Remington 870

José Alaninho

Seriously considering buying this shotgun; will probably be used for clays, hunting, the whole shebang. Anyone have any experience with it? All advice/tips are much appreciated. Cheers lads.

Double Barrel

Jose,
"Bullet proof"
Proooooved itself in Viet Nam.

spideog7

Nice gun I've used one, but for hunting I honestly prefer the O/U myself, the double barrel is much handier. You can put a good few different length's of barrels on this gun if you want though, which is good.
The pump action can be just a bit of a gimmick at time's and it get's annoying if you're doing a lot of hunting, particularly if you're hunting different things.
I often will be after pheasant but will put a BB in the top barrel so I can switch if I see a fox, and vice versa.

Oh and unless you have good self control you'll fly through the catridges

But if you're determined on a repeater then this is as good as any you'll see.

J.R.

I had a left -handed 870 for 28 years which I bought new. It never gave any bother despite firing 1,000's & 1,000's of cartridges - I fire roughly 1800 cartridges per year. It will also fire all different types of loads. It never jammed once.

The pump action is an acquired knack and is as quick as any semi-auto in the correct hands. U.S. shooters maintain that the pump is quicker in the right hands than a semi-auto. I now use a semi-auto and would say that they are about the same.

The pump is a very versatile gun in the right hands. When fox shooting on the Sunday shoot where one could meet woodcock but there was also the chance of a fox I used to put in a 7 followed by heavy fox shells. If a woodcock rose you got a shot - if a fox appeared it was a simple matter of pumping the gun once as you put it to your shoulder and having the heavy fox loads ready to fire.

You may ask why I traded it if I was so happy with it. The reason was it was a fixed choke with a tight full - had to let birds out a good distance. I decided to purchase a repeater with interchangable chokes and immediately went for a new left-handed 870 again. But on seeing the gun I declined. The new 870 (in my opinion) isn't a patch on the previous model. I haven't fired the new model but it felt unbalanced, 'cheap', and not as well finished.

Discussing the matter with the dealer there are very few other manufacturers who make a left - handed pump. He also pointed out that they are frowned upon at many clay shoots. I had witnessed this myself before I sold it and some land owners also remarked that 'a gun like that would shoot the whole place up.'

Having taken the clay, left-handed, landowner opinions into consideration and having handled the new 870 I decided to go for a left - handed Benelli semi- auto instead.

I couldn't fault the 870 but I would view the older model first to compare.

P.S. If you do purchase a pump and want some tips on 'pumping' technique for rapid shooting let me know. It will fire 2/3 shots as quick as any other gun with technique & practice.

José Alaninho

Well she sounds good so far lads, as JR said though I'd like a semi-auto but don't have the cash plain and simple! Sure a Remy 1100 SPS is cheap enough but still nearly twice the price of the pump. So looks like the 870 is the way to go...

bunny shooter

Brother had an 870, fabulous gun for the money

spideog7

Yea I was firing an old one too, a very old one I think it came from the States in the 70's, to the best of my knowledge it's the original police model with the wooden stock.
Anywho, yea it is a nice gun when you get the knack alright, and probably quick, definitely not as quick as a double barrel though, no way. I just find it more cumbersome.

Not sure what you mean by the chokes J.R. with ours it's a 2 second job to change the barrels and I don't think it's an offence to have a few different lengths of barrels. (If it is then we don't but we used to )

Like J.R. said you can pump out the first catridge but if you have the breech closed then you have to reach forward and and push a button in front of the trigger guard to unlock it.
Another thing that is annoying about this gun is the safety, it's so hard to switch I can't count how many times I've been walking around with the safety off because I've either completely forgotten it or haven't been able to reach it.
To knock off the safety you switch it with your trigger finger as you move onto the trigger (from the right push it left or into the gun) but to put it back on, you have to reach around under the gun to push it back.

It is a great gun and like I said if you want a repeater it'll stand by you, but personally once the fun of the pump wears off I'd take a double barrel any day.

That said I love taking it when we're beating foxes

cavan shooter

If you want an auto you'll pick up a good Beretta 301/303 for around 500 the older Benellis around the same, I know where there are 2 Benellis for around 450. PM me if you want the name of a dealer who has good value in second hand autos and a massive selection to choose from

Bad news he is up my way

yank_in_eire

J.R. wrote: »

The pump is a very versatile gun in the right hands. When fox shooting on the Sunday shoot where one could meet woodcock but there was also the chance of a fox I used to put in a 7 followed by heavy fox shells. If a woodcock rose you got a shot - if a fox appeared it was a simple matter of pumping the gun once as you put it to your shoulder and having the heavy fox loads ready to fire.

