun while fishing in the bush and it's sort of a toss up with the 12 ga or a 45-70 guide gun.
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Shooter_01
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Durham Region, Ontario
My experience is much like yours. I’ve owned a number of recent manufactured 870 Wingmasters and Police models and all have worked flawlessly.
I find the BPS to be a pretty slick action, but they just don’t fit me right and I don’t like how they disassemble when compared to the 870. That said, my wife really likes her BPS Upland Special.
I’m a BIG 870 fan.
I bought a Remington 870 Express magnum combo in the mid 2000’s. Took it on a pheasant hunt roughly a month or two after buying. On that hunt the Cam surface on the left action bar wore down enough that it no longer camed open the shell release. It stopped feeding from the tubular magazine right there. There was a steady myst of rain over the two day hunt, the laminate stocks finish started to flake off and crack as result. I got rid of it after that. It was a budget gun, I bought it because it was affordable and I wanted to try an 870 out. I haven’t owned one since. Owned and still own more that a few Browning BPS shotguns both before and after the experience with the Remington 870. Never had any issues with any of them. Someone above mentioned difficulty in cleaning the internals of their BPS. It’s pretty easy and straight forward once you learn how to dissasemble/reassemble it. I by far prefer the BPS over the 870. Just my two cents...
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cdn1canhunt
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- southwestern ontario
why not look at a Mossberg 500?
Potato boy
Regular
- Location
- North of the mountain
I Purchased two left hand versions of the 870 for my sons in the past three years,they both work great.I’ve bought a 20 gauge tactical 870 within the past five years,works great.I’ve bought a Marine Police and a police parkerised 870 within the last five years both work great. I bought another son an Express 870,which I converted to a pistol grip model and I also purchased a 3 1/2 inch magnum for him with the 28” Barrel for hunting,no issues, zero problems with any of those shotguns.I have an old 870 from the 70s and they are fantastic, you can tell the quality is better than the new ones,the fit and finish, the precise click of the action is great,but the new ones function and I have had no issues, my marine magnum police that I purchased in 2011 is as good as my wing master from the 1970s.
