So many 870 version I'm getting confused

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Jmcc

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I got great feedback earlier here on barrel length for my purposes.

I thought I had all the info so I headed the EE to get an idea of what was out there but I still don’t feel informed enough.

I started googling to do more research on my own but there are literally hundreds of 870 combinations!

Where im at

I want 18.5 or 20 inch barrel
I want chokes so I can hunt grouse/turkey
I want ability to also shoot slugs for bear protection
I want extended mag cuz, well I just do!
I think I want rifle sights???
I don’t care about wood or synthetic

Wingmaster is the ideal but its also the most expensive and a bit more than I want to spend.
Express is the cheapest non-knock off. What are the down sides of this? Will it meet my above criteria?
Tactical, I can't tell what's different in the tactical vs express beside the furniture and barrel length. Am I missing something?
Police is more than Express. Is there anything about this that would be better for my purposes and justify a higher price for me?

Norinco M-98, is a knock off but it takes 870 parts. This is typically the cheapest. The reviews seem good for the price.

Im not looking for an heirloom gun. This will live in ATV and get knocked around a lot.
 
I use a marine mag 870 for almost all those things u listed.. cept turkey, since theres none up here..

Honestly, id just get the wingmaster.. then buy the barrels you need as you go ! Rems are made to use. .not heirloom guns by any stretch of the imagination. Lol
 
dimeN said:
I use a marine mag 870 for almost all those things u listed.. cept turkey, since theres none up here..

Honestly, id just get the wingmaster.. then buy the barrels you need as you go ! Rems are made to use. .not heirloom guns by any stretch of the imagination. Lol
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The Marine looks fantastic and its high on my list, but its the $$ that's keeping me down.
Im trying to find the cheapest way to get an 870 that meet my needs.

The wingmaster is the obvious choice but is there something that's 90% as good for 50% the price.

I already have dedicated turkey and grouse guns.
 
Tarrantula said:
I have seen some great deals on lightly used Wingmasters on the EE, if you're patient.
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Exactly, you could get a nice old wingmaster for around $350 or so and then find a 20 inch rifle sight barrel for around $125.00.
You will likely have to add chokes to the 20 inch barrel.

If your real lucky you might find a good deal on a combo setup or just an old wingmaster with a short barrel.

I'd try a wanted to buy post on the E.E.
 
Tarrantula said:
I have seen some great deals on lightly used Wingmasters on the EE, if you're patient.
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this is one of the very few times i actually have patience :)

Ive already got the guns "i need" to hunt so i wont miss a season.
This is the gun "i want"

What im trying to accomplish now is do all my research now so that ill recognize a good deal on the EE, have my cash ready, and be able to be the 1st "Ill take it" without asking 30 questions beforehand.
 
The differences between the different model 870's are quite confusing, however I believe that the express models have the mag tube "dimpled" so it is harder to add a magazine extension. The tactical models come with a mag extension, also another difference between the older model "Wing Masters" is that the new model express and tactical models have a "tabbed shell lifter" which is meant to make it less likely to have issues if you short stroke it when loading. I am not sure if the newer model "Wing Masters" have a tabbed shell lifter. If you want to get an 18" barrel with interchangeable chokes I am not sure what is available in the tactical and express lines, however you can get 18" barrels with chokes from "Carlsons" which are available from Als corner store in Canada.
 
rhino62 said:
The differences between the different model 870's are quite confusing, however I believe that the express models have the mag tube "dimpled" so it is harder to add a magazine extension. The tactical models come with a mag extension, also another difference between the older model "Wing Masters" is that the new model express and tactical models have a "tabbed shell lifter" which is meant to make it less likely to have issues if you short stroke it when loading. I am not sure if the newer model "Wing Masters" have a tabbed shell lifter. If you want to get an 18" barrel with interchangeable chokes I am not sure what is available in the tactical and express lines, however you can get 18" barrels with chokes from "Carlsons" which are available from Als corner store in Canada.
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these are all the little nuances im trying to figure out.

Ideally i want to buy it as full set up and not need to buy more parts (besides maybe choke or two)
 
I have a 20 inch wingmaster barel with sights no chokes on the EE right now. I’m sure we could work out a deal if interested
 
pc9 said:
I have a 20 inch wingmaster barel with sights no chokes on the EE right now. I’m sure we could work out a deal if interested
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im a few months from purchase. (aiming for spring)
Im putting cash in the coffee cup each week.
 
The turkey barrel Rem sells is smooth bore with rifle sights and is threaded for chokes, I know it comes in 20” lengths as I have one but I’m not sure it comes in a 18” version. All the rifle sighted 18” Rem barrels I see new or on the ee are the home defence versions that are open cylinder only. Don’t overlook the express, removing the dimples in the mag tube isn’t hard. My express has been great, I’ve done some internal upgrades because I wanted to and not because I had to. Follower and spring, jumbo safety, police extractor and +2 mag extension, that kind of stuff. It’s an awesome pump gun.
 
Butcherbill said:
The turkey barrel Rem sells is smooth bore with rifle sights and is threaded for chokes, I know it comes in 20” lengths as I have one but I’m not sure it comes in a 18” version. All the rifle sighted 18” Rem barrels I see new or on the ee are the home defence versions that are open cylinder only. Don’t overlook the express, removing the dimples in the mag tube isn’t hard. My express has been great, I’ve done some internal upgrades because I wanted to and not because I had to. Follower and spring, jumbo safety, police extractor and +2 mag extension, that kind of stuff. It’s an awesome pump gun.
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so besides the dimples, what other drawbacks are there with the express? I really like the lower price
 
The tactical has a longer mag tube and thus can’t take the vast majority of barrels out there.

