Shotgun story

[Uni-Vibe]

Needed a shotgun for Wife to learn how to use to defend the house. I bought a brand new in the box Remington Youth 870 in 20 gauge. Took that sucker home, pulled it apart to clean and lube prior to shooting. I tried to put it back together, and it just wouldn't go. The action bars/bolt carrier seemed to bind in the receiver. I worked on it for a frustrating 1.5 hours, no go. I took it back to the seller who has a "no exchange, you bought it, you send it back to mfr." policy. I explained the problem, they pulled another identical one off the shelf. I broke it down right there on the counter . . . sure enough, same problem. I know it wasn't me because I can disassemble and reassemble my 870 Wingmaster in seconds. They were kind enough to give me my money back!

Went out and bought a used Win. 1300 series youth 20 guage. Works perfectly.

The new 870s must be junk; that's why they offer the Police model. Sticky on this site says among other things that the Police model has real machined metal extractor (rather than powdered metal).

One more nail in the coffin of the American firearms industry. The legendary 870 is now crap. If you want a decent one you have to buy an older one.

[WS6]

Needed a shotgun for Wife to learn how to use to defend the house. I bought a brand new in the box Remington Youth 870 in 20 gauge. Took that sucker home, pulled it apart to clean and lube prior to shooting. I tried to put it back together, and it just wouldn't go. The action bars/bolt carrier seemed to bind in the receiver. I worked on it for a frustrating 1.5 hours, no go. I took it back to the seller who has a "no exchange, you bought it, you send it back to mfr." policy. I explained the problem, they pulled another identical one off the shelf. I broke it down right there on the counter . . . sure enough, same problem. I know it wasn't me because I can disassemble and reassemble my 870 Wingmaster in seconds. They were kind enough to give me my money back!

Went out and bought a used Win. 1300 series youth 20 guage. Works perfectly.

The new 870s must be junk; that's why they offer the Police model. Sticky on this site says among other things that the Police model has real machined metal extractor (rather than powdered metal).

One more nail in the coffin of the American firearms industry. The legendary 870 is now crap. If you want a decent one you have to buy an older one.

The only 870 I have is a 20ga Windmaster in fixed full-choke vent-rib format.

I love that shotgun. It is pretty, well-blanced, slick operating, and damn well made.

The new one's? Meh.

[DBR]

You do know you have to reach inside the receiver with your ringer and push the stops out of the way as you slide the bolt/action bar assembly back into the receiver don't you?

[Uni-Vibe]

Yes, that's why I was saying, I can get my 12 gq wingmaster apart and back together in 20 seconds. The new express Remingtons just didn't seem to fit togethr properly.

[Alaskapopo]

Needed a shotgun for Wife to learn how to use to defend the house. I bought a brand new in the box Remington Youth 870 in 20 gauge. Took that sucker home, pulled it apart to clean and lube prior to shooting. I tried to put it back together, and it just wouldn't go. The action bars/bolt carrier seemed to bind in the receiver. I worked on it for a frustrating 1.5 hours, no go. I took it back to the seller who has a "no exchange, you bought it, you send it back to mfr." policy. I explained the problem, they pulled another identical one off the shelf. I broke it down right there on the counter . . . sure enough, same problem. I know it wasn't me because I can disassemble and reassemble my 870 Wingmaster in seconds. They were kind enough to give me my money back!

Went out and bought a used Win. 1300 series youth 20 guage. Works perfectly.

The new 870s must be junk; that's why they offer the Police model. Sticky on this site says among other things that the Police model has real machined metal extractor (rather than powdered metal).

One more nail in the coffin of the American firearms industry. The legendary 870 is now crap. If you want a decent one you have to buy an older one.

I have purchased 2 870's and won one in a LEO three gun shoot in the last 2 years. All have worked like advertised. Yes I had to drill the dimples out of the mag tubes on two of them but they work fine. I gave two away as gifts and sold the one I won. I have two older ones. 870's are still the best pump going in my opinion.
Pat

[Slugger]

It's hard to beat an 870 for sure.
Slugger

[HeadHunter]

I taught two Home Defense Shotgun classes last weekend. During the maintenance portion I pulled the barrel of a brand new Model 870™ Express® Synthetic 7-Round and found that the barrel detent wasn't staked at all, just sitting in its recess loose. That's disappointing.

If the client had disassembled it at home I am sure the part would have been lost.

[WS6]

I taught two Home Defense Shotgun classes last weekend. During the maintenance portion I pulled the barrel of a brand new Model 870™ Express® Synthetic 7-Round and found that the barrel detent wasn't staked at all, just sitting in its recess loose. That's disappointing.

If the client had disassembled it at home I am sure the part would have been lost.

The only 870 I own is an old fixed-choke (full) wingmaster in 20ga.

It is a beautiful and consumately well-made shotgun.

It is also the only 870 I will ever own unless something changes. Definitely like it more than the new ones I see. The stock is VERY nice, and has great character. Not like all the new ones.

[SkiDevil]

[/QUOTE]The new 870s must be junk; that's why they offer the Police model. Sticky on this site says among other things that the Police model has real machined metal extractor (rather than powdered metal).

One more nail in the coffin of the American firearms industry. The legendary 870 is now crap. If you want a decent one you have to buy an older one.[/QUOTE]

Yes. A very sad situation. I used to be a Remington 'KOOL-AID" drinker myself (I have owned 4), but after hearing/ seeing repeated problems with many of their guns (recalls on several Remington firearms) and first-hand experience in purchasing/ examining some of the newer guns it makes you wonder if the bottom-line thinking of many American corporations is going to hurt this particular industry and the Nation as a whole.

Too much plastic is being used in the newer 870s and with the combination of out-of-spec parts it is not a recipe for reliability.

That said, I still own a Remington 870, albeit a Wilson's /Tactical Scatterguns Technology. It is a good and reliable weapon, but it cost over $1300.00. I certainly wouldn't purchase/ carry one of the new models without having it thoroughly checked and firing a couple thousand shells through-it first.

I used to recommend Remington firearms without reservation, now I am beginning to have serious doubts about their products. Ruger it seems may be heading down the same road as well.

SkiDevil

[Uni-Vibe]

I think that's exactly right. But I wouldn't trust an Express even if it functioned with 2000 rounds--at that point it might be worn out and ready to fail!

They build one properly and call it the Police model because the cops won't trust their life to junk. Their spec sheet says they use real metal parts and stronger springs. And it's built in a "special area" -- in other words, assembled and checked by gunsmiths, not $6 / hr guys with pierced noses.


After my experience I wouldn't touch an Express.

One cool alternative is a used Winchester 1200/1300/Defender. They don't make them any more, but they were an innovative design and well made. They are a pump gun but feature a rotating bolt and carrier that looks a lot like AR-15 parts but huge. You can get these inexpensively and they are good guns.