I had some time this morning, after a cup of coffee to compare the two 870s we have now. I had done some online reading about how the older 870 Expresses were simply a dulled down version of the regular 870 and how the newer ones were actually a budget shotgun. The 870s compared were manufactured in October of 1987 and August of 2005. The wood furniture on the 2005 model is not original, having been swapped from the original synthetic camo. The wood, however, is of the newer construction. Starting with the furniture, the 1987 shotgun has Maine Yellow Birch. It's heavy and solid and feels just like the wood on better shotguns, just without the heavy gloss and deep, rich brown. The 2005 has laminated wood, which is much lighter in weight and feels, well, cheaper....It doesn't feel as high quality as the birch. The trigger group/guard in the 1987 is metal. The 2005 is plastic. The action. The 2005 is still much tighter and does not have the rattle of a Mossberg 500, but has a little "slop" and looseness. It does not hamper the action of the shotgun and it performs just fine. The 1987 is tight and firm...what you would expect from a Remington. The finish is slightly different, as well. While both have the matte finish, the 1987 is smoother and much less rough. While I have no issue with the newer 870 Express, the older one seems to be built with more care and attention than the newer one. The 1987 clearly is just a simplified version of a regular 870....the newer one is very much a budget gun. As a comparison, think Mossberg/Maverick.
Cool comparison. It's true that the newer Expresses lack some of what guys like about old shotguns, but they're still solid shotguns. I've got a 2013 Wingmaster and a 2011 Express... After having and shooting both, as well as growing up shooting a lot of older shotguns, I have come to the realization that for a working gun, I just really prefer the Express over anything else. I like the Wingmaster for looking at, I like the Express for beating on.
Yup. I actually like the polymer trigger guard and furniture, they show less wear and are more durable than solid wood. The laminate is durable as well, but I don't care for the added weight. And having a matte blue finish, it's a bit weak, but I don't feel bad dropping it into a truck bed, and thanks to Frog Lube, I've yet to have rust, even on the bare metal. They aren't particularly pretty, but they're cheap enough for anyone and they just work.
I looked at a newer 870 express, put it back and bought an H&R pardner pump, pocketed the extra $125 to buy some shells and various other things I needed and STILL got a better 870 express than Rem wants to make. View attachment 87913
I've yet to shoot a Pardner that felt anywhere near as tight or smooth as an 870. Gritty and stiff have been the norm.
I prefer my Pardner Pump to the new Express as well. I don't really care who makes or imports it. I've added an 870 laminated stock (forend requires mod), couple of hundred rounds smooths up the action. It's built like a tank, recoil is very manageable due to its extra heft. I've had no malfunctions of any kind. At the price point of the Pardner, I was able to add the Rem stock and a spectre sling and still came out less than the 870. .
I let my soon to be ex wife keep the Pardner and made off w my Mossy Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
