How is the Remington 870?

"Fair priced" is relative....but get some training ....and do some reading on how to safely use a tactical shotgun...and learn the techniques for moving and reloading, etc......

Gun Digest...has a book for under $20 ...that will give you some of the basics / and there are others out there.

Most every part of the country has firearms instructors...and you should be able to find someone locally to help you out...

( learn and test your skills...on basic drills....)/ even on a fixed paper target..at 8 or 10 yds...( gun at ready .....fire 2 shells - reload - fire 2 more...( maybe start at 15 sec as a standard )...and improve from there...( learn stance, grip, etc)....
 
May I suggest buying Matt Burkett's "Shotgun Mastery" DVD.
You'll get your speed...buy pumping during recoil.
I like Federal's Law Enforcement Low Recoil, 9 pellet 00 Buck, with FliteControl Wad.
You can jam the 870 buy short shucking...so practice getting the jam undone.

Square-up your stance like a boxer or football player --- shoulders forward, weight on the balls of your feet. Shoot at least six rapid fire shot's to see if the stance fails you {if the recoil pushes you back}, and just practice bringing the gun up an into your shoulder, then touching off a shot; without moving your head.

I have a 12 gauge, 870 Law Enforcement, with a six shot magazine, which you can also buy a magazine extender tube for the 870.
 
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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I agree, but had thought you were saying that they were only good for 200 rounds a year. I will be long gone before mine is worn out, since it only serves as a HD gun and an occasional guest gun.
 
No, the 870 is a "serviceable" shotgun in my view...not a great gun / and not a great long term gun...but serviceable.../ ..... 250,000 shell life probably ...maybe a little more...

When my 2 boys were young...and learning how to shoot Trap...they were each putting 200 shells a week thru my BPS Hunter model pump guns...and a few tournaments... so easily 10,000 - 12,000 shells a year...thru each gun ...and they started shooting at 10 - 12 yrs old so they shot those 2 pump guns for 8 yrs each probably .../ so 100,000 shells thru each of them...and I've put at least another 250,000 shells thru the 12ga BPS Hunter model ( Trap, upland birds, ducks...)......./ and both of my BPS Hunter model pumps are still going strong ( and while I don't shoot them much anymore ...some of the grandkids are shooting them now....) and not a single issue or repair with either one of them....

http://thefiringline.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=43354&d=1236031619

That's why, with confidence, I think I can say the BPS is a 500,000 shell gun...
 
I believe a BPS is a quality pump and likely superior to a low end 870, but one thing that cracks me up is when people evaluate a model based on experience with a single or a few guns. I wish there was the equivalent of consumer reports that tore several samples of models down and evaluated them at intervals lilke 2,000, 10,000, and 40,000 rounds. (Aside. My experience with a Browning Citori XS Skeet has been nothing but good. Any problems with it was due to the indian and not he arrow. Just learning that I have some kind of eye coordination problem and off to see a second optometrist.) Aside to aside. Shouldn't it be the bow and not the arrow?)
 
I try not to restrict my input ...to only what I see in my guns....but I'm at the Skeet and Sporting Clays range once a week, sometimes twice.....and my local handgun range...2 or 3 times a week....

and I try and talk to shooters...ask them what they're shooting.../ see how they like it..../ if for no other reason, than to be fair to evaluating something when one of my boys or grandkids asks about buying it...

Even doing that ...its still a small sample...

Full disclosure....I purchased one 870 Express about 25 yrs ago...as a gift for one of the 18 yr old stepkids.....and I was less than impressed with it.../ and 2 yrs later, I gave him a BPS Hunter model to replace it. For first guns these days, if the grandkids show any interest in shotgunning....I've started to go with the Browning Silver semi-auto Hunter model...because I think its a more versatile long term gun / particularly if they are not built like a Buffalo like I am...any pump gun, can be more difficult to learn on...more recoil / you need long arms to be able to function the pump action and not drop the gun off your shoulder in the process...and a lot of my grandkids can't do that....especially the young ladies.../ so a gas operated semi-auto just seems to make more sense to me....

http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/detail.asp?fid=020B&cid=011&tid=350

They're a little more money...but they're available in 12ga and 20ga ...and with barrels down to 26" ....although I favor the 28"...they aren't for me.../ and I picked up a 20ga in 26" for the young grandkids to train on a little ..and its been a dependable gun too...and light at around 6.25 lbs...