You can't eject an unfired shell by just working the pump - when you chamber a live shell the pump is locked until you either fire the shell or push a small button usually located just in front of the trigger guard.
Or maybe Irish foxes associate the sound of a #7 shell with a free woodcock dinner and come running?:p:D

dimebag249

The 870 is the most popular shotgun in firearms history. Has to be one of the most versatile gun designs around. I have an Express 12g, there's a picture of it on page 5 of the hardware thread, I'll try to insert it here too.

Absolutely reliable and terrific fun to shoot. There are so many modifications and upgrades available it's practically modular. So basically, buy one. You won't regret it.

José Alaninho

Sweet :eek::D

J.R.

yank_in_eire wrote: »

You can't eject an unfired shell by just working the pump - when you chamber a live shell the pump is locked until you either fire the shell or push a small button usually located just in front of the trigger guard.
Or maybe Irish foxes associate the sound of a #7 shell with a free woodcock dinner and come running?:p:D

You are quite right Yank in Eire.

To pump out the number 7 shell one has to press the small unlocking button, to unlock the live round, then pump, then operate safety catch to fire.

I didn't bother going into the methodology of operation in the post.

It all sounds a long, cumbersome operation, when reading it in print, but to an experienced pump user the whole operation is complete as the gun reaches the shoulder - seconds.

José Alaninho

Well I've been reading around a bit guys, and I was wondering, does anyone know if there's anywhere sells a good Mossberg 590 for a reasonable price, preferably new? Seems a much better shotgun all round, and cheaper too.

revan23

i doubt it, as far as i know that's the military version of the 500 right?

sidneyreilly

revan23 wrote: »

i doubt it, as far as i know that's the military version of the 500 right?

what difference does that make bar being restricted from shooting game because of the mag capacity?

revan23

well i suppose so, i just meant i think its a bit unlikely that anywhere would stock these as they are a mil-spec gun with a larger magazine (which is pointless if you can only load 3 rounds) you would probably have to get one ordered

José Alaninho

Well obviously the M500 will do, the 590 was just in me head at the time. As I said anyone know where and how much?

Flying

Have my 870 13 years now, now modifiied with Folding Stock,Pistol Grip and Extended Magazine.

I find since it is a heavy weapon it needs constant care to avoid rust developing.

It is a reliable and good all purpose gun for Hunting and Clays.

Also go for the 3" Magnum version which I have as you can then use some serious loads, I also use Rifle slugs with it aswell with the modified choke

revan23

i think they are both around 450 - 500 euros, maybe a bit more if you want a ported barrel, they should be fairly easy to find as they are both popular guns,

Double Barrel

José,
No horse in this race, but, for sheer smoothness of the action an 870, smoothness and position of the safety are the main differences. Price of course is a factor as is ready availability of after-market components.
Have you considered a Nova?

José Alaninho

Yeah apparently the Mossberg is easier to load (no loading port flap) and has a handier safety + action release... but the 870 is a smoother operator... Ohh, decisions!!!:):confused:

bunny shooter

Nova, now ye're talking, sweet little shooter. Are the benelli's getting harder to import ?

Remmy

the 590's come standard with a 20 inch barrel so on legal grounds thats a no-no over hear.they 870's seem very well regarded same with the mossberg 500 i doubt you could go wrong with either.I find the mossberg a tad bit more ergonomic myself.

José Alaninho

So what's the legal barrel limit on shotguns in Ireland? Would a 20" rifle-sight barrel be legal, for example?

Remmy

afraid not jose,legal limit for shotguns in ireland is 24inches.

dimebag249

I'm open to correction on this, but it was my understanding that the legislation prohibits the shortening of a barrel to under 24 inches. It does not mention what length of barrel may be purchased or licenced. At least this is my recollection of the law. This is certainly the case in Canada; a shotgun barrel may not be shortened to less than 18 inches, but, due to what is essentially a loop-hole, purchasing a Remington 870 MCS with a 10 inch barrel is entirely legal. Could someone please quote or link to the relevant legislation?

revan23

short barrel, extended mag, rifle sights - sounds good if you're into hunting door hinges or worse....

José Alaninho

revan23 wrote: »

short barrel, extended mag, rifle sights - sounds good if you're into hunting door hinges or worse....

Yeah sounds good doesn't it? Nah, I was just wondering, rifle sights look so much cooler than the old vent-rib! That's just my vanity though. A 24-inch vent-rib/bead sight would of course do just fine. Still, wouldn't this just look sweet at your next clay shoot?

meathstevie

If it's 24" with an open cilinder choke I'm afraid you'll have to stand in front of the trap and shoot the clays when they nearly hit you. There's a reason why this type of gun are called military or police shotgun : they're extremely well suited for close range combat and self defense stuff and blasting the odd door hinge but as for range on clays and game they'd be a bit limited.

José Alaninho

Looks like its the 870 so. Putting the deposit down next week on an express synthetic, 26" barrel with rem chokes.

Thanks for the help lads, much appreciated.

revan23

what about a mosberg with a 28" ported, vent rib barrel?