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Old January 2, 2001, 04:23 PM   #1
old hawk
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ok here we go again with the 870 safteys, as we know if you have a pc safety that twists on when ya pinch it ,youre screwed. i just told the woman at remington and got zero results as far as a replacement fix goes or any feedback on it from her,is theyre anyone i can talk too in the shop? no sir theyre isnt.silence.what i got was heres a warranty center sir,call them.ok i make the call to one here in maine. welp i didnt know bout that problem the man says. i said try it.if ya twist or hit it wrong it engages and you need the key,rem dont know or aint admittig it.(kinda like the rem ultra mag .300 off set bored chambers problem.) what ya can do is send it he said. i said why ? nuthin ya can do will work on it,rem is aware now that ive told them i said,i been a gunny 24 years now. if you recess the cut more on the safety's step you will never be able to unlock it.he says well i have old style safetys but im not allowed to install them on warranty period.i said oh how nice.silence.ill buy the saftey and install it myself ok click .end of story.now to intsall, it you will have to round the saftey plunger under the spring from its present ovaled shape to work with the older non pc style safety other than that little annoying at the wrong time problem i still like my 870 express mag,good thing it didnt go on when i got bear charged this fall or id be dead meat now.im still planning on trying ,heavily note try to get the ceo on the phone to cure this problem with a revised safety somehow.........as much as i like my 870's past and present this pc crap sucks.maes me wanna swap for an older 870 or an ithaca at best.
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Old January 2, 2001, 06:43 PM   #2
Dave McC
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Thanks, Old Hawk, this kinda parallels the conservation I had with Remington's custom service last summer.

It's a good thing there's lots of used 870s out there, all with pre PC parts,durable as heck, and easily worked on.
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Old January 2, 2001, 08:31 PM   #3
old hawk
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dave i dunno man, seems alot of sales are gettin downed because of the way the new execs are deciding to do biz.maybe time to watch the stocks on them.iffn i wernt dedicated to the older remingtons so much this particular 870 wouldve been tossed for an ithaca right bout now.in fact this month i hope to add a sweet 16 '37 to the house.other than that i do like the nylon stocked black matte version i own but yep,that pc safetys on its way out the door for an older one installed...i just dont understand it,20 years back i knew a man who retired from the ilion plant from r+d,he was my in back then and i had no problem with old augustus getting me the info or parts dates etc on what i needed but dealing with rem now is worse than pulling hens teeth.
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Old January 2, 2001, 09:15 PM   #4
Erik
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What year did the PC modifications go into effect?

Or another way of putting it, what year do I stop considering when shopping the used shotgun market?

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Old January 2, 2001, 09:49 PM   #5
old hawk
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i think this went in two years back, kinda unsure,didnt bother to ask bout that.no need ta stop buyin , its a good shotgun by all respects ,just that they bent over for the pc crowd is all. a retrofit saftey from a dealer for unde a sawbuck solves the problem.as far as kids in the house goes it was a good idea to have ,they didnt bother to refine and test it a bit was all.with the older saftey and kids tho a standard trigger lock wouldve been better issued with it like they do with bolt actions now .
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Old January 3, 2001, 03:39 AM   #6
DML
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Isn't it interesting that the Police Magnums don't have the PC safety?
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Old January 3, 2001, 07:56 AM   #7
Dave McC
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Old Hawk, when a company's brass get more interested in the bottom line than providing a good product at a competitive price, the product goes to H*ll, employee morale suffers, and then the product line doesn't sell as well, and so on. Remington's brass are digging in really deep, and I hate the idea of them becoming yet another casualty of political correctness.

And, if they offered a reliable, functional keyed safety as an option, it would have done more good instead of rushing in with a semi reliable,dangerous POC that one HAS to have if one buys a new(and downqualitied) 870.

Also, to small children, an 870 kept cruiser ready(empty chamber, full mag, action locked closed, safety on) is a hard one to misemploy. Even w/o a safety lock, it's difficult for anyone who hasn't been trained to make fire.
Of course,it's best to keep it where kids(and irresponsible adults) cannot access it w/o proper supervision.

Erik, rather than a cutoff date, look for a plastic triggerguard and/or shell follower,that #$%^&* keyed safety, the bowling pin finish(extra shiny), etc. NONE of these are quite enough to eliminate an 870 from consideration of purchase, but should be factors in pricing.