( and in keeping with what the OP asked about ....they would be just fine, for Tactical shooting - take the plug out / they have 3" chambers...nice and light....)
 
OP, before you buy NIB from WalMart I encourage you to at least look on gunbroker to see what vintage 870s are going for currently.

I picked up a 1956 Wingmaster with a good bird barrel (30" ribbed barrel, fixed full choke) on it for about $300 maybe a year ago or so. I don't hunt lot of poultry, but I have the right barrel for that.

I got a 20 inch smooth barrel with rifle sights and the interchangeable choke system from I think Bud's for another $150 or so.

Touch under $500 I can defend my house, have a good camp gun for bear country, hunt any bird with feathers, and kill all the clay birds I want. If I had bought new production Express and then picked up a bird barrel for it I would have a ugly black plastic stock and be within $10 of what I spent on the Wingmaster.

I am glad I looked. All prices include shipping to me way off the beaten path in Alaska, I know most of y'all can get 870s lots cheaper than me.
 
To be honest, I doubt I'll receive any "tactical training". Not too many folks around here buy into that stuff. Thank you for all your help. I plan to get a regular shotgun cleaning kit when I buy it and I plan to learn how to disassemble and clean it when I buy it. Thank you again.
 
My comment wasn't directed at you, BigJim. You have a lot of experience with Brownings, as well as many other firearms; certainly much more experience than myself. Just saying it would be nice if there was a professional objective source a interested person could turn to research the strengths and weaknesses of a firearm.
 
Sadly there is no objective and professional source of info. In terms of functionality and reliability there probably isn't a gnats worth of difference between a Remington, a Mossberg, a Browning, and a Benelli (which I hate the look and feel of, but works fine). They work differently, feel different, and therefore everyone howls that such and such is better because they like it. The jury isn't in on the latest iteration of the troubled saga on the Winchester 1200, 1300, Speed Pump, SXP evolution. And if anyone has any model of a gun, and it has lasted thru a long lifetime of 200 rounds per year or less as Jim alluded to they will swear it is a great gun, no matter how many of them have broken. Maybe now they have finally "got it". In spite of all the ooohing and aaaahing over the old Model 12 and the Ithaca 37, those finely machined mechanisms that endear them to so many required those close tolerances in order to work right, and they were and are not infrequent visitors to the gun doctor. Modern pumps are sort of like the AK-47, designed to work with a somewhat sloppy fit. I had a friend who loved and collected Model 12s, and I bet he spent more money on gunsmiths than I did on guns, and from the condition of them when he got them they were not worn out from heavy use at all. I would bet money a BPS would go far, far longer than a 37 before needing a trip to the gunsmith. I do not like the bottom loading feature on any shotgun, or the weight and balance on a BPS, but I had three BPSs that never missed a beat in any conditions from dust to blizzard. I don't like the "feel" of the Mossbergs, but other than the plastic safeties, which are easily replaced, I don't know of any inherent problems with them. Remington went with a rougher finish and let some rougher than good chambers get out with the Model 870 Expresses in the quest to meet low cost and earned the eternal damnation from tons of internet experts upset that they cannot get a Wingmaster for an Express price, and spawned rumors that all of Remington had gone down the tubes. The newer ones that I have seen are actually quite a bit better finish wise.
Remington and Mossberg have as good a customer service as one could ask for. Browning will usually get you there, but they don't make it easy. I haven't heard of a Benelli problem that didn't eventually get fixed, but I think they actually believe their own marketing that they are faultless and it can be a chore.
I have personally seen Wingmasters with over 300,000 rounds through them and they weren't anywhere close to worn out, and have heard tales of Mossbergs and Brownings running up big numbers too. I don't think too many Novas get used to run up big numbers, but I don't see why they wouldn't.
Getting accessories or parts/barrels for Novas is tougher because accessories are limited and barrels are gold plated. Parts and barrels for the other three are easy. Accessories for the BPS are limited. Accessories for the 870 and Mossberg are numerous and everywhere, as you would expect with over 20 million of them out there.
One would be hard pressed to go wrong with any of them. I much prefer the feel and function of the Remingtons, but unless you are built exactly like me - which I wouldn't wish on anyone - and think and feel like me, that ain't worth much to you.
 
