Shotgun vs Shotgun, the age old question.

[willis0080]

The ejection issues I had with the remington are the reason I do not want one. I barely shot that gun and it locked a shell casing in my firing chamber after barely 50 rounds. Not to say it couldn't happen to any gun, but this made me sour on Remmys.

 

[Suther]

That alone makes my decision harder because I am going to want a large mag. Thank you so much for the info. Now, I've seen a few mag extensions out there. Is that a viable option?

Mag extensions aren't an option for a mossberg 500 or Maverick 88, as the barrel screws into the end of the magazine tube. You have to buy a whole other magazine tube and barrel too if you want more rounds.

What is your reason for wanting a larger magazine? If you were looking to get into 3-gun then maybe I can see a real use for a larger magazine, but for clay shooting you only load 1 or 2, hunting is limited to 2 in the mag, and realistically the time it takes to load and fire 10 rounds is the same whether the magazine holds 5 rounds or 10 (Assuming you're single loading, and not using fancy loading techniques or loaders then it takes just as long to load 5, shoot 5, load 5, shoot 5, as it would to load 10, shoot 10.)

 

[willis0080]

Mag extensions aren't an option for a mossberg 500 or Maverick 88, as the barrel screws into the end of the magazine tube. You have to buy a whole other magazine tube and barrel too if you want more rounds.

What is your reason for wanting a larger magazine? If you were looking to get into 3-gun then maybe I can see a real use for a larger magazine, but for clay shooting you only load 1 or 2, hunting is limited to 2 in the mag, and realistically the time it takes to load and fire 10 rounds is the same whether the magazine holds 5 rounds or 10 (Assuming you're single loading, and not using fancy loading techniques or loaders then it takes just as long to load 5, shoot 5, load 5, shoot 5, as it would to load 10, shoot 10.)

I guess the reason I want a larger mag is for vanity/tacticool reasons? I like to have options but I fully understand that the bigger mag is completely unnecessary.

 

[Butcherbill]

The ejection issues I had with the remington are the reason I do not want one. I barely shot that gun and it locked a shell casing in my firing chamber after barely 50 rounds. Not to say it couldn't happen to any gun, but this made me sour on Remmys.

Can only speak from my personal experience, with every 870 I own (newer and older express models) I’ve never experienced a fte or ftf. I polish the chambers but on mine it was because I wanted to not because I had rough machining, I’ve been hunting with them for a few years and not one malfunction. As you know the 870 has endless aftermarket parts available, a 590 might be more what you will want if you have been soured on 870’s.

 

[saskbooknut]

11 million Remington 870s have been made, suggesting a lot of happy users.
If one had a failure to extract, a wise person might have identified and solved the problem. Millions upon millions of 870s work fine.
Sometimes an 870 Express needs a little polishing of the chamber.

 

[0faustus0]

11 million Remington 870s have been made, suggesting a lot of happy users.
If one had a failure to extract, a wise person might have identified and solved the problem. Millions upon millions of 870s work fine.
Sometimes an 870 Express needs a little polishing of the chamber.

Saskbooknut nailed it!

"Sometimes an 870 Express needs a little polishing of the chamber. "

That is exactly it ....

I can add that I bought an 870 Police a couple of years back .... and where the whole barrel was not polished ... but nothing that a cleaning rod, a drill and some fine steel wool could not fix.

870s are great workhorses ... with millions of possible configurations with aftermarket products ....

Here is my favorite configuration:

 

[Brutus]

Ithaca shotguns for the most part are a very good risk as well.

 

[saskbooknut]

Ithaca Model 37 works as it is supposed to, but the new ones are really expensive.
There was a time, if you wanted a rifle sighted slug gun, the Ithaca Deerslayer was your choice.

 

[Brutus]

Ithaca Model 37 works as it is supposed to, but the new ones are really expensive.
There was a time, if you wanted a rifle sighted slug gun, the Ithaca Deerslayer was your choice.

