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Old March 23, 2013, 11:10 PM   #1
ScotchMan
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Help with 870 Express Models?

I'm hoping someone can clear up some confusion for me. I have a Remington 870 Express Magnum, Model 25077. I find the finish on it to be adequate, but nothing special. When I took it out of the box, I pulled a bunch of rust off it with some M-Pro7 and a cloth. I still occasionally get some rust when I clean it. It is rough but works perfectly.

Today I took my friend out to buy his first gun. We ended up with another 870, this one marked simply "Remington 870" on the receiver, and of much higher apparent quality. The finish was a lot smoother and I was struck by how much nicer it appeared than mine. It is a Model 25569, which I now realize is also an Express???

So my questions are, why is my receiver marked "Remington 870 Express Magnum" while his is marked "Remington 870", and why is the quality of his receiver so much nicer than mine?

I should mention my gun is quite a bit older. I estimate it was manufactured in the early 2000s but I don't know for sure. It is serial D603XXXX. His obviously is new.

Did the quality of the Express line increase at some point? Or will his look like this over time as well? Any insights would be appreciated.
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Old March 24, 2013, 12:04 AM   #2
tAKticool
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I can't give you an exact answer specifically why yours is marked one way his is marked another, other than the of course newer/older changing it up a bit, they probably just changed it up a bit.

However I will tell you I got sucked into Express myself without realizing , I bought an "870 Tactical" off the shelf at D!cksSportingGoods in October... I thought because it had "870 TACTICAL" engraved it was an upgraded model or non-Express etc. Nope not at all. Remington went to the Express (Wiki says "by 1996 spurred by the Express" who knows when it actually started, I once heard the 70s?) and almost ALL their guns are now Express, unless specifically marked and marketed as Wingmaster or Police etc.

My finish is absolutely terrible, I mean TERRIBLE. I assumed it was a little dirty and had been handled as a display model and they hadn't any more in the back "but we just put that one out" in fact it went out in April and I bought in October lol. Within a week of owning it it had some marks and scratches, first range session marked it good, now it looks like a real combat shotgun, its borderline needing to be refinished soon. I probably can get Remington to honor its warranty but, its like a 12-20 week deal, for another TERRIBLE Express bluing job... I am probably going to pay and do it professionally, I want it Parkerized but locally I can only find ppl who Cerakote.

The good news is , other than the finish, an Express is a Wingmaster is a Police- Wingmaster these days just have beautiful bluing finish and beautiful furniture, and the Police has also better (parkerized) finish, specific furniture, and 3 different parts than the Express (carrier latch spring, magazine spring, non-MIM Extractor, I did all those replacements plus the oversizes safety). So an Express is still an 870, still the gold standard of worlds best shotgun (Although I am a Mossberg man firmly before I ever bought an 870, its still a famous gold standard.).


The old , original Remington Wingmasters and Police shotguns are THINGS OF BEAUTY. But, Remington is no longer Remington, its Freedom Group and Cerebrus Captial Managemnt etc. And the shotguns today are just not as nice, not the same. Old 870 Wingmasters and also 870P's , are just REMARKABLE.
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Old March 24, 2013, 05:44 AM   #3
Virginian
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The first Expresses came along in 1987. Just previously they had introduced the Sportsman Models and they were for all intents Wingmasters with hardwood stocks. The first Expresses had a good uniform matte bluing job. The level of finish went slowly down until I would estimate the 2003 to 2005 time frame, and now seems to be coming back up a little at a time. It appears Remington is not stamping 'Express' on some of the newer guns, and that they are finishing them a bit smoother as well. It must be magic because as far as I know they are still owned by what some seem to see as that evil entity Cerebus Capital.
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