870 or 1300?

[Dave McC]

(Scuffing my foot and mumbling in my best Jimy Stewart imitation)Aw shucks....

Make it two pieces of pipe, a 10 penny nail, and a shell, you got a deal(G)...

Thanks!

One thing....

I'm not showing off. I just have a breadth and depth of experience not common these days, and since plenty of good people helped me get here, I like to pass it along.

 

[AdrenalineJunky]

I agree...

I appreciate all the wisdom you share with others without projecting a know it all attitude. It's a pleasure to log on each morning and read your contributions to this forum!

Although I haven't agreed with many of the responses, I do accept them and respect them. I guess it boils down to individual taste. As I said, I own both, and use both on a regular basis. They are wonderful guns. But, when shooting skeet, or hunting, my 870 is my reliable back-up. Thanks again for all of the honest responses, I appreciate them.

 

[KA3N]

Bought a new 1300 Stainless Marine 3 months ago, and a new 870 Express a few weeks ago.

While I'm very happy with the 1300, I was totally impressed when I opened the 870’s box and attached the barrel. It just screams quality. The wood is perfect, the finish is perfect, it cycles flawlessly and is very accurate.

This is only the inexpensive Express model, and I’m totally impressed! I can only imagine (for now) how nice the high end Remington models are.

(The bolt in my 1300 has jammed twice so far, and the finish is very poor on the magazine tube.)

 

[Al Thompson]

In no way does my experiance come close to DaveMcQ's, but I have used all shotguns mentioned. I own most of them and really have no complaints. The 870 strikes me as the "Harley Davidson" of SGs, with the Ithaca M37 as (maybe) the Indian. The 1300 more of a big fast Japenese bike.

I have had no problems with any of the SGs mentioned, but the 870 has the (subjective on my part) edge in durability. The 1300 may be a bit faster, but seems to me to be somewhat more fragile.

Strongly suspect we are indulging in what Bill Norton has referred to as "the shooters "one of" generalizations" - I.E., my XYZ is better than your ABC as the one XYZ I had broke. Blaming a bunch of anything on the failure of a single sample is short-sighted, but we (shooters) do it all the time. Heck, I still can't bring myself to buy another Walther PPk.

For HD and general use, they all work fine. If I wanted one with demonstrated durability, I'm afraid the 870 has a longer track record.

Giz