Thanks, Jay. War stories about the 870's marvelous ability to keep going abound. Said this one before...
An 870 was designated as a training weapon in 1981 when MCIJ opened, and was still in use in 98 when I retired. It still may be in use. During that time, it fired hundreds, if not thousands, of rounds including slugs, buck, non lethals(Just for demos) each and every month.Total parts replaced, new wood.
To get another 870 going that was a nice non glare shade of brown from rust took some CLP and elbow grease.
At one point I had so many leftover parts I bought a salvaged receiver and put together the ugliest 870 in the County, yclept Frankenstein. It sure shoots purty, tho(G)...
With 4 12 ga 870s and a 20 ga also, spare parts are not a prob.