Any Remington 870 fans?

[Igiveup]

I bought a used cop 870 Wingmaster around 1992, wood stock somewhat beat up, so installed a camo replacement. Thru the years I acquired an Express barrel with the choke tubes, which allows me to hunt with the gun, besides using it for a house gun. Never had a hiccup with it, very dependable.

 

[ggibson511960]

JMB's Last Shotguns Evolved a Lot

The finest pump guns ever manufactured are the Winchester model 12,the Ithaca model 37 (JMB design) and the Remington model 31(JMB design). These guns were assembled from forgings and machined steel parts with real walnut stocks by REAL craftsmen. One of my mdl 12's is 107 years old and still going strong. My Win 1897 is older than that and I shoot it alot too.....You seldom to never see a "dead" Ithaca 37 or Rem 31........COST killed their manufacture except for Ithaca.

The 870 is a gun of the times. Full of plastic and stamped sheet metal parts. The older ones are better. QC on ANY NEW Remington isn't.

Winchester engineer T. C. Johnson designed the Mod. 1912, evolving the JMB Mod. 1897. Several Remington engineers collaborated on the Mod. 31, as successor to the Pedersen designed models 10 and 29 and the JMB designed Mod. 17. Harry Howland at Ithaca evolved the JMB Remington Mod. 17 and waited out Pedersen patents to produce the Ithaca Mod. 37. All these pump guns are very durable and most improved on the JMB 1897 and 17. IMO the Remington 31 is the best of the lot for eliminating the double motion slide unlocking and introducing a truly modular trigger group. The 870 became the ultimate modular pump gun with easily replaceable components that did not require high gunsmith skill to repair, presaging AR-15 modularity and ease of manufacture. Locking the 870 bolt to a barrel extension lightened receivers. Not every modern evolution cheapens a basic firearm design or decreases reliability. I've had several 870's and used to not especially like the modern plastic trigger housing, but it would probably survive a drop impact and keep working more reliably than a metal one. 31's are sweet. I have an aluminum receiver 20 gauge that cycles itself like an automatic.

 

[kscharlie]

When I was a youngster growing up in a small rural community, all of us boys had many heated conversations about which shotgun was better, Remington 870 or Winchester Model 12. My preference was the Model 12. It still is.

Having said that, the 870 is a fine shotgun and I do own a few of them. Back in 1993, living in Illinois, my best friend invited me to go deer hunting on his family property. At that time, the only firearms allowed were black powder and shotguns. Since I did not have a slug gun, I obtained a 12 ga. Wingmaster at a lgs that did not have a barrel. Paid $120 for it and bought a Hastings rifled barrel with a cantilever. Got a scope and and synthetic stock/forearm and wrapped up the metal with a camo kit. Over the years, I killed a lot of deer with that setup.

One day in 2000, I was in another lgs looking at their used guns and ran across an 870 SC in 12 ga. (SC stands for Skeet "C" (high) grade wood) It was so nice, I just had to have it. Gave $280 and walked out the door with it.

Moved back home to Kansas in 2004 and got the itch for a 20 ga. Went down to the local gun shop and asked the owner if he had any nice ones. He went to the back and pulled out a new in the box 870 Wingmaster Magnum. Paid the man $400 and walked out the store with it tucked under my arm. I still hunt deer with my buddy in Illinois every Fall. A couple of years ago, I got a cantilever rifled tube for this gun and now use it back there. I even took it out a couple of times here in Kansas and put down a big fat doe with it.

Nothing wrong with an 870.

 

[Patrick L]

Those older target grade Remingtons had gorgeous wood!

 

[Chief Wiggums]

The 870 is a piece of American history.
Such a fine firearm that does what it is supposed to every time.

Unlimited shells
ample targets of all sorts
& a 870 (or MB500 - Maverick 88 or Ithaca 37) is just about as much fun that you can have while still having your clothes on


regarding that Maverick 88
if you only have $200 to spend and can only own 1 firearm - this would be the one.... IMO

 

[D Brown]

So, I was always a Mossberg 500/590 kind of guy. My dad had a pistol grip 500 when I was about 10 to 12 years old. I thought it was the baddest thing; it even had a heat shield on it, Lol!
I had an Ithaca 37 16ga for about 20 years. Despite the fact I got it for Christmas when I was 10, I traded it away for almost nothing. I really wanted a Mossberg 12 ga.

I carried a Mossberg 590 in Afghanistan about 50% of the year. I came back and bought my own 500 8 plus 1 20".

I always thought the 870 to be overpriced and less of a gun than the Mossberg. Then I went to work for my current agency in 2016. Day two they give me an 870 with wood furniture. Chief tells me they bought them 1989ish. The 870 kind of grew on me some over the next three years to the point when we retired them I was one of the first to say I wanted to buy old Betsy. I like it more than I ever thought I would. Most likely the best $135 I ever spent.
It looks just like the short magazine tube version D Brown post.

The one with the standard length magazine, high polish blue, and chrome bolt is a Model 24899 870 Police Magnum. The one with the two round magazine extension (a factory item), and Parkerized finish is the Model 24903 870 Police Magnum. I lucked out about eight years ago, and was able to locate both of these models new in the box. It's my understanding that Remington only makes these two models as special runs, and it can literally be years between production runs.

I'm hanging on to these two.

By the way, both of these Police Magnums are box stock with the one exception that I have installed a left hand big button safety on each of them.

Model 24899 and 24903 870 Police Magnums, top to bottom.

 

[andyo5]

I have a 12 gauge Wingmaster that I purchased at Walmart in 1979. It came with a 26" barrel with open cylinder choke that I used to shoot many quail and rabbits. In the late 1980s, I purchased a 28" barrel with the Remchoke system. A machinist at work added a center bead so that I could shoot trap and skeet with it. I haven't shot it in years, but it still occupies a place in my safe. I will probably keep it until the end, considering the history and memories that it shares with me.