870 “Hardwood Home Defense”

[LockedBreech]

I have a 20” Mossberg 590A1 but I am sorta craving a wood stock 18” “riot gun” 12 gauge. These reputedly new 870s are around for a pretty good price but information on them is oddly scarce.

Has anyone picked up an 870 recently under the new ownership? Is the fit and finish meh like the 870 Express or actually decent? Or should I just stick with Mossberg and wait for Retrogrades to be in stock?


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[03RN]

How about a m500 retrograde?

[TGS]

Lon bought them as replacements for his agency's police academy. The ran well for the first academy class they were employed in.

Any updates Lon?

[LockedBreech]

How about a m500 retrograde?

That was the first choice but they're a bit hard to find in stock, I also like 870s a lot, and the hardwood home defense is currently $75-100 cheaper.

Money isn't really an obstacle, they're both $400-500 and I imagine both would do well enough. Last time I bought a shotgun was a good 5+ years ago though and since then Remington got bought again. So I'm just curious to see if Mossberg is still winning the quality control derby for pump guns.

[Lon]

Lon bought them as replacements for his agency's police academy. The ran well for the first academy class they were employed in.

Any updates Lon?

Yep. Just had the firearms block for the fall academy class a couple weeks ago. I wasn’t out there, but I checked with the head instructor. They got used a lot. No issues.

[kwb377]

So I'm just curious to see if Mossberg is still winning the quality control derby for pump guns.

Has Mossberg ever been in the lead for quality pump guns? I bought a 590 last summer, and the internal parts looked like they'd been machined by a high-school shop class with hand tools, and couldn't keep five slugs within a 8" circle at 50 yds. My 30 year old Maverick 88 was much better in terms of fit/finish/performance.

I don't know if it's the pinnacle of pump-gun quality, but the Benelli Nova/Super Nova is light-years ahead of the 590 for about the same price. It's the opposite of "retro", though. :)

[Lon]

I have a 20” Mossberg 590A1 but I am sorta craving a wood stock 18” “riot gun” 12 gauge. These reputedly new 870s are around for a pretty good price but information on them is oddly scarce.

Has anyone picked up an 870 recently under the new ownership? Is the fit and finish meh like the 870 Express or actually decent? Or should I just stick with Mossberg and wait for Retrogrades to be in stock?


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I ordered the 870s because I was unhappy w the 2020 manufactured 590A1s that the previous commander had purchased. There’s a thread somewhere with the what and why of it. I also posted some pics of the new 870s.

[LockedBreech]

Has Mossberg ever been in the lead for quality pump guns? I bought a 590 last summer, and the internal parts looked like they'd been machined by a high-school shop class with hand tools, and couldn't keep five slugs within a 8" circle at 50 yds. My 30 year old Maverick 88 was much better in terms of fit/finish/performance.

I don't know if it's the pinnacle of pump-gun quality, but the Benelli Nova/Super Nova is light-years ahead of the 590 for about the same price. It's the opposite of "retro", though. :)

My shotgun info is pretty out of date. I got a Remington 870 Express that had fairly poor finishing quality (although it did work perfectly) around 2009, and I have a Mossberg 590A1 20" I got around 2016-2017 that I am happy with, but I suppose I haven't pushed it all that hard.

You're spot on and I'm sure that the Benellis would likely be better than everything (or a Beretta 1301) but here's the deal, my dad has this late 1960s 870 Wingmaster 18" riot gun that was my grandpa's when he was a patrolman in California after WW2, and it has better quality than ANY 18" pump gun I've ever seen in modern production. I know I won't get something that nice, sadly it's a bygone era, but the wood stock and foreend are something I'd really like to have.


I ordered the 870s because I was unhappy w the 2020 manufactured 590A1s that the previous commander had purchased. There’s a thread somewhere with the what and why of it. I also posted some pics of the new 870s.

Great info and I'll track those down, thanks Lon.

[LockedBreech]

I reviewed Lon's posts from April about the new 870s. His photos of the finish (MUCH better than my 870 Express) and accuracy sold me. As gun gambles go, it's a low-risk one, costs less than a Springfield XD. Gonna try the 870 Hardwood Home Defense. I'll report back in a couple months or years, whenever I've put a few hundred shells through it and have something intelligent to say.

[LockedBreech]

I reviewed Lon's posts from April about the new 870s. His photos of the finish (MUCH better than my 870 Express) and accuracy sold me. As gun gambles go, it's a low-risk one, costs less than a Springfield XD. Gonna try the 870 Hardwood Home Defense. I'll report back in a couple months or years, whenever I've put a few hundred shells through it and have something intelligent to say.

Paid off the layaway and got my 870 Hardwood Home Defense in today. Based on the date code, November 2022 manufacture.

I won’t go as far as to say it’s as nicely made and finished as my grandpa’s 1960s 870 riot gun. I will say the quality feel and detail exceeds my Mossberg 590A1 by a modest amount and my 870 Express Tactical significantly. It’s the nicest looking and feeling modern-manufacture 870 I’ve handled. Action is also great. Glassy smooth. Shells feed smoothly and the loading gate is nicely polished. Bore and chamber had faint tool marks but seemed clean and nicely machined.

If it shoots how it seems put together, I’ll be a very happy camper and will likely add more current-production Remingtons. Very happy that Remington might be back in the game.


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[MRW]

I picked one up in September to take as a back up gun to a shotgun class I took in October. It is put together well. Finish is better than most of the 870 Express guns I saw over the past 10 years. The wood furniture is done well with a nice dark finish.

More importantly, it fed and ejected all the birdshot, buckshot, and slugs I put through it in my limited amount of shooting it. For comparison, I have a 2009 870P that occasionally struggles to extract cheap birdshot. Federal Flight Control 9 Pellet patterned very well out to 25 yards keeping all of the pellets in the A-zone of the silhouette targets I was using.

Non-Flight Control Federal 9 Pellet 00 buck did less well but I expected that. The pattern was good 15 yards and in. It started to spread a bit at 25 yards. Federal Tru-Ball slugs and Federal Hydra-Shok slugs were accurate out to 30 yards with the bead sight.

Based on my example and the few I've gone through at local stores I would recommend them to someone looking for a pump shotgun for home defense. I'm glad the new Remington is putting some extra work into these. I've hunted with an 870 and had them at work for years. It's nice to be able to get a shotgun I'm familiar with that runs well again.

The price around here is between $450 - $500 for the wood and synthetic versions so the price point is good too.

[Nephrology]

Good to hear Remington's QC has improved under the new ownership. My very first firearm ever purchased is a police surplus 20" 870 Wingmaster, manf. in early 1970s. Beautiful gun. May have to buy an R700 after the old ones work their way out of inventory.

[MRW]

Not on topic but I'm hoping to see some new production quality Remington 7600s in the future. It is one of my favorite deer rifles. They get a lot of use in PA and throughout the NE. It would be good to see them on store shelves again.

[BobM]

I’ve been tempted by a new 20 gauge youth 870 I saw in a local shop.