Do you think the Remington 870 express tacticals are dependable shotguns? Anything to look out for? Thank you.

My agency has a couple marked Express and with one exception, I’ve never seen any problems with them for nearly 20 years. With certain inexpensive birdshot ammunition we use for training we’ve had a few fired cases refuse to be extracted by pulling on the slide, and it was necessary to resort to a butt strike to clear it. I have seen at least one identical failure with a non-Express model as well, so the ammunition definitely has an influence.

I had to polish out some chamber chatter marks to achieve 100% extraction reliability with high brass, but it was easy to do, and is now 100% pump friendly. I like the Express, but that is a known potential issue to be aware of.

Weird that they would stick with birdshot. I agree that would be an ammo issue. But for the life of me, I can't figure out why it would stick.

As far as the 870 in general goes, there is little difference between the Express, SPSs, and Wingmasters except finish and parts materials. The 870 in any iteration is an iconic pump gun known for reliability. So yes, you would be well served by it.

I've had several 870s come and go. An SPS with rifle sights that took interchangeable choke tubes. I fired all manner of rounds through it. Never had any issues from light rounds, to buckshot, to rifled slugs, to sabot slugs, 2 3/4" and 3".

My favorite 870 was a camo'd National Wild Turkey Federation model that I had an extended extra-full choke tube on. I fired the heaviest 3" turkey loads through that. Never missed a beat.

They are easy to maintain, and parts are pretty much ubiquitous (though OEM parts are starting to dry up a bit).

870 Express is good to go. Even though I currently have a Mossberg riot gun sitting in my closet, the 870 is my pick of pump guns.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
My agency has a couple marked Express and with one exception, I’ve never seen any problems with them for nearly 20 years. With certain inexpensive birdshot ammunition we use for training we’ve had a few fired cases refuse to be extracted by pulling on the slide, and it was necessary to resort to a butt strike to clear it. I have seen at least one identical failure with a non-Express model as well, so the ammunition definitely has an influence.

I've seen this as well both with my personal 870 Express HD (bought new in 2006), and some of our agency guns. The like some brands of ammo better than others. Earlier this year in our reserve academy a student had a brand new 870 Marine Magnum that would lock up after every round...so tight that you couldn't even mortar it out of the chamber. We had to use a dowell and a mallet from the muzzle. We told the guy to send it back to Remington.

My express is an acceptable gun. I load it with ammo it likes and I am confident it will work. If I had my druthers, though, I'd have an older Wingmaster or Police instead.

I looked at a new Express years ago. While it probably is a good shotgun, it looked and felt like a very cheaply made shotgun and at the time they did not have a very good reputation. I walked out with a well used Wingmaster for less money.

I would be hesitant to buy ANYTHING Remington right now.
At least until the dust settles on the bankruptcy and all that.
I would like to know that my gun has "some" kind of warranty attached to it.

I have a 15 y.o. 870 express that has seen light to moderate use, and has fired up through 3.5 inch super magnum heavy loads. It has been absolutely reliable, and it points and patterns well.

I'd never heard of stickiness with the 870 Express having never had any issues with my own 870s. So I googled it and it's a thing with the 870 Express going back many years. It's not a "Remington has gone down hill issue" since there are some very old posts about it. It's apparently a very easy fix, requiring some simple polishing. I don't see a consensus on why it happens. Tight chambers exacerbated by a rougher finish is my guess. I've never had an Express but my Special Purpose guns worked flawlessly with even the highest pressure loads.

I still wouldn't hesitate to buy a new 870. Even with Remington presently OOB. The gun is pretty much the standard for all other pumps. Even if OEM parts are short right now, aftermarket parts abound. Just about any gunsmith could work on it. In fact, it's easy enough that anyone with a little patience and a competent set of tools could handle most problems. And the new owners of Remington said the first gun they are prioritizing when they reopen is the 870, so OEM parts should reappear at some point.

there were some issues at one point when the Super Mag 870's came out,

we sent a handful back to Rem to fix, then suddenly the returns stopped, ,


the quick fix on those was to pull the 'dust cover' out of the bolt and they supposedly ran well w/o it,

never tried it, and it has been a few years so my nomenclature may be off


other than a few folks not happy with the plastic/synthetic trigger guards, and the parkerized finish was prone to some rust,, not issues

