What Is The Big Deal About The 870?

Remington guns in general are associated with the fines craftsmanship on the market... I have always been a remington man, living about 30 miles from Ilion, tons of people in my area work there, my old man has a 760 bicentenial(1976) one of 2,800 made, he has choice wood glossed and no checkering to emphasize the beautiful grain... His 870 wingmaster also has amazing wood and is glossed to perfection, a Remington product is not just a gun, those firearms are proudly displayed along with another 760 in my living room where they have been for some 25+ years.
Anyways back on topic, the 870 is definately know for quality, During shotgun season the 870 wingmaster in my home has taken more than a few bucks, i have a tasco mounted on it for long shots,(using a rifled slug barrel) and have raised open sights for those kicked up dear you need a shot at... I would never myself buy an 870 express, they are designed to be affordable but when youre buying a remington i would never stop short, its a life investment with a remington, my 760 '06 has been working for 3 owners and never fails me, if you want a gun known! to last lifetimes a 870 has proven itself with an aw inspiring field record, how can you go wrong?
 
Look at serial numbers and the condition of 870's in police use and realize how long in the tooth and still working great many of these guns are and then you will know why the 870 is so highly regarded ---- and remember the police shotgun is almost always nobody's gun --- they issue officers a pistol, few departments issue duty long arms --- they are more communal property --- and they get treated / cared for acordingly.
 
I haven't seen a worn out 870, but then I'm only 59.

I got my first one from the folks in the 50s. Still have it, tight as a bank vault. MAybe 20K rounds through it, at least 15K.

Gpt a couple others closing in on it. Total rounds fired from these and agency weapons, at least 75K. SO FAR.....

Here's a few reasons why 870s are top dog in the Land Of Pumpguns.....

Great design. Darn near foolproof.

Modular designs means easy cleaning of all nooks and crannies. 100 shotguns are rendered useless by dirt and corrosion for every one shot to death.

Cost per shot is mere hundredths of a cent.

The stocks have a nigh magical ability to fit maybe 3/4 of the people shooting them.

Good triggers. Many a smith has made a living getting the triggers on other shotguns as good as those on most 870s as they leave Ilion.

"Chops". Even a dunce can learn the MOA in an hour or so. And with a few 100K in police use, many cops use 870s for recreation, carrying the "Muscle Memory" of their duty weapon back and forth to their HD weapons, Deer guns, etc.

Addons. Just about anything made for shotguns has a model made for 870s. One can get stocks made from polywhatever to Marblecake walnut sculpted to measure.

Longevity. 250K minumum.

Any questions?.....
 
Had it for 10 years. Shot it occasionally. Put it back in the closet. Shot it some more and so on and so on..... for 10 years.

Recently purchased another and cleaned it before i took it out for the first time. It occurred to me to clean my original as well.

Upon stripping my old 870 I found it had rust ALL through out the internals... the barrel... the inside of the actions bars.... etc...

It was working fine the entire time! You could have fooled me that there was rust all throughout its internals.

Cleaned her up and oiled it for the first time in 10 years... still ticking.

That is the only torture test worth knowing about to me... because i'm not going to be putting 500k rounds through mine. I'm going to shoot it then put it away and expect it to shoot the next time I need it... and thats what it does.
 
I think the 870 is the most reliable, versatile, well-handling pumpgun for the money. I do have a beef with the finish on the Express model. I'd get a Wingmaster next time. But, I still love mine. Mine has been through hell and back and still works like a dream. I have buddies who like their Mossbergs and Winchesters, but their outnumbered 5 to 1 by 870's. To each their own.
 
torch passed

The Winchester Model 12 had the reputation as being the toughest shotgun going. And it was true. You couldn't wear one out, and you had to really work at it to break it. They would work under ALL conditions (if you knew how to work one;) ). Downside? Not the slickest working pumpgun. No disconnector. Expensive to make.

