Wilson 870 - Is it worth $1000

K

kennethlee

New member
I was just down at the local gun shop and they have a like new Wilson Combat 12 gauge. It's the Standard which is a dressed up Remington 870.

See it here: http://wilsoncombat.com/new/shotgun-standard.asp

It sells for $1540 new and I could get this one for $1000. Still a lot of money but a beautiful and very set up home defense gun.

Any opinions out there to help me decide?

Thanks.

--Ken
 
Yeah... it's a pricy 870, but Wilson does a nice job. It's more than just a bunch of accessories, Wilson does a bit of work on the action.
It'll be the slickest 870 you'll ever operate, and they tend to hold their value after the first depreciation. Offer 'em $850 and see what happens. ;)

Cheers,
C
 
A sub-$500 870 or 590A1 will get you a world-class combat shotgun. I can't really see spending $1k on a pump gun. An auto, sure.
 
It's all good information, thanks.

It does seem a bit of a high end shotgun. As Creeper said, it does have a really nice action. I've owned an 870 and the action on this is a bit more refined.

I have a Wilson 1911 and have regularly lusted over the shotguns. Maybe I should make an $850 offer. That seems a good approach. You have convinced me that a thousand is too much considering the other options on the market.

Thanks.
--ken
 
The Wilson guns are built on the rougher finished Express model.
I personally think they're over priced for what you get considering the Express base.

For probably less money you could get a brand new top of the line Remington 870 Police model with the same general set up:

http://www.remingtonle.com/shotguns/870synthetic.htm
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The "top of the line Remington 870 Police" is nothing more than an Express with a better finish and $30 of easily replaced parts. It is one of the greatest marketing jobs Remington has ever done. If you are interested, I will be happy to precisely list the differences between the two.
 
Yeah... it's a pricy 870, but Wilson does a nice job. It's more than just a bunch of accessories, Wilson does a bit of work on the action.
It'll be the slickest 870 you'll ever operate, and they tend to hold their value after the first depreciation. Offer 'em $850 and see what happens.
Click to expand...

I agree. At $1,000 it might be a bit pricey, but $850 is a good deal. The SF forend alone retails for over $300, the Wilson extension is $45, the Mesa sidesaddle is $60, the Wilson big safety is $15, the Speedfeed stock is probably about $75, plus the sling. That is not counting the work they do on the action. In addition, the Armor-Tuff finish is one of the best on the market. I paid Wilson $250 to Armor-Tuff a shotgun of mine and I can tell you that the gun will never rust.
 
I love Wilson Combat stuff and that would be a sweet shotty to own. But unless you are well-trained already I would venture to suggest that your money might be better spent on something like a $500 Remington Tactical 870 and $500 of ammo to start out with! You could always later sell that one and graduate to something like a Wilson Combat after you've become proficient. Of course if money is no object then I would say grab that Wilson, pattern it and go take a combat shotgun course at Gunsite or Thunder Ranch or anywhere you can make it to.
 
If it was a Benelli semi I'd say go for it,but i have a problem paying that much for an 870,no matter whats been done to it.And before people start screaming 870 hater i have five in the safe.My favorite is an old Wells Fargo trade-in that i gave $89 for,and has ridden many a mile next to me.
 
If it was a Benelli semi I'd say go for it,but i have a problem paying that much for an 870,no matter whats been done to it
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Amen. There's never been an 870 made or modified worth $1k, unless the money was put into the wood stocks.
 
Go find a used Wingmaster and then put an 18" police trade in barrel on it, and some accessories and you'll still have change left over. WM are buttery smooth.
 
No 870 is worth $1k,
my God it's a shotgun nothing else.
All that "hype add on stuff" aint gonna help
you one bit in shotgun range.
 
The value of any shotgun from the lowliest single-shot to the fanciest double gun is a combination of the cost of the component parts and value of the time and talent of the people who made the gun.

Sure you can slap on the same parts as Wilson for less but how does the potential buyer know that the person who did the work knew what he was doing? Backyard Bubbas abound while Wilson has earned a reputation for competent work. What you are paying extra for is the time, talent and experience of the people who modified the gun.

Whether that is worth it to you is up to you. But don't let the people who understand price more than value deter you from buying a gun that while expensive compared to a stock gun has been improved by people who know what they are doing and have proven it.
 
If it has all the options you want on it and none that you don't want, then I would say it is worth the price. If not build your own.
 
The value of any shotgun from the lowliest single-shot to the fanciest double gun is a combination of the cost of the component parts and value of the time and talent of the people who made the gun.
Click to expand...

Yes, and in this case, Wilson has chosen some really crummy component parts, (e.g. the choice of base gun). Besides, nothing, absolutely nothing, can be done about the location of the 870 Express' action release or its port blocking shell lifter.

If Wilson located old Winchester Model 12 shotguns in the bottom end of their price range and remade them into modern and/or reproduction trench guns, with GI or in house crafted improvements, as they do for Remington's worst effort, $1k or more would be easily justifiable. Putting spit and polish on an 870 Express is still lipsticking a pig into a combat shotgun.

Sure you can slap on the same parts as Wilson for less but how does the potential buyer know that the person who did the work knew what he was doing? Backyard Bubbas abound while Wilson has earned a reputation for competent work. What you are paying extra for is the time, talent and experience of the people who modified the gun.

Whether that is worth it to you is up to you. But don't let the people who understand price more than value deter you from buying a gun that while expensive compared to a stock gun has been improved by people who know what they are doing and have proven it.
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There's a reason posters are encouraging the OP to ask about $850. That's where the value of "competence time" meets that talent being unleashed upon such a poorly made, finished, and Cerebus Group cheapened, base gun.

For instance, none of Wilson's packages purport to replace the 870 Express' MIM extractor and ejector or to replace the plastic trigger plate and other trigger group parts that are made from aluminum on higher end 870 models.
 
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If that 870 is reliable it may be worth it. If ya got the cash it sounds like a relative bargain, no? Otherewise, for a current 870, even a Police, I wouldn't pay half that.I do not trust them and low price doesn't fix poor reliability.

The 500/590 series' are a whole different thing -- I think they are underpriced myself...
 
Dfariswheel and I are on the same page.
Unless one finds a good used Police model of course...
 
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