New Remington 870 vs Old Remington 870
New Remington 870 vs Old Remington 870
From what I can see, the old Remington 870s (1970s back) use a aluminum trigger guard, steel follower, have no dimples in tube, have a detent ball to secure the barrel nut, a machined extractor, and a better fit than the new ones. The new ones have the flexi tab thing to prevent jams which is the only advantage I see to a new one. So from what I can see the old ones are much better. Any other input?
Re: New Remington 870 vs Old Remington 870
The stock bolt length has also changed at some point - worth noting if you're buying a new stock for your old 870, you'll probably need a new bolt too.
And with all that use, they're buttery smooth
Yes I love my 50's Wingmaster.
And with all that use, they're buttery smooth
Yes I love my 50's Wingmaster.-
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Re: New Remington 870 vs Old Remington 870
I have a 2011 Express barrel that has the ball detent, so I don't think that's strictly a feature on older 870s.
The extractor can be upgraded if you bought a lower-end model. Mine has the cheaper MIM extractor though, and it's never given me any trouble at all. It's even torn right through a shell rim when I had a bad reload swell and lodge in the chamber. When I went through and upgraded the internals, I decided to save the money and skip the extractor upgrade.
The polymer trigger guards are actually tougher than the old aluminum ones. The plastic will flex and absorb impact where the cheap aluminum will simply break. The plastic also won't show scratches as much. The new trigger guards are an upgrade, in my opinion, and I'm not the only one who thinks so.
The dimpled magazine tubes on newer guns are a definite negative. You can avoid it in an 870 project by starting with a model that comes from the factory with a magazine extension. Otherwise, it takes some machining