How is the Remington 870?

M

Mosin-Marauder

New member
The reason I ask this question, is because I have always wanted this shotgun. I'm serious. Like, since I was 8. Not kidding. Before I even owned a firearm. They always amazed me. The video games I used to play (yes I play/played video games, I'm a child living in the 21st century) had this shotgun in it. From what I hear it's very popular and the only shotgun I own is a 12 gauge single shot, which I'm afraid to use for HD and it kicks very hard. I'm a scrawny teenager and can barely handle my Mosin without a recoil pad. I'm very new to shotgun shooting in general and don't really even know how I would practice, as paper targets seem kinda pointless and I've only fired maybe 3 shells my entire life. But I digress, there's a Remington 870 in all black at my local Walmart for a pretty good price. So I guess here's my total questions. How is the Remington 870? Would it be a good choice for Home Defense and for a beginner to shotguns? How would I go about practicing with it?
Please don't go too hard on me for asking, Im really new to shotguns and was just wondering. Thanks for your help.
-Mo.

Edit: I'm fairly certain this is the one
http://www.remington.com/products/f...s/model-870/model-870-express-compact-jr.aspx
 
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The Remington 870 has been in constant production since 1951. It is argued by most to be the best pump shotgun ever made. I have one made in 1958. Ones made from 1951 up through the sixties are probably better quality than new ones, but gun makers employed trained gunsmiths back then.

I believe you can safely buy a new one and get a quality gun.
 
The Wingmaster is great, the Express, (which is what Walmart, Dick's, etc. carry), has had some issues since it was built to a cheap price point. The issues for the most part are easily taken care of.

As a teenager, why are you concerned about HD?
 
As a teenager, why are you concerned about HD?
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Because I'm concerned about the well being and safety of my family. My parents aren't always home, and if something happened and my dad wasn't home, I'd be the only one in the entire house skilled enough to defend the home. It's not something I like to think about and quite frankly the idea of a home invasion scares me, but I have to be ready and equipped should anything happen.

And a single shot twelve gauge or a Mosin isn't something I feel comfortable using for that purpose.
 
A 14 your old girl in Montana dusted off two bad guys that broke in while she was home alone with her Daddy's trap gun and two rounds of buckshot. An 870 will do you fine.
 
The most common issue with the lower priced 870's seems to be extraction problems that are usually fixed by buffing the chamber.

My first 870 was a 20 gauge youth express that I bought when I was in 8th grade in 1996, the next was a 12 gauge Wingmaster made in 1971 that I bought in 1998 for $50, my newest is a 20 gauge LW Special Field that will be going to my daughter in about 13 years (the reason for the wall color behind the rack.... was going to my daughters room but her mother got primary custody until she is 3 and I just didn't feel like repainting after they moved out).


 
Any of the cheap Walmart specials will work for target practice and weapons manipulation, but its not going to be bad to run some low recoil buckshot through it (Remington, Hornady and Federal all make low recoil buckshot, if you can find the Federal LE #1 buck with flight control, that is about as good as it gets)
 
The less expensive Remington 870 Express is a fine choice for a home defense weapon. As for how you should practice/train, it depends on what you mean by home defense. You may or may not wish to participate in shotgun defense/tactical classes in your area depending on your view of what is involved in Home Defense. Some of these classes are more focused on what I consider to be tactical/combat endeavors.

Like Rob says, you should be familiar with firing buckshot loads, but for much of your practice Federal target loads from WalMart will do fine.
 
I have a 870 Express with 18" barrel. It's become a Safe Queen since I bought my AR. It shoots nice, not too heavy. Kicks pretty hard with 2 3/4 00 Buck. Winchester makes a low recoil #8 shot that shows up on sale occasionally at Bass Pro and Dick's. I used that alot to get use to a 12 gauge.
If you have any more questions, shoot me a PM.
 
It may not be so much that the 12 gauge hurts you so much as how the weapon fits you. My lady is rather short statured and short armed, and thought my 12 gauge 870 Express was brutal to shoot.

We shopped around and found a youth model 870 Express in 20 gauge which fits her correctly and its a pretty soft shooting shotgun. Nothing wrong with defending the homestead with a 20 instead of a 12. Either one in the right hands will do the job well if the shooter does their part and practices on a regular basis to keep their skills sharp.

I know that Remington as a manufacturing company is not what they once were, but hers is fitted well, no burrs in the action, looks pretty good with the laminated wood stock and is a lot of fun to shoot.

If you are recoil sensitive, I would recommend the wood stock over the synthetic because it adds a bit of weight, so the perceived recoil is less.
 
twobit said:
...It is argued by most to be the best pump shotgun ever made...
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I big time agree with this, specifically the Wingmaster. I come from a large extended family of Texas dove hunters & this is THE gun of choice! I've seen them cherished & abused but never failed.

FWIW...

...bug :)
 
As others have pointed out, the 870 (in particular the Wingmaster) is often held up as one of the best, if not the best, shotgun ever made. While I'm a big fan of the 870, I have to admit that there are other good shotguns out there. I've seen some 870s that have been pretty, umm, "well used" while duck hunting (got wet, froze up, held under water to thaw the ice, used as a boat paddle, etc. . . .), and they just keep on running.

