I'm still shopping for my first shotgun, and still gathering information. I talked to a dealer yesterday who carries both lines. His opinion was that an 870 Wingmaster is better than a Mossberg 500, which is better than an 870 Express. In most of the discussion about 870s in this forum, I have seen very little distinction between the Wingmaster and the Express. In looking at the 500 and the 870 Express, the Mossberg appeared to have significantly better workmanship, material quality, etc. Obviously, that has nothing to do with how they shoot, but that and other people's opinion is largely what you have to base a decision on. Also, the dealer told me that the warranty on the 870 Express was 1 year, compared with 10 years on the Mossberg. He also said that in his experience, most defects with the Mossberg involved the safety breaking, which is cheap to fix, while the 870 Express has had a wider range of problems.
Again, this is all second hand info that I would like to compare with the experiences of others. Would also really appreciate clarification as to whether a post refers to an 870 Wingmaster or 870 Marine or 870 Express. Thanks in advance to all.
By the way, my present leaning is toward a Mossberg 500 with a 28" barrel from Wal-mart for $195, adding a 20" barrel for HD from Cabela's for $119. Any comments on this strategy and/or prices would be appreciated.