So many 870 version I'm getting confused

[Wendell]

...I still don’t feel informed enough...

Find your shotgun: https://www.remington.com/shotguns/pump-action

 

[blasted_saber]

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

Ive seen Express' rust after a dirty look, and chamber so rough you had to pry the shell case out or slam the butt off the ground.

My Wingmaster is 10x time gun my wifes Express is. Its not even close. So much so my wife asked me to get her a Wingmaster because she could feel and see the difference in quality. So I did, and we've now essentially turned the Express into a deer gun with a rifled barrel.

 

[0faustus0]

I wish there was a dealer near me ... and where one could test drive an Express ... a Wingmaster ... and a Police .....you know like at a car dealer. Unfortunately ....that is not possible ...

When I bought my first shotgun ....I searched for the "perfect gun" .... and when I thought I had found it ... well, I bought it.

It was a Norinco 870 clone with a 14" barrel. And then I bought an Express and a Police ... and I realized that I liked the Police better than the Express or the Norinco clone. I could shoot the Police more accurately with slugs. Decision made ... I sold the Express and the Clone. And in the process I learned quite a bit about 870 finishes ... models ... and sighting systems.

So ... in a way ... I got to test drive those guns .... and in the process ... I have given up on finding the perfect gun ... all I am going to do from now on ....is to test drive .....