Since the model 12 went out of production some time ago, the torch has been passed. The Remington 870 has proven itself to be the world's premier pump shotgun for duty use, and pretty darned great for sporting use as well! Slicker than the model 12, and much as I love my old Winchesters, a better design as well. Of course, it is a bit of a younger design.

As a Small Arms Repairman for Uncle Sam, I was trained to work on the Rem 870, and the Winchester 1200. Never worked on an 870. Never had one break. Did work on 1200s, though. The alloy trigger guard wouldn't stand up well. Saw one with the guard bow broken, and several where the safety would fall out. There was a very thin piece of aluminium that would anchor the safety spring, and when this breaks, there is no spring tension on the safety, and if you tilt the gun, the safety button can fall out!:eek:

I won't own a win 1200:barf: , and even if the 1300 is better, can't see any reason to get one. Get an 870.

The Mossberg is cheap, and it works. But to me, it is like steamed rice. It fills you up, but if you can afford it, why not get something better.
 
LuckyATB wrote:
"While this line of thought may be true for the 870, it certainly isn't a universal truth. For example, I don't know the statistics but feel comfortable saying that Harley-Davidson is the department ride of the vast majority of m'cycle cops...yet even the most die-hard brand loyalist will not argue that they are the most reliable and well-made bikes available."

You're probably, but the answer there, I suspect, is that American government agencies, including law enforcement, are pretty much forced, for political reasons, to buy their equipment from American manufacturers if at all possible. There may be motorbikes better suited for police work out there, but chances are they're Japanese or perhaps German, which means no American LEA can seriously consider buying them. It's also why Beretta, Glock, H&K and SIG have subsidiary manufacturing companies in the US; no matter how good their products, if they're not made in the US, thereby providing jobs to American workers, no American government agency would buy them. (Actually, in this day and age, it's a bit of a joke; the Ford Crown Vic, that most ubiquitous of American police cars, is assembled in Canada, while Toyota and Honda have assembly plants in the US, but because Ford is an "American" brand and Toyota and Honda are "Japanese" brands, no American government agency will ever buy a Toyota or Honda. But I digress.)

But when it comes to shotguns, it's a different story. Mossberg, Winchester, Ithaca, et al. are all American, and Benelli and Franchi probably have American subsidiaries too these days, so Remington's competition can't be taken out of the running because they're foreign.
 
Interesting thread.

I have two 870s. They have treated me very well. Completely reliable.

I had no idea though, that they were held in such high esteem.

j
 
Last weekend mine fired 1000 rds and did not jam once.

Well, actually thats true, SOMEONE fed a shell in it round the wrong way, which took a bit of leather man action to fix....
 
Did someone say add-ons! I love mine.
knoxx.jpg
 
Brownell's Gunsmith Supply.

They carry above everything that's fit to have, from stocks, to extensions, to sights, to cleaning gear, to gunsmith manuals, to tools.

Order anything, and they'll send you a free catalog, which is the best "gun stuff" catalog in the world.

http://www.brownells.com/
 
Well, put it like this. Last time I went out night shooting my little 870 fired maybe 750 rds in 24 hours without a clean. It didnt jam once, cept when someone loaded a round in round the wrong way. They dont work so well, then.
 
I've had my 870, named "Alice" :cool:, for about a year now. I haven't kept track of how many rounds I've put through it but I use it pretty regularly, more than any of my other guns, and I've never cleaned it even once. It actually seems to shuck a little easier now than it did when it was new.

Having said that, my personal pick for the best fighting shotgun ever is the 8-shot variant of the Ithaca M37.
 
Mossberg, Winchester and Remington

I've never owned anything except Mossberg 500 variants, in 35 years of shooting, and I never had a problem with any, including some that were bought "well used" and I beat on them pretty hard. (I've shot the others though)

Having said that, I'm not sure there's aa arguable difference (except for price) between any of them. All are highly reliable, durable guns.
 
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