Turning 870express Into 870P.

easy said:
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My god aren't they beautiful. Makes me cringe when I look at my chinsey plastic stocked 18" NON-P 870 :(. That and a nice Blued/Wood Colt Border Patrol .357...you guys set me up with that and I'll guard the QC border rain or shine :ninja:.
 
They still make blued 870P's, just go check the Remington LE website. The P definitely doesn't stand for parkerized. People have occasionally tried to say the same thing about the 700P, just internet rumour.
 
I thought Rick at ATRS had a thread up saying the US Export dept. banned all "police" designated guns for export, and that The Big R was thinking of changing the "P" to designate them the "Park'd" series. I don't know what came of it...thats just the info I remember.
 
Leg said:
They still make blued 870P's, just go check the Remington LE website. The P definitely doesn't stand for parkerized. People have occasionally tried to say the same thing about the 700P, just internet rumour.
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Happy New Year y'all. :)

Now that you have my post up against the wall, I thought I'd try to make sense of the "P" nomenclature.

Early 2001, I had a tour of the Remimgton factory with an LE rep. Tim is his name. Can't remeber his last name at the moment. He specifically stated to me that the "P" nomenclature expressed Parkerized on all the Police parkerized shotguns and rifles.

I'm pretty sure I had and still do somewhere, an early REM LE catalog that stated this as well.

Perusing Remington's recent LE/MIL catalog, all the "P" labelled weapons are specifically cataloged to be Parkerized. (870P, 870P MAX, 7615P, 11-87P, 700P, 700P USR).

In the same catalog, they list the 870 MCS System, the 40-XS Tactical Rifle System and the M24 Sniper Weapon System without the "P" nomenclature. There's also NO mention of any of these to be parkerized within the their descriptions.

I've handled the MCS version and I'm pretty sure it was not parkerized when I looked at. I believe the MCS system is bead blasted and blued just like the Express models sold these days. I'm also pretty sure that if the MCS system was parkerized, this would have been spelled out in the description of this latest REM LE/MIL catalog. Parkerizing is an important feature to not mention in their LE/MIL catalog. Wouldn't you think so?

So, I must respectfully dissagree with my friend Leg's opinion on the meaning of the "P" nomenclature. :)

However, I cannot find any credible mention on any of the REM websites to confirm this. REM may have removed all indication to the meaning of the "P" to mottle the fact that their new offerings (not the LE/MIL line of course, except the MCS, 40XS and M24) are bead blasted and blued instead of parkerized.

Also while searching, I could not find any present offerings of BLUED Police Magnums of any kind. All the Police Magnum labelled guns are parkerized it seems.
 
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Yup. Same here... Last time I saw the blued version offered in the Remington LE catalog is the 2006 one (which I still have in print form)... It's listed with a wood stock, 18" (improved cylinder) barrel, with bead sights, and blued finish. The order number for it in the catalog is 4899... This would fall in line with the vintage of the shotgun that I sold. Although new in box, it could have been produced in '06. All of the ones listed on the current Remington LE website are indeed parked...

Cheers,
hsld.
 
highspeedlowdrag said:
Yup, exactly the same... It had nicer wood than the one in the pic though... Not a scratch or blemish on either the bluing or wood. Funny you didn't see it though because it sat on the EE for about a week and half before it finally sold. Really hated to sell it 'cuz it was truly the best looking 870P I've ever seen. But hey, as your sig line says "easy come, easy go"...

hsld.
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And it will never see the EE again.

It is possibly one of the cleanest and slickest 870 Police models I have ever come across. I had a brand new wingmaster beside it and the bluing was better.
 
Oh and I have also invested a whack of money into my turkey 870 Express to make it pretty much impervious to all weather and abuse, but i would be very hesitant to try to make the thing up to the same quality and build of the police version. I don't think i am going too far out on a limb here by saying dollar for dollar, it would be cheaper to buy yourself a 870P and reap all the benifits.

Just some quick thoughs, as you can get a tuned up 870P from riker on the EE for $800

Park...$195(TacOrd)
Police trigger..$100-$150 ??
Easy $50 in springs and such.

Right there you are $400 on top of you (Used $300?) Express. So you are easy $700 into your ~800 gun, and you have not even opened it up to smooth it out(which I personnally think is unattainable without some serious time investment). I could see it being a fun project, the the $$$ don't add up. At the end of the day, you still have that Express punched in the reciever.
 
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And a Happy New Year to you to.

Below is a quote taken directly from the Remington LE website. It can be found on the "Standard" model page.

The most traditional Model 870P police shotguns have a walnut stock and fore-end with a blued or parkerized metal finish.
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However, I will admit that the models listed all say parkerized finish.

easy, I'm not doubting your story, or even your theory, it sounds quite plausible. At the end of the day, does it even matter? I don't even know why they add the "P" to any of their models since they don't mark them as such.
 
Hey, no worries Leg, we're good :) No doubts perceived here. We're just talking ... :D

I saw the line you've quoted from REM on their website. I took that as a typo as none of the REM receivers are marked with the "P", not even the Police Magnums. In turn leading one to easily believe that the "P" could be the nomenclature used for "Police".

I think the intention of that sentence was to express that Police Magnums were available in a blued version with wood as well as perkerized.

However this does enforce the fact you were right about "blued" versions of the Police Magnum still being available aside that they are not listed with the LE/MIL/GOV offerings.
 
So in otherwords not worth it to try and turn it to a police model.

How about a sanding and smoothing of all contact areas and then a nice DIY parkerizing job. Should be a lot better right there even with the weaker springs and plastic trigger.
 
Nonus, any smoothening up of the action, finish upgrade, and replacement/upgrading of the OEM parts will benefit your shotgun. At the end of the day, it all comes down to how much you're willing to put into it - both time wise and funds. There are lots of aftermarket upgrades that you can put into it. Just don't go overboard. Another thing to consider is whether you plan to keep the thing for the long haul, or plan to shoot it and sell it off at some point. Traditionally, "tricked out" shotguns don't really allow for one to recoup everything one puts into them in building them up... Just a few things to consider.

Cheers,
hsld.
 
I just kinda wanted to try parkerizing it, probably won't end up doing it. Have somewhat access to a blaster but don't know what the media being used it. Also have access to a caustic soda (think that is what it is) tank but don't know if that would be good. Parkerizing solution isn't expensive nor would be a stainless steel hotel pan to parkerize the stuff in. My time is worthless so shouldn't be a problem.
 
I just noticed that on the "home defense" model there is the little ball bearing that is on the barrel where you screw the cap on. So I guess that isn't just a feature of the police version.
 
14" Barreled Police Magnums are sweet.

I bought it on here for a SONG. Less than $500 and it came with a Knoxx SpecOps too (that I replaced :)) The barrel is a Rem 14" MOD choke. It's been refinished due to the silver soldered front sight.

I can say for CERTAIN that the fit and finish is superior to my other 870's and my Norinco's. Reliablility-wise - I've had no issues with ANY of them. :)
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Yes, the ball detent on the barrel ring has always been there. It's the recent economy line of REM 870s, the Express line of shotguns, that have the different system of securing the barrel with mag cap. The guns with the j-lock and the plastic trigger guard. The older guns all had the bal detent system.
 
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