The express has a MIM extractor and a pretty garbage finish.
 
Jmcc said:
so besides the dimples, what other drawbacks are there with the express? I really like the lower price
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I haven’t found any drawbacks yet, people complain of rusting issues with the blasted blued finish of the express but I haven’t had any rust form in over a year. I have been out in pouring rain and snow with mine, I lightly oil it after I dry it off and that’s about all I do for preventative maintenance. The express extractors are stamped metal but easy to swap out for the machined extractor, I didn’t have any problems with the stamped extractor.

I have a feeling any quality control issues people were haveing a few years back have been addressed, I polished my chambers on my express barrels but I didn’t feel any tooling marks. I did it when I did my detail strip and clean after I bought it new, it has been 100% reliable for me. I haven’t had a single malfunction of any kind.

It’s like the sks, people have one bad experience with an express a few years back and now they love to hate on them. I think some of the finish rusting issues can be chalked up to laziness to some extent, it’s not hard to find 5 minutes to dry off and wipe it with an oily rag.
 
rommelrommel said:
The tactical has a longer mag tube and thus can’t take the vast majority of barrels out there.

The express has a MIM extractor and a pretty garbage finish.
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Im ok with a garbage finish if the price reflects that. Im gonna beat it up anyway.

But i did just spend 20 min googeling MIM extractors. learned a lot!
 
Jmcc said:
Where im at

I want 18.5 or 20 inch barrel
I want chokes so I can hunt grouse/turkey
I want ability to also shoot slugs for bear protection
I want extended mag cuz, well I just do!
I think I want rifle sights???
I don’t care about wood or synthetic
Click to expand...

This checks all the boxes, if I wanted all of the above without putting it together I’d consider it. It doesn’t have rifle sights but the ghost rings are nice and you get a rail with the xs sights setup in case you feel like using a red dot for slugs. It has the removable +2 mag extension so you can use any regular 870 barrel.

https://www.reliablegun.com/en/remi...t-ring-sight-rail-rem-choke-tactical-extended
 
What comes to mind (for me) if budget is tight, might be this;

Buy an express action, and the cheapest stock set you can get. I've seen barrel-less Express actions in the EE, but be mindful of what new ones cost...some sellers are OTL. lol Find a 21", vent rib turkey barrel. They're threaded for RemChoke. With that combo, you should be able to add a +2 (if memory serves) mag extension. Only compromise would be no rifle sights, but you'd do just fine shooting slugs with that set-up. I did. :) I've never seen/owned a rifle-sight, RemChoke barrel and if I'm being honest...I can't say as I knew they existed. I think for most applications, you'd be better-served by the vent rib barrel on the 21" than a shorter, rifle-sight barrel. You do need the ability to use choke tubes if you're reaching out to turkeys.

Bottom line~no ONE barrel can do it all equally-well...that's part of the reason there are so many options out there. There will be compromises, up to you to decide what they should be. I'd suggest you decide how you'll use it 90% of the time, buy a gun (or barrel) well-suited to that...then add a different barrel when $ allows. Why? A 28" vent rib barrel (in my experience) will shoot a tighter pattern for turkeys than a 21" will. I could probably dig-up a 60 yard target I patterned my turkey gun with, and that's a reach.

Only advice I might add/repeat is this~putting a gun together from "parts" can add-up quick, and a "budget" build might end-up costing allot more than a factory-configured one. Express vs Wingmaster? Yep, the WM are better-finished guns, but in my experience...treat them both right, they'll both outlast you. Put them away wet, both will rust. Here on CGN, it's common to put an Express away wet..complain about corrosion, and how crappy the finish is. Meanwhile, the Wingmaster the same guy might own get's the royal treatment, and no online scorn. lol
 
Butcherbill said:
I haven’t found any drawbacks yet, people complain of rusting issues with the blasted blued finish of the express but I haven’t had any rust form in over a year. I have been out in pouring rain and snow with mine, I lightly oil it after I dry it off and that’s about all I do for preventative maintenance. The express extractors are stamped metal but easy to swap out for the machined extractor, I didn’t have any problems with the stamped extractor.

I have a feeling any quality control issues people were haveing a few years back have been addressed, I polished my chambers on my express barrels but I didn’t feel any tooling marks. I did it when I did my detail strip and clean after I bought it new, it has been 100% reliable for me. I haven’t had a single malfunction of any kind.

It’s like the sks, people have one bad experience with an express a few years back and now they love to hate on them. I think some of the finish rusting issues can be chalked up to laziness to some extent, it’s not hard to find 5 minutes to dry off and wipe it with an oily rag.
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This right here couldn't be said any better. Bought an Express as my first shotgun. 28" vent rib with black synthetic stock set. Swapped out the stock for Magpul SGA and MOE and picked up a 20" fixed improved rifle sighted barrel at the gun show for shooting slugs. Probably the most sound firearm investment I have made lol.
 
Butcherbill said:
This checks all the boxes, if I wanted all of the above without putting it together I’d consider it. It doesn’t have rifle sights but the ghost rings are nice and you get a rail with the xs sights setup in case you feel like using a red dot for slugs. It has the removable +2 mag extension so you can use any regular 870 barrel.

https://www.reliablegun.com/en/remi...t-ring-sight-rail-rem-choke-tactical-extended
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Looks like you have it covered with this one
Cheers
 
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