Mosin, based on my prior anecdote, and, in general, the different makes of shotguns that came across my bench for repair, you can't go wrong with an 870 for both reliability and longevity.

One word of extreme caution, however: If you do get an 870 and get to the point where you can completely dismantle the receiver for cleaning (i.e. you are able to remove all the "guts"), be extra cautious when cleaning the inside of the receiver; The rails are razor sharp. If you are wiping down the inside of the receiver, use a very thick rag and don't exert too much pressure. I learned this lesson the hard way. LOL!!!!!!!
 
One word of extreme caution, however: If you do get an 870 and get to the point where you can completely dismantle the receiver for cleaning (i.e. you are able to remove all the "guts"), be extra cautious when cleaning the inside of the receiver; The rails are razor sharp. If you are wiping down the inside of the receiver, use a very thick rag and don't exert too much pressure. I learned this lesson the hard way. LOL!!!!!!!
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That's what old toothbrushes are for !
 
I sheared the firing pin in half on my 1971 era Wingmaster earlier this year, easy fix though, but I doubt that gun has seen anywhere even close to 50,000 shells.
 
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One word of extreme caution, however: If you do get an 870 and get to the point where you can completely dismantle the receiver for cleaning (i.e. you are able to remove all the "guts"), be extra cautious when cleaning the inside of the receiver; The rails are razor sharp. If you are wiping down the inside of the receiver, use a very thick rag and don't exert too much pressure. I learned this lesson the hard way. LOL!!!!!!!
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That's what old toothbrushes are for !
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Waste of good money! One toothbrush will do for gun and teeth.
 
A trusted friend who has a background in law enforcement taught me how to use an 870. He used party balloons as targets. It was easy shooting until we started working on shooting from the hip.

After I got my own 870 I strung a 20' length of wire 8' feet off the ground between two trees on a safe spot on our property. I then hung 5 old drywall buckets from the wire and used them for practice- five rounds in my Express. Started with bird shot at five yards, then buck shot at 10. There was still enough left (but just enough) of the buckets after many shells to practice with slugs at 20 yards. Fun and cheap.
 
To be honest, I doubt I'll receive any "tactical training". Not too many folks around here buy into that stuff.
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I'm sure others will disagree, but I don't feel a great need for "tactical shotgun training" either. Some people may plan to go through their home, clearing rooms, gathering kids, or whatever.

If I should ever find myself in a HD situation, my plan is to hole up in a safe room behind some cover where I can worry about defending a single door. I don't have kids at home, and I'm not willing to go all G.I. Joe to protect a laptop or blu-ray player.

As to the original question, you can't go too wrong with 870s. And if you decide you'd like to tweak things down the road, there is probably no shotgun that has more aftermarket parts available (such as stocks, barrels, recoil pads, sights, etc.).

The suggestion of a 20 gauge makes sense, since factory ammo will typically have less recoil but is still sufficient for HD. Generally speaking, 3" 20-gauge ammo is comparable in power to standard 2-3/4" 12-gauge ammo, while reduced recoil 12-gauge ammo can be comparable to standard 2-3/4" 20-gauge ammo. One drawback is that 20 gauge buckshot is harder to find than 12 gauge buckshot.

As for cheap target ammo, I tend to stay away from Winchester white box stuff. The brass must be inconsistently sized and I've had shells get stuck in both an 870 and a Mossberg 500 more than once. I haven't had that issue with Federal or Remington bulk ammo. There are low recoil target loads available, but expect to pay about 50% more per box than you would for Wal-Mart bulk ammo.

Regarding cleaning, yes, it's good to do a thorough cleaning once in a while, but pump shotguns aren't fussy, and just cleaning the barrel is adequate the majority of the time (unless you're shooting really high volumes).
 
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I just dusted off an 870 express that must have been sitting in a closet for about 15 years. Quite a ragamuffin but no worse for the obvious neglect.

Tore It down and degreased it twice. Believe me that had to happen. Cut the barrel down to 19" and ran 25 buckshot and 5 slugs through it yesterday and about 10 target loads through it the week before. It's definitely on the road to recovery now.

From the experience the WM express of yesteryear and the 870 in general is well. A well designed easy to maintain work horse bargain.
 
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