remington model 870

[boobooboo]

i was wondering what you think obout the reminton model 870 brand new for 229.99. and what would be the best barrel size (26/28) for a 5'0" child and a 6'3" adult both male 12ga. for adult 20 ga. for child

[jeager106]

Well to answer the 1st question 1st.
I doubt you could find a better value for the buck than the 870 Remington.
Some would foolishly argue the Mossberg 500 is as good but that is a fools argument.
The 870 is superior to the Mossy.
The Mossy is good, nothing wrong with it but the 870 is much more robust and your child will pass his and yours on to his children.
The barrel length has little to do with much of anything when you are speaking of 26 vs. 28". It's more a matter of personal taste.
The 26" handles maybe a tad better in thick woods or brush but that's inconsequential.
For the child I'd be more concerned with the length of the stock.
The gun must fit the child. Perhaps and youth modle would be a better choice?

[CALNRA]

I like how the 870s fans go out of their way to bash the 500.

to the original question, 229 is great price for an 870. I got my express for a little over that. I prefer 28 inches and the kid will get used to it quickly.

[ammo.crafter]

I bought the 870 for my son and had the stock fitted to him. That is the most important aspect of shotgunning.....the fit. I have the Moss 500 and Remington 870 and 11-87 plus others. The Remington is a better made shotgun, but then again, it costs more than the Mossy.
By the way, I have never had a failure with the 500 and was deadly accurate out of the box.
If you can get the 870 for $229.....grab it and run. I assume it's the Express model and not the Premier.
FYI, my daughter's first was an Ithica 37 Featherweight....great first shotgun for a lefty!

[Duckman44!]

He didn't bash them, he just stated that the 870 is a better gun, which it is! I have two 870's and my friend HAD a 500. It failed to fire about 15-20% of the time and the pump would get stuck when trying to eject the shells it actually fired. Neither one of my 870's has ever failed to fire and they have never "jammed". My 18in 870 is used primarily for HD and I don't know about you, but it makes me feel good to own a gun that I know will fire everytime I pull the trigger. That 15-20% misfire rate is not lingering in my head like it was my friends until he did the wise thing and used it as trade bait for a Ruger P345.

[CALNRA]

oh really? let's see, the original poster asks if 229 is a good price for an 870, and the next guy goes, yep, get it, oh yeah, don't buy a 500.

boobooboo didn't even mention the 500!!! now how is that not going out of someone's way to bash another gun?

Some would foolishly argue the Mossberg 500 is as good but that is a fools argument.
The 870 is superior to the Mossy.

did boobooboo ask about hte 500? no. did he ask about Mossbergs? No. He asked about the 870 and that should be clear indication of what he wanted to know about. Unfortunately Jeager decided to do a pre-emptive bash on the Mossberg. How narrow minded.

your buddy had a misfiring 500? that sucks, did he try to send it back to Mossberg to get it fixed or just gave it up right there? I have a 500 with thousands of rounds though it WITHOUT CLEANING and it goes bang every time and ejects the shell every time. Do I make a stink about it? heck no. I like all my guns equally as long as they work.

There are countless threads with people on TFL who have had GREAT experiences with their 500s and I bought one based on their feedback. Not many of them try to equate the 500 to an 870, since a 500 can be had for little more than half the price of an 870 express in most parts of the country. But the 870 fans love to brag about how much better the 870 is better than the 500. Well sir, I have both and they are both fantastic guns. But I will not stand by while people mouth off things that's irrelevant to what's being inquired just to make themselves feel superior.


And BtW. I feel damn good about my 500 because it has worked everytime, and it's deadly accurate with slugs at 50. I don't run around and yell "my 500 is as good as your 870" because it's hard to say what's good. If some wanted a shotgun for under 200, I'll recommend the 500 anyday. if someone has a budget of 300, I'll say the Remington or the Mossberg. but some people have the urge to go around and spout "500 is not as good as an 870". Hey, if that makes him feel good, let him be, it's a free country, but just don't shove yoru values down other people's throat.

so before htis turns into another 870 VS 500 thread, I'll restate my position:

for 229 the Remington is a heck of a buy, get it now before it's gone.

there, that wasn't too hard to keep my comments on topic.

[jeager106]

