870 express...how badly will this get my kilt in da skreetz?

[Gearqueer]

Can I not just pick up the first used Express Tactical I come across for $200, buy a spare longer barrel and just move on?

This. Buy barrel off eBay.


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[03RN]

Mossberg and remington both have vent rib barrels at 20-21" that are threaded for tubes. Switching barrels takes about 4 seconds but it is kinda convenient.

[Hambo]

I have fixed that issue on quite a few guns with a Flex Hone. It will polish the camber to smooth as glass in a few minutes.

Which Remington could have done at the factory.

[mtnbkr]

Which Remington could have done at the factory.

They do...it's called a Wingmaster.

There's a reason the Express costs less than $300. Maybe call it an 80% shotgun.

Chris

[TCinVA]

We have a winner. ^^^

O/P you are already familiar with Benelli's quality of build. If a Nova stock fits you, you have found your shotgun. If you need adjustability go up to the Super Nova. I can't for the life of me understand why the Novas don't get more love than they do.

You're stuck with an incredibly long LOP.

I haven't seen many of them in class. The ones that have shown up have run just fine, but the people using them struggled mightily because of the ridiculously long LOP.

If Benelli would ship a rifle-sighted/ghost-ring 18.5" barreled gun with a stock that starts at ~ 12-12.5" LOP that you could increase with spacers it would be YUUUGE.

Alas, I don't think they will.

The polymer-over-steel design also makes them feel chunkier in the hand than something like an 870.

[TCinVA]

You can find some pretty good deals on Wingmasters and Police 870s if you have the time.

Dude, you have no idea:

[TCinVA]

I have bought two '80s express models back then used from co-workers at cheap prices. I put Police furniture, a slug barrel,and a factory mag extension one one and used it as a work shotgun from '92 to '96 when 870Ps were finally bought and issued to us in the Civil Division.
I gave my son the other one and we have taken SG classes with them and both guns have been used for BSA Shotgun merit badge work by lots of boys with standard hunting length barrels installed and have had no issues with hundreds of various types of shells fired.

Back then the Express model guns were made the same way as the Wingmasters, just without the extra polishing that was necessary for the high gloss blued finish. The Express as originally manufactured just had a matte blue finish and wood without the glossy polyurethane finish. The bores and chambers were still properly polished, the receivers were still vibra-honed, and they used the same trigger groups.

The Express model was relentlessly "economized" starting in the late 90's. They did away with the polishing, started using MIM parts, etc.

The 870 Police model was born from police departments insisting on a better gun...essentially what the original 870 Express guns were.

So if you have an early Express gun, it's every bit as good a gun as a Wingmaster in terms of suitability for defensive use.

[ASH556]

@TCinVA, I'm not opposed to NFA. I had an NFA Benelli already. I liked the size, I dumped it because the factory sights (mine was rifle, not ghost) hit 8-10" high at 25yds...unusable. So what about picking up one of the 14" 870 P's on Gunbroker for $300ish?

[TCinVA]

@TCinVA, I'm not opposed to NFA. I had an NFA Benelli already. I liked the size, I dumped it because the factory sights (mine was rifle, not ghost) hit 8-10" high at 25yds...unusable. So what about picking up one of the 14" 870 P's on Gunbroker for $300ish?

At the moment an outfit called RatWorx has a bunch of 870 Police model guns listed on Gunbroker:

https://www.gunbroker.com/All/search...Sellers=558830

A while back they had a bunch of former Illinois State Police tradein Wingmasters for a ridiculously low price. I bought 4. (Don't judge me. I bet you have fetishes, too.)

I'd say that if someone was in the market for a police trade-in 870 at this very moment, they'd be doing themselves a huge favor by getting in contact with the folks at RatWorx. Because they likely have more guns available than what is listed on Gunbroker at the moment.

If you want an SBS and you can snag a PD trade-in gun for $300, that ain't bad neither.

NOTE: I have no affiliation with that company. I'm just a dude who bought guns from them a while ago and ended up with truly excellent shotguns in a trouble-free transaction. Although the local FFL couldn't comprehend why anyone would order four of the exact same shotgun.

[Lester Polfus]

At the moment an outfit called RatWorx has a bunch of 870 Police model guns listed on Gunbroker:

https://www.gunbroker.com/All/search...Sellers=558830

A while back they had a bunch of former Illinois State Police tradein Wingmasters for a ridiculously low price. I bought 4. (Don't judge me. I bet you have fetishes, too.)

I'd say that if someone was in the market for a police trade-in 870 at this very moment, they'd be doing themselves a huge favor by getting in contact with the folks at RatWorx. Because they likely have more guns available than what is listed on Gunbroker at the moment.

If you want an SBS and you can snag a PD trade-in gun for $300, that ain't bad neither.

NOTE: I have no affiliation with that company. I'm just a dude who bought guns from them a while ago and ended up with truly excellent shotguns in a trouble-free transaction. Although the local FFL couldn't comprehend why anyone would order four of the exact same shotgun.

There are some good shotguns on that page you linked to.

For a time, I had a 20" rifle sight 870 like this one in my overhead rack for my Outside Shotgun for car stops and whatnot, and a 14" bead sight 870 with a shortened stock and forend light in my trunk as an Inside Shotgun.