The one real issue I had with mine was their finish loved to rust. I forget what it's called. It looks kind of like a phosphate or parkerized finish, but it isn't, it's bluing over a bead blasted surface to give it a matte look. So if I didn't keep it soaked in oil, the whole thing started rusting. I eventually wound up doing a home Gun Kote job on it, problem permanently solved. It worked fine after that and I don't recall any problems with the actual shotgun, but mine was built prior to 2007 when I bought it used for $275 or so. It's possible it was a "good one" because it was only a few years ago a forum member here (can't remember exactly who, but I think they are an LEO armorer) posted that their department wouldn't be authorizing the 870 Express anymore and they posted a number of examples why, including, IIRC, a picture of a barrel with the front bead installed canted off to one side.

So I guess my impression of it is "it depends." I had a good one with a crappy finish, a lot of other people have had a number of other problems with theirs. Some people have no issues. There's plenty of them out there to spin the wheel on. If I was looking for an 870 right now, I'd be looking to replace my mid 70's Wingmaster a family member stole.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: P220 Smudge,

I looked at one a couple years ago and it was a mess. The finish was horrible, the stock wasn't fitted well. It had even developed some rusting while sitting in the LGS. The 870 may once have been great but I fear that is distant history uch like Remington itself.

The only advice I have gotten is "change the extractor" to a Police model or some other aftermarket upgrade. Supposedly MIM. I had it changed before it ever fired a shot so I can't say if it helped but mine has beed 100%.

Bruce

I purchased an 870 tactical in 2013. Because the Express line is made to a slightly cheaper price point, and because there were some reported issues at the time, I made the following upgrades to the 870 Express.

I installed an upgraded carrier latch spring, an upgraded safety switch, an upgraded extractor, an upgraded magazine spring and follower, and an upgraded sear. Purpose was to improve functionality and reliability. All parts were available from Brownell's. Truth be told, I had no issues with the gun before the new parts were installed, but everything feels smoother and operates with more precision since the upgrades. Might be my imagination, or wishful thinking. Parts were inexpensive and very easy to install.

Mine is 19 years old and started life as a 28” field gun.
It shot a couple maybe a few thousand rounds of bird shot shooting clays.

I got an 11-87 to take over for that and I bought a Remington 18” barrel, Magpul furniture, Wilson Combat extension tube, dome head safety.

It has since spent its life shooting buckshot with zero issues.

The only complaint is the finish is crap and needs a frequent oil wipe down.
Molyresin or a refinish is on the soon to do list.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
I’ve never seen any problems with them for nearly 20 years.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
Mine is 19 years old...

That would be my hang up, that you may be judging them on guns made 20 years ago vs ones made lately.


I've sen issues with a couple, usually extraction related. Especially with lower cost ammo (people who buy the cheaper gun tend to buy the cheaper ammo)

I've got a 2012 era Express that hasn't given me a single issue. It's not a polished as a Police, but it wears in pretty quick. I replaced the magazine spring and follower, but that was after leaving the factory spring fully compressed for a couple of years. It wasn't giving me any issues, but it just felt softer than I would like when down to the last round in the tube.

I've switched over to a Mossberg 590 for my house gun, but my wife still prefers the 870. I don't have anything against the Remmington, I just ended up buying the Mossberg and liked the way it felt better.

quote:

Originally posted by cas:

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
I’ve never seen any problems with them for nearly 20 years.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
Mine is 19 years old...

That would be my hang up, that you may be judging them on guns made 20 years ago vs ones made lately.


I've seen issues with a couple, usually extraction related. Especially with lower cost ammo (people who buy the cheaper gun tend to buy the cheaper ammo)

Correct. Over the years, both gun and ammo companies have done lots to cut corners. Those cheap promotional shotshells they sell at wal mart have a well deserved reputation for causing stoppages. I am talking about the low “brass” ( the base is actually uncoated steel not brass) Winchester.
Also almost all shotgun shells these days have steel bases not brass. Even those that look brass are really just plated steel. I think this is a big factor.
My own 20 year old 870 express does pretty good though

I have an express also since 2012. I use it as my duty shotgun. It patterns well with our duty load which is Remington low recoil slugs and buckshot. No problems. VI