Hello from KY

[Dust]

I am currently looking for a shotgun, and there are several 870s locally. As my father is a 500 owner, my only knowledge of 870s has been the one we used to get rid of coons, possums, and skunks at my grandfather's house.

I am looking for a predator shotgun, for 2.75" turkey shot to 3" #4 buckshot. Unfortunately, the only thing I can find that is camo is a Special Purpose Super Mag Turkey locally used. 23" barrel, single bead. As it's not a "normal" 870, I am here to learn about the differences in order to modify if I see the need.

[Synchronizor]

The late-1940s 870 design was, of course, never originally intended to cycle 3.5" shells. Fitting them into the 870 without significantly lengthing the receiver and action required a number of parts to be changed, and some new ones to be added. The biggest and most visible addition was a sliding port cover on the rear of the bolt to keep the longer ejection port from giving dirt & water a direct path into the trigger plate assembly:



The benefit to this is that while SuperMag 870s have special core action components & other internals that don't interchange with standard 2.75" & 3" 12ga 870s, they're externally very similar. Stocks, fore-ends, barrels, mag extensions, optic mounts, and most other external accessories meant for normal 12ga 870s will also work on a SuperMag, provided they're built well enough to withstand the extra recoil. Sometimes things may need slight tweaks, but it's rarely anything major or difficult.

On the other hand, one of the 870's big strengths is its simplicity, and the reliability that comes from that. Adding extra moving parts to this kind of design rarely makes things better, and the extra bits like the port cover have been known to cause some issues unique to the SuperMags. They're not bad guns by any stretch, but if you don't have a need to shoot 3.5" shells, I'd really recommend sticking to a standard magnum 870. Less to go wrong, parts are easier to find, and you do have more options for certain things.

It seems like you want something camouflage, but does the entire gun need to be camo, or would you be happy with some camo furniture? Because you can put camo furniture on any 870 with just a pair of pliers and a couple screwdrivers.

[Dust]

They're not bad guns by any stretch, but if you don't have a need to shoot 3.5" shells, I'd really recommend sticking to a standard magnum 870. Less to go wrong, parts are easier to find, and you do have more options for certain things.

It seems like you want something camouflage, but does the entire gun need to be camo, or would you be happy with some camo furniture? Because you can put camo furniture on any 870 with just a pair of pliers and a couple screwdrivers.

I have been looking at them based solely on the camo and price. The other choice is an 870 Police buyback from SOG, extra barrel (or thread orginal), chokes, and then paint or dip. Locally, Expresses are at $300-350. Need camo, no, but if is something that I consider a plus if I am buying used. Especially after videos of guns rusting after sitting outside overnight.

[Synchronizor]

I don't think the camo actually adds all that much to the gun's corrosion resistance. If avoiding rust is the major thing, I would say build on the Police 870 you mentioned instead. Unless it's an older blued model, it'll have a phosphate finish that stands up better than the oxide finish on Express 870s. Both types of finishes should be oiled to work best, but the Police Parkerizing is tougher and holds oil better.

That said, I have an Express-finished gun (at least, parts of it are express-finished - other parts are bare metal), and it goes out in plenty of bad weather. It only developed rust once, and that was completely my fault for neglecting it after dragging it through snow. I keep the thing oiled, and look after it properly when it gets wet, and it does just fine.

[Dust]

Super Mag is $300
Express with 18.5 and 26" barrel is $250
Police in 18.5 or 20" will be $230 plus shipping plus $20 FFL, plus $100 for threaded barrel or $75 to thread the original barrel.

[Synchronizor]

One option is to start with the Express, and see if that finish is adequate for your environment. If it is, great. If you decide you'd like something heavier-duty though, you can always hand it off to someone to Parkerize or Cerakote later on.