CAL:
Duckman is spot on. I didn't bash the M-500. I simply stated the undeniable fact that the 870 is a far better vaule for the bucks. (money not male deer )
I currently own two 870s, one an express with three barrels, a classic older 870 Wingmaster with fixed full and v.r. and two Mossy 500s.
The 870 is simply better made of better material and of time tested proven design. Ecellent design, in fact, it's an American Classic.
How do I know that? Am I just another couch potato espousing an opinion after three Red White and Blue beers after watching the Smokey Mountain Knife Works "live t-v sale"?
No I am not.
I've seen litterally hundreds and hundreds of the most abused shotguns in the world.
Police shotguns.
Even military shotguns don't take the neglect and abuse the police s.g. does.
We used 870s. They would be found with coke/coffee spilt on them, rusted, actions full of cigarette ashes, congealed oil, from the last time they were cleaned decades before. They were out in the rain, soaked, droped on teh concret, used to break down doors, smash windows, (among other things) but back in the crusiers to rust.
They A L W A Y S worked.
When I became firearms specialist, training officer, wrote police deadly force policy, developed and implimented the SWAT team, I instituted a regular service and inspection program for police equipment including the shotgun.
As fireams officer I was sent to nine differend specialized training programs involving the police s.g. (lot os other neat schools too!)
I saw hundreds of shotguns. 95 % were...............870s!
There were the odd 1300 Winchesters, the odd 1100, I even saw one Win. M-12, one, M-97, (believe that one in the day huh?) and a dozen or so Mossy 500s.
I've fired thousands of rounds of full power 00 buck and slug loads.
I doubt many people here have.
I seen fired literally tens of thousands of full powered buck and slug loads.
Few others see that.
I never once saw a Mossy fail to fire. Some had a little trouble ejecting, but after an training drill on how to clear it at least it fired.
We bought 10 new 870s, set up a rotating schedule to have the older 870s taken out of service and completely stripped, parkerized and repaired by an authorized Remington trained armorer.
NOT ONE NEEDED A PART REPLACED.
The only up grades that were required were some cracked stocks (dropped on the pavement damage) and the followers upgraded to a new design.
That was it.
Some of those guns had no blueing at all left but no parts needed replaced to to the years of absolute neglect and abuse.
After we got a new Chief Administrator he listen to my evidence about the uslessness and danger of shooting buck from teh cyl. bore.
We had the old refinished guns threaded for tube and installed modified chokes to better utilize the buck loads.
Later we begand to trade in for new 870's with tubes, and rifle sights.
The 870 smoothie with a sights regulated to 50 yards and a supply of slugs make a formidable .730 caliber rifle!
I never saw full implimentation all my programs.
I robbery suspect broke my back and I spent the next nine months learning to walk again.
I would not bash the M-500. It's robust enough for most sporting applications and the price makes it a favorite starter sporting s.g
But $229 for an 870? That's simply a no brainer.
By the way. Stock fit for the youngster is far more important than the difference between 26 and 28".

[CALNRA]

well your experience is certainly valued, don't get me wrong, and I thank you for your last post.

In fact I completedly agree with your recommendation on the 870.

But why couldn't you have sticked with "sure, get it", instead of keep going about the extra opinions on the 500? the guys is buying a shotgun for his young son, not buying a gun for thousands rounds of 00 buck shots and slugs for PD service.

Plus he already posted a different thread on some issues with the 500 so his mind is pretty much made up about buying an 870 as it is...

[Dave McC]

CALNRA.....

A couple of the 870s here are up over the 20K rounds each mark and show little wear.

The Mossy 500 I picked up for a song in the 80s I sold ONLY because I didn't like changing my "Chops". Both my other personal shotguns and my duty shotguns were 870s. That surplussed 500 did everything I wanted it to, flawlessly.

The Mossy is one H*ll of a lot of gun for the money.

An 870 will last longer under heavy use, but a 500 will outlast all of us. Best WEG, minimum life on a Mossy before it wears out would be 50-65K shells.

An 870 holds up marvelously well under bad conditions, abuse and non existent PM, but so do Mossies.

All I can say, get the one that feels best....

[zxd9]

You can make that deal even better because Remington is offering $30 rebates on the 870 Express. See the following for details:

http://www.remington.com/library/pro...on_savings.asp

[63Belair]

Oh god, here we go again

In response to the original question, I would say that is a good price on the 870

In response to what this thread evolved into:

You can't go wrong with any of the big 3 when it comes to shotguns (870, 1300, 500). There are plenty of stories on these forums testifying how great each gun is, and of course there are a few saying theirs or their buddies gun failed. The guns that fail are most likely due to crappy ammo, or a defective gun, not the brand. If any manufacturer sold guns that consistently misfired, they would go out of business.

A note on value: value is a completely subjective term. What one person values, another may not. I bought a Winchester 1300 for slightly less than the 870 you mentioned. I think it was a great value, but that is just my opinion.

If you are interested in comparing the 3 to each other, go to the store, put on a blindfold (who cares if you look silly) and have a buddy hand you each of the 3 without saying which it is. Go with what feels the best, you simply cant go wrong.

[chupps]

I wouldn't concern myself too much with the barrel length. The weight difference and mobility in tight situations are not really an issue. I think the biggest concern should be the stock. I'm a 5'9" adult and I took the recoil pad off of my 870 for a better fit. Maybe my arms are shorter than normal and when you add layers of clothing it becomes an issue. By the way, I won't bash other models, but I do love my 870. The price is a fair price.

[Jseime]

I like how the 870s fans go out of their way to bash the 500.

Ah dont worry about that they just feel immasculated by the fact that they paid more for a gun that does the same dang ol thing as the other.

Just jokes just jokes. You like yours I like mine theyre all good.

Personally i dont see a difference between the 26 and 28 inch barrels. Two inches on a shotgun barrel is nothing when you are out in the field. They are sitll long and kind of awkward. Just pick whichever you like or whatever they have in stock at the time.

I think $299 is a heck of a good deal for a pump shotgun especially one with the reputation of a Remington.

['75Scout]

I bought my used 870 Wingmaster for $289. It was made in 1956 and it had a 18.5", rifled sights, and extended magazine. I don't know if the barrel is orginal, but I bought it for HD. And I personally think the older ones are better.

But $299 NIB is a good deal.