A correspondent who has e mailed me several times about putting together a serious 870 tells me that his smith tells him that Remington will not sell the Flextab parts except to Law Enforcement now. Anyone hear of this?
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Old January 3, 2001, 11:27 AM   #8
old hawk
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dave as far as i know you can still get the flexi's from a dealer but not from rem, rem wont sell parts BUT if you spend $$$ at the custom shop theyll kiss you sideways to make a buck.on my blackmatte express mag i have the nylon gaurd as well and was assured it would stand the beating of a full duty sg.on the express mags what i noted was the innards of theriecever werent polished out to my likings so i did that,the trigger group is the same on other 870s so no skimping theyre.other than the excess black matte crap in the reciever innards and bore needing to be cleaned out its still a fine shotgun.basically its a sportsman in black matteand nlon stocked,when i fell down a rivine with it this past fall it didnt break,just some scratches a couple of dings etc but it held up to its name.dave thats the prob with blue collars and white hats.they dont listen to the people anymore or the needs,they couldve used a torx screw on the end ala cam style to block the safety from moving as a new pc approach instead of this.i dunno.scares me to think of what the future will bring .take a look at the newelectric ignition setup,whats next shotguns in the same light as that..... eeeeyyyukkkkkkkkkkkk
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Old January 3, 2001, 01:42 PM   #9
Dave McC
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Just called and spoke to the smith down at a local gun shop, who is more hunting and target oriented than Police and Tactical/HD. He manipulated a keyed safety onto lock w/o using the key and found it interesting, but not alarming. I do, and I'll talk to the smith that did my two Flextab jobs and see what he says/thinks tonight.This shop does a lot of LE work and inventory turnins,so he may have better input, as well as a more realistic attitude towards the safety issue.

While I'm doing that, I may think about getting the Bird 870 done with a Flextab conversion. In its' present incarnation, it doesn't need it, but who knows what the future will bring?
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Old January 3, 2001, 05:47 PM   #10
old hawk
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dave all i can say is the flexitab is to an 870 as gravy is on taters an chipped beef on toast,just gotta have it.i have a pretty much semi useless arm after a wreck and a series of strokes so at times i dont pump as smartly as i should,with the flexi i can literally shake loose a double feed with a solid pump on it.it happened once on me actually and i was glad i had it on mine,my older ones tho i just slotted and used a key but then i though to my self what if i hit the primer somehow too hard? i had made a keychain bar with a notch on the corner for the shell rim curing that.i also tried to get the ceo on the horn at rem and got a well have someone call ya ,but no luck yet.hopefully this week i guess but with my luck i doubt theyre gonna call back.
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Old January 3, 2001, 08:33 PM   #11
M-2
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Can someone let me in on what your talking about? I'm not a big shotgun guy but I did buy a used 870 for the home, 20"? with extended mag and the safty works fine, did they change It? How do I know how old mine is? and can a Wilson oversized safty solve the problem? or is it a internal thing? Sorry for the stupid questions. M2
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Old January 3, 2001, 08:57 PM   #12
M-2
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Ok Old Halk, I found your site. sounds like I don't have that problem, but I like you slicking up tips! thanks M-2
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Old January 4, 2001, 07:56 AM   #13
Dave McC
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Old hawk, I hear what you're saying,but....

I had at least 20 years of 870 use behind me when I first heard of the Flextab.I've never had one come back behind the lifter,and had shot thousands of rounds through 870s at that point.So, for me, the idea of a Flextab,or a clearing drill, was not that important.

But, someday these 870s will belong to the kids,and they may not have either my expertise or my strength, so I think I'll get this one Flexed.That's if I can, didn't get hold of the smith last night...
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Old January 4, 2001, 11:32 AM   #14
btm
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Dave
You are correct. Rem. will not sell the Flexitab conversion kit to their dealers or Factory repair centers.
Here's why. PARTS SALES LOSS! I can order the kit direct for $50. But if you order the three parts separately it would be nearly $100. So repair centers order the kits and separate the parts, say to fix a broken shell carrier and keep slide and bolt. They will sell the Flexitab Conv. kit to LE armorers only. I was told a month ago at armorers school that repair centers could and would swap pc safety for old style, I don't kmow if they changed their policy. I would contact the closet Factory Repair center and ask them direct.

BTM
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Old January 4, 2001, 01:35 PM   #15
cuerno de chivo
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new police magnums have the key safety
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Old January 4, 2001, 04:04 PM   #16
mjcitra
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I have an old 870 from the 1970's and was considering buying another one (the new version) until I heard of this saftey problem. I am SO glad I bought the Winchester now.
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Old January 5, 2001, 07:51 AM   #17
Dave McC
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A few months ago the Customer Sales Rep at Remington told me that while the older style safety would interchange, Remington would NOT do it.

Haven't been able to get ahold on the smith yet. WIll advise when I do...

Also, three local shops report used 870s go mighty fast these days.....
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