Dave McCracken
Moderator In Memoriam
Part of the fun of being the kindly old grey headed shotgun mentor and BB Mod is the number of shotguns I get to try out.
No, the makers are not shipping me new models to try out and to praise in print, darn it.
But, I get handed a variety of guns at the local range and get asked what I think. Lots of these have been 870 Expresses.....
After all, the 870 is the most popular civilian arm ever made, The Express alone has more units out there than the Model 12, 37,500, 1200,and 1300 combined.
BTW, if you know all those numbers, you just might be a pump shotgun nut.
Part of the hassle of being the kindly,old,etc,is having to deal with a variety of folks badmouthing the Express and decrying poor QC at Remington and the continued decaying of fine workmanship,finish,fit, and the appreciation thereof.
Some of these folks may have validity. I'm calling no one a liar.
Yet. But I do have to wonder....
I've been doing live shotgun 101 formally and informally for quite a while. In that time, I've handled maybe 25 different Expresses and shot a few rounds from same. They have all gone bang on command and smashed clays when I do my part.
None have shown any probs digesting the ammo at hand, none have thrown operating tantrums and all seem capable of doing the job.
I recall one barrel not bored/threaded concentrically so the tube was significantly off and so were the shots. It was returned to the maker and replaced with a better one.Promptly.
Today was the latest episode. A young fellow showed up at PGC with two friends. He had bought an 870 Super mag and was trying it out for the first time. He didn't even know that all you needed to do to chamber a round was drop it in and shut the action, he was so new to this.
His gun was standard, laminated stock, 28" barrel, matte finish. You can't go more generic. His ammo was generic also, Gun Clubs or similar.
After a round or so, when he wasn't hitting much, I tried it out. I used some Gun Clubs I had and a couple of my reloads. Targets broke quite nicely from the 16 yard line. The owner was a lanky sort and rather tall, say 6'4". He needed more stock than he had. An old slip on pad was kicking around the range box waiting to be loved, so I arranged the adoption. His scores went up dramatically, another win for proper fit.
I noted a few things about his Express......
The laminated stock is not a thing of beauty, but it works and is properly shaped for most folks. I would like to see some rough areas for friction, but I expect skateboard tape will have to do.
The trigger broke clean at an estimated 4.5 lbs,lighter than those on my B gun.That's in the ballpark with my 870s. They run just under 4 lbs to 5.
While this was a brand new gun, with less than 50 rounds through it when I shot it, it shucked very well. Not as slick as mine,but it would take a stopwatch and timer to tell. The Supermags are reputed to be a bit finicky, but this one shucked like a veteran Wingmaster. A thousand rounds or so and it should be like butter.
As for the plastic parts, none broke, nor do I expect any to do so.
And today was a bit moist, but I did not see any rust forming on that Express.
Also, that ammo I used in the Express, the Gun Clubs, gives Number Six, a 1955 WM with a newer LC barrel conniptions. The Express handled it without a burp.
So, all of you naysayers who dump on the Expresses, bring yours around here. All those that lock up, fail to feed, fail to extract, and fail to hit everything you point it in the general direction of....
Bring them here, Have I got a deal for you .....
No, the makers are not shipping me new models to try out and to praise in print, darn it.
But, I get handed a variety of guns at the local range and get asked what I think. Lots of these have been 870 Expresses.....
After all, the 870 is the most popular civilian arm ever made, The Express alone has more units out there than the Model 12, 37,500, 1200,and 1300 combined.
BTW, if you know all those numbers, you just might be a pump shotgun nut.
Part of the hassle of being the kindly,old,etc,is having to deal with a variety of folks badmouthing the Express and decrying poor QC at Remington and the continued decaying of fine workmanship,finish,fit, and the appreciation thereof.
Some of these folks may have validity. I'm calling no one a liar.
Yet. But I do have to wonder....
I've been doing live shotgun 101 formally and informally for quite a while. In that time, I've handled maybe 25 different Expresses and shot a few rounds from same. They have all gone bang on command and smashed clays when I do my part.
None have shown any probs digesting the ammo at hand, none have thrown operating tantrums and all seem capable of doing the job.
I recall one barrel not bored/threaded concentrically so the tube was significantly off and so were the shots. It was returned to the maker and replaced with a better one.Promptly.
Today was the latest episode. A young fellow showed up at PGC with two friends. He had bought an 870 Super mag and was trying it out for the first time. He didn't even know that all you needed to do to chamber a round was drop it in and shut the action, he was so new to this.
His gun was standard, laminated stock, 28" barrel, matte finish. You can't go more generic. His ammo was generic also, Gun Clubs or similar.
After a round or so, when he wasn't hitting much, I tried it out. I used some Gun Clubs I had and a couple of my reloads. Targets broke quite nicely from the 16 yard line. The owner was a lanky sort and rather tall, say 6'4". He needed more stock than he had. An old slip on pad was kicking around the range box waiting to be loved, so I arranged the adoption. His scores went up dramatically, another win for proper fit.
I noted a few things about his Express......
The laminated stock is not a thing of beauty, but it works and is properly shaped for most folks. I would like to see some rough areas for friction, but I expect skateboard tape will have to do.
The trigger broke clean at an estimated 4.5 lbs,lighter than those on my B gun.That's in the ballpark with my 870s. They run just under 4 lbs to 5.
While this was a brand new gun, with less than 50 rounds through it when I shot it, it shucked very well. Not as slick as mine,but it would take a stopwatch and timer to tell. The Supermags are reputed to be a bit finicky, but this one shucked like a veteran Wingmaster. A thousand rounds or so and it should be like butter.
As for the plastic parts, none broke, nor do I expect any to do so.
And today was a bit moist, but I did not see any rust forming on that Express.
Also, that ammo I used in the Express, the Gun Clubs, gives Number Six, a 1955 WM with a newer LC barrel conniptions. The Express handled it without a burp.
So, all of you naysayers who dump on the Expresses, bring yours around here. All those that lock up, fail to feed, fail to extract, and fail to hit everything you point it in the general direction of....
Bring them here, Have I got a deal for you .....