There is some truth in what you say.
My only newer Ithacas were two:
A 12 gauge Waterfowler I bought for an okay price on our EE.
And from Ellwood Epps a slightly used but not abused 28 gauge that I really wanted to buy.
Technically I own a 4 shot DSPS that rolled out of the factory is desperate attempt to raise funds chapter 11.
Magnum receiver yet 2 3/4 inch chamber.
It shoots slugs really great.
Added bonus that LAPD wedge sight is the bee's knees at 25 and 50 yards. With prior practice I easily plopped a wild boar at about 70 yards.
Also a Turkeyslayer from 1997. Really nice to have removable chokes and rifle type iron sights.

 

[thegazelle]

Can only speak from my personal experience, with every 870 I own (newer and older express models) I’ve never experienced a fte or ftf. I polish the chambers but on mine it was because I wanted to not because I had rough machining, I’ve been hunting with them for a few years and not one malfunction. As you know the 870 has endless aftermarket parts available, a 590 might be more what you will want if you have been soured on 870’s.

Agree. I have an 870 from around 2007 and have never had any problems with it (it is a 20ga Express Youth model, all stock). Used primarily Winchester AAs. I don't like the safety on the 870, and I am not crazy about how sometimes my fingers catch in the area when loading shells. My recently purchased 590 Shockwave SPX loading is smooth as butter. I like the location of the safety of my Mossberg, but with the bird's head grip that came with my gun, I worried that the kick from the gun would gouge the webbed area in between my thumb and forefinger against the safety switch (this has happened to others before). I have since switched the bird's head grip to the standard stock to mitigate this issue.

Have Remington 870s gone downhill since the early to late 2000s? I really don't know, since I haven't really looked at the desire to have another shotgun until this year.

 

[City Boy]

Agree. I have an 870 from around 2007 and have never had any problems with it (it is a 20ga Express Youth model, all stock). Used primarily Winchester AAs. I don't like the safety on the 870, and I am not crazy about how sometimes my fingers catch in the area when loading shells. My recently purchased 590 Shockwave SPX loading is smooth as butter. I like the location of the safety of my Mossberg, but with the bird's head grip that came with my gun, I worried that the kick from the gun would gouge the webbed area in between my thumb and forefinger against the safety switch (this has happened to others before). I have since switched the bird's head grip to the standard stock to mitigate this issue.

Have Remington 870s gone downhill since the early to late 2000s? I really don't know, since I haven't really looked at the desire to have another shotgun until this year.

There are a lot of threads comparing older 870’s and newer 870’s. Many people find older 870’s to be better, but not all people. Most complaints are with the 870 Express with some even preferring the Chinese knock offs to the express. I’ve shot all sorts of clones and older 870’s and never had a problem, but I don’t know anyone that owns an express, so I can’t comment on those. For those not familiar, the Express is the budget version of the 870.

Another advantage of the 870, is the availability of used and new barrels, if you want to run, say, a long barrel for ducks and something shorter for tactical stuff. If you want a 12.5” or 14” barrel, the 870 is easy peasy to change. The Mossberg 500 requires a special forend and action bar for super short barrels. If you’re happy enough with 18.5” and longer barrels, the Mossberg is easy enough to change.

 

[maxman1]

Ithaca Model 37 works as it is supposed to, but the new ones are really expensive.
There was a time, if you wanted a rifle sighted slug gun, the Ithaca Deerslayer was your choice.

Another excellent design stolen from Remington.

 

[Brutus]

Another excellent design stolen from Remington.

In its older configuration the M37 Ithaca with 2 3/4 inch receiver is about one full pound lighter than its equal variant of an 870.

If you plan on covering a lot of hunting fields in one day, that difference can mean muscles that respond more readily after five or six hours on your feet.

 

[maxman1]

The Ithaca 37 is the Remington Model 17 in 12 gauge.

 

[The Kurgan]

I went from 870 to 500 back to 870, and now I'm happier with my Canuck pump. They all went bang, but the Canuck is WAY easier to disassemble and clean than the 500, and lighter than the 870. It also turned out to be the smoothest of the bunch after a short break-in period. YMMV

The Canuck borrows elements from the 870 and 500, but it's quite an original design originally intended for Weatherby. I wonder who actually came up with the design?

In terms of overall quality, however, an older Wingmaster has everything else beat.

 

[saskbooknut]

In terms of Quality - the Model 12 Winchester has all the others beaten.
The downside in the Model 12 is that the design is unnecessarily complicated, and demands a lot of skilled labour in construction.
It simply couldn't compete economically at the end of it's production.