Old 870 Express/New 870 Express

august1410 · Sep 8, 2014

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.

byf43 · Sep 8, 2014

Joe,

The darker stock on the 870 is not laminated wood. A laminated stock is much heavier.
That's walnut stained poplar, I think.

Poplar is a hardwood, but, it is the 'softest' of the hardwoods in use.
It sure isn't ash. The furniture was too 'light in weight'.

Just for kicks and grins...... my youngest son bought an 870 SuperMag, yesterday, and the first words out of his mouth were, "What did you do with the MossyOak Camo stocks???"

:lol2:

august1410 · Sep 8, 2014

byf43 said:
Joe,

The darker stock on the 870 is not laminated wood, if memory serves me.
That's walnut stained poplar, I think.

Poplar is a hardwood, but, it is the 'softest' of the hardwoods in use.
It sure isn't ash. The furniture was too 'light in weight'.

Just for kicks and grins...... my youngest son bought an 870 SuperMag, yesterday, and the first words out of his mouth were, "What did you do with the MossyOak Camo stocks???"

Maddie was telling me she needs to save up her money for the camo stock now!

byf43 · Sep 8, 2014

^^^Brad THINKS he's getting the camo stock!!!!!!

He's gonna crap, when he sees it on my Turkey Gun!!

Vile Shadow · Sep 8, 2014

Pretty interesting comparison. :thumbsup:

Alea Jacta Est · Sep 8, 2014

Thanks Joe!

dist1646 · Sep 8, 2014

There is a difference in the magazine end caps as well, the newer ones ratchet tight on a cheap piece of plastic.

SummitCnty · Sep 8, 2014

My express is from the late 80's and is a excellent shotgun for the cost. Think I paid about $225 or so for it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Alphabrew · Sep 12, 2014

I have 3 870s, how can I date them? All 3 are LE trades so prolly a little older.

One of them was my very first gun purchase with my own money, got it when was 18. It is an 870 wingmaster marked FWPD that I got from a neighbor's friend. Interestingly, the man I purchased it from inherited $600,000 or so when he was a teenager in the 1960's, which was a lot of money at the time. His grandfather was a big deal and left it to him. As you might expect, he blew through it like shit through a tin horn. He was an interesting character.

august1410 · Sep 12, 2014

Alphabrew said:
I have 3 870s, how can I date them? All 3 are LE trades so prolly a little older.

One of them was my very first gun purchase with my own money, got it when was 18. It is an 870 wingmaster marked FWPD that I got from a neighbor's friend. Interestingly, the man I purchased it from inherited $600,000 or so when he was a teenager in the 1960's, which was a lot of money at the time. His grandfather was a big deal and left it to him. As you might expect, he blew through it like shit through a tin horn. He was an interesting character.

There is a letter code on the barrel. You should be able to tell the year by that.....I can't recall the website off the top of my head, but there is a website that will tell you which letter matches up with what year.

Alphabrew · Sep 12, 2014

august1410 said:
There is a letter code on the barrel. You should be able to tell the year by that.....I can't recall the website off the top of my head, but there is a website that will tell you which letter matches up with what year.

Can the receiver be dated separately from the barrel by the serial number?

august1410 · Sep 12, 2014

Alphabrew said:
Can the receiver be dated separately from the barrel by the serial number?

I believe so. I can't find the link right now....(I'm a little...well, inebriated at the moment).

rico903 · Sep 13, 2014

Having a 1978 Wingmaster I can assure you the older ones were much better than the new crap they sell.

airsporter · Sep 28, 2014

Alphabrew said:
I have 3 870s, how can I date them? All 3 are LE trades so prolly a little older.

You can email Remington's customer service with receiver's serial # and they will look it up for free. As I remember it only took a day or so for a response. Barrel dating is not reliable unless you are sure its original because so many get swapped out.

campns · Sep 28, 2014

there are several lists online that show you the code in the serial numbers my 870 was MFG'd in 1994.

http://www.remingtonsociety.com/rsa/questions/barrelcodes

Remington Year of Manufacture Codes maybe found on the barrel of your Remington rifle [or shotgun] on the left side, just forward of the receiver; the first letter of the Code is the month of manufacture, followed by one or two letters which are the year of manufacture. For shotguns with removeable barrels, the code will be valid for the manufacture of the barrel; maybe for the receiver, as barrels do get switched around.