For practice, get whatever light loads are available, and go shoot the snot out of it. (Buy Ammo, Use Up, Repeat.) In the event that you find that you do not like it, I cannot imagine that you'll have trouble reselling it, if for no other reason than the 870's reputation.
 
M-M, when I worked at my second job as gunsmithing in the 80's in Miami, FL, our store got a contract to supply Carnivale and Festivale cruise lines with pump shotguns for the passengers to use as skeet guns during the voyage.

The purchase from us was 30 Winchester 1200s and 15 Remington 870s.

Other than routine cleanings, can you guess which guns came into the store with broken parts and gave the most problems? Yep, it was the Winchesters.

These guns fired thousands of rounds per cruise, and the sole 870 I had to repair had a broken shell stop.
 
Go to a local range..../ talk to guys there about "tactical shotguns"...and the 870's will be well represented....as will Mossberg, Benelli, etc.../ and you'll probably be able to rent and shoot some before you buy.

Each of these mfg's have their issues ...each of them have their plusses...you have to figure out what suits you the best.

Any fixed breech shotgun ( single shot or a pump gun )...will give you maximum recoil. You can shoot lighter recoiling loads ( lower velocity, and less shot in the charge --- so find a 1150 fps round with 1 oz in it )...but you're still going to get a lot of recoil off a fixed breech gun. Semi-autos are a different matter...

Virtually any shotgun can be a "tactical shotgun" vs a dedicated "fighting shotgun"... I could take the plug out of any semi-auto shotgun with a 28" barrel ...and it will hold at least 4 shells...and it would be just fine for defense...

Personally I think the quality on the 870's is spotty at best...and the guns priced on the lower end are worse..../ but most guys that have these tactical pump guns put a few hundred shells a year thru them --- not like target guns, where guys put 500 shells a week thru them..../ .....but even the low end
870's will probably hold up to usage of 200 shells a year ...

I think the higher end pump guns are the Remington 870 Wingmaster...or the Browning BPS.../ but everyone should buy what the like. Personally I like the BPS ...and I consider them to be 500,000 shell guns....without any issues.
 
even the low end 870's will probably hold up to usage of 200 shells a year ...
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BigJimP, Did you make a typo when you said 200? I have at least 1,000 target shells through my low end 870, as well as some buck and slugs, with no problems other than 3 failures to extract when the gun was being broken in.
 
How would I go about cleaning my shotgun? Would a boresnake suffice with some solvent? I don't have any cleaning rods big enough to fit a 20. Ga. Mop or brush.

What would I use to practice with it? Tin cans and aluminum cans and bottles sound fun.
 
No, I think 200 shells a year ...is about average for a lot of shooters...shooting their tactical shotguns...( 8 boxes a year )....

not for guys that want to use the 870's for clay targets or bird hunting.../ a lot of them, like you, will shoot it more...

I didn't estimate the life of the shotgun.....but even with extraction issues, mag issues....maybe a few replacement parts / or upgraded parts...most of the 870's ( even the lower priced ones...)...and probably going to be decent guns for at least 2 generations ( I'm not confident they are 500,000 shell guns ).....but all of this is just my opinion / not grounded in any evidence.
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Half a dozen of the young guys in my extended family ...have the low end 870's or the Mossberg..../ they've had them for 10 yrs probably .../ they all put 200 shells or so thru them the first 6 months they had them ( probably 25 shells in "OO Buck"....and the rest of them in 1 oz or 1 1/8 oz of 7.5's or whatever )....and to a man, while they have all bought other shotguns now for birds and clays....not a one of them, have fired their tactical shotguns in the last 7 or 8 yrs..../ they're all just sitting in the back of the safe....and when I ask why -- I hear....action isn't very smooth, lots of recoil ( they probably don't fit very well ), short barrel isn't good for anything else ( not for clays or birds anyway )....

I just find it interesting....
 
How to clean a shotgun..../... no a bore snake is not enough...( it only cleans the bore....) / a bore snake does ok on the bore with some solvent ...so you don't need a rod if you have the bore snake.

Learn to take the entire gun apart.../ ( remove the trigger group, etc..)...and properly clean, inspect, and lube it ...( there are books and videos on line on how to do it ). Even a new gun in a box ....should be fully stripped...shipping preservative removed...and the gun should be lubed before its fired.

I would keep the "trigger group" intact as a unit ...not remove every spring within the trigger group, etc.../ but fully stripping a pump gun, once you know how, is no more than a 30 min process...to fully strip it, clean it and reassemble it.

On my pump guns / and my semi-autos ....I fully strip them if I ever shoot them in rain or heavy weather..../ and at least every other time I take them to the range ( I'll shoot 100 - 150 shells per range trip usually)...and if I'm shooting "dirty" practice ammo ...like Estate or Rio's.../ then I would fully strip it after every range trip.

Practice ....depends on where you can go / what that range or property owner will let you do ..../ stationary targets are ok.../ some "tactical ranges" will let you move between targets, do some reload drills, etc...but it varies by range....
 
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