I am currently looking for a shotgun for shooting clays and duck hunting. I like the look of Remington shotguns and recall people raving about them several years ago on r/guns over on Reddit about their general quality and performance. After spending some time back there over the last two weeks I’ve noticed that 870s appear to now be a joke to many of those people. So I have a couple of questions I’m hoping I can get answers to.
1. Are newer 870s poorer quality than older models? Most of the negative comments I’ve seen referencing this have come up in home defense topics where AR-15s are overwhelmingly suggested over anything else.
2. Are the Express models as good as the regular models? I’ve read that they are cheaper or budget friendly options, but nothing about performance between the two.
I’m currently stuck between the Wingmaster and the Express Super Magnum Waterfowl Camo. The Wingmaster comes in 12, 20, and 28 gauge as well as .410, the Express only comes in 12 gauge. Wingmaster is 2-3/4” and 3” shells only, where the Express also supports 3-1/2” shells. I’m fairly set on 12 gauge and I don’t believe I will be using 3-1/2” shells so that’s not really playing a role in my decision.
The Wingmaster is a couple hundred dollars more expensive. I know spending more upfront is often recommended because you get what you pay for, but I don’t expect this to be the only shotgun I buy. If the Express is of decent quality, reliability, and performance it would make more sense to buy it and put the savings towards a different purchase.
1. Are newer 870s poorer quality than older models? Most of the negative comments I’ve seen referencing this have come up in home defense topics where AR-15s are overwhelmingly suggested over anything else.
2. Are the Express models as good as the regular models? I’ve read that they are cheaper or budget friendly options, but nothing about performance between the two.
I’m currently stuck between the Wingmaster and the Express Super Magnum Waterfowl Camo. The Wingmaster comes in 12, 20, and 28 gauge as well as .410, the Express only comes in 12 gauge. Wingmaster is 2-3/4” and 3” shells only, where the Express also supports 3-1/2” shells. I’m fairly set on 12 gauge and I don’t believe I will be using 3-1/2” shells so that’s not really playing a role in my decision.
The Wingmaster is a couple hundred dollars more expensive. I know spending more upfront is often recommended because you get what you pay for, but I don’t expect this to be the only shotgun I buy. If the Express is of decent quality, reliability, and performance it would make more sense to buy it and put the savings towards a different purchase.