According to the "Blue Book of Gun Values"& ""The Remington Society", the coding continues as follows:

Month Codes: [first letter]
B - L - A - C - K - P - O - W - D - E - R - X
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12

Year:______Code: [second and third (*) letters]
1930_______ Y
1931_______ Z
1932_______ A
1933_______ B
1934_______ C
1935_______ D
1936_______ E
1937_______ F
1938_______ G
1939_______ H

1940_______ J
1941_______ K
1942_______ L
1943_______ MM (*)
1944_______ NN (*)
1945_______ PP (*)
1946_______ RR (*)
1947_______ SS (*)
1948_______ TT (*)
1949_______ UU (*)

1950_______ WW (*)
1951_______ XX (*)
1952_______ YY (*)
1953_______ ZZ
1954_______ A
1955_______ B
1956_______ C
1957_______ D
1958_______ E
1959_______ F

1960_______ G
1961_______ H
1962_______ J
1963_______ K
1964_______ L
1965_______ M
1966_______ N
1967_______ P
1968_______ R
1969_______ S

1970_______ T
1971_______ U
1972_______ W
1973_______ X
1974_______ Y
1975_______ Z
1976_______ I
1977_______ O
1978_______ Q
1979_______ V

1980_______ A
1981_______ B
1982_______ C
1983_______ D
1984_______ E
1985_______ F
1986_______ G
1987_______ H
1988_______ I
1989_______ J

1990_______ K
1991_______ L
1992_______ M
1993_______ N
1994_______ O
1995_______ P
1996_______ Q
1997_______ R
1998_______ S
1999_______ T (**)

2000_______ U (**)
2001_______ V (**)
2002_______ W
2003_______ X
2004_______ Y
2005_______ Z
2006_______ A
2007_______ B
2008_______ C
2009_______ D

2010_______ E
2011_______ F
2012_______ G
2013_______H

(*) the years 1943 though 1953 had double letters: ie, MM = 1943

(**) On 8/9/99, Remington stopped stamping the barrels with the date code. The date code was marked only on the end flap of the shipping box. Remington resumed stamping the date code on the barrel on 10/1/01. Only Remington can give an owner a DOM for a gun from this era, that carries no date code - via the gun's serial number.

Since letters have obviously been repeated, it's vital to know when your Remington model was introduced/discontinued.

BlackBart · Sep 28, 2014

Old vs. new..... most of the time Id take an older manufactured weapon over most new ones.... models too. Not always but most of the time. Compare an old Savage 110 bolt to a "new" plastic stock pos they sell nowadays. New doesn't always impress me.

Hollywoodwvu · Oct 2, 2014

campns said:
there are several lists online that show you the code in the serial numbers my 870 was MFG'd in 1994.

http://www.remingtonsociety.com/rsa/questions/barrelcodes

Remington Year of Manufacture Codes maybe found on the barrel of your Remington rifle [or shotgun] on the left side, just forward of the receiver; the first letter of the Code is the month of manufacture, followed by one or two letters which are the year of manufacture. For shotguns with removeable barrels, the code will be valid for the manufacture of the barrel; maybe for the receiver, as barrels do get switched around.

According to the "Blue Book of Gun Values"& ""The Remington Society", the coding continues as follows:

Month Codes: [first letter]
B - L - A - C - K - P - O - W - D - E - R - X
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12

Year:______Code: [second and third (*) letters]
1930_______ Y
1931_______ Z
1932_______ A
1933_______ B
1934_______ C
1935_______ D
1936_______ E
1937_______ F
1938_______ G
1939_______ H

1940_______ J
1941_______ K
1942_______ L
1943_______ MM (*)
1944_______ NN (*)
1945_______ PP (*)
1946_______ RR (*)
1947_______ SS (*)
1948_______ TT (*)
1949_______ UU (*)

1950_______ WW (*)
1951_______ XX (*)
1952_______ YY (*)
1953_______ ZZ
1954_______ A
1955_______ B
1956_______ C
1957_______ D
1958_______ E
1959_______ F

1960_______ G
1961_______ H
1962_______ J
1963_______ K
1964_______ L
1965_______ M
1966_______ N
1967_______ P
1968_______ R
1969_______ S

1970_______ T
1971_______ U
1972_______ W
1973_______ X
1974_______ Y
1975_______ Z
1976_______ I
1977_______ O
1978_______ Q
1979_______ V

1980_______ A
1981_______ B
1982_______ C
1983_______ D
1984_______ E
1985_______ F
1986_______ G
1987_______ H
1988_______ I
1989_______ J

1990_______ K
1991_______ L
1992_______ M
1993_______ N
1994_______ O
1995_______ P
1996_______ Q
1997_______ R
1998_______ S
1999_______ T (**)

2000_______ U (**)
2001_______ V (**)
2002_______ W
2003_______ X
2004_______ Y
2005_______ Z
2006_______ A
2007_______ B
2008_______ C
2009_______ D

2010_______ E
2011_______ F
2012_______ G
2013_______H

(*) the years 1943 though 1953 had double letters: ie, MM = 1943

(**) On 8/9/99, Remington stopped stamping the barrels with the date code. The date code was marked only on the end flap of the shipping box. Remington resumed stamping the date code on the barrel on 10/1/01. Only Remington can give an owner a DOM for a gun from this era, that carries no date code - via the gun's serial number.

Since letters have obviously been repeated, it's vital to know when your Remington model was introduced/discontinued.

Thank you for this! According to this, the 870 that my uncle gave me was manufactured in 1951! That's crazy, it looks really good for being 63 years old!

Alphabrew · Oct 2, 2014

airsporter said:
You can email Remington's customer service with receiver's serial # and they will look it up for free. As I remember it only took a day or so for a response. Barrel dating is not reliable unless you are sure its original because so many get swapped out.

Cool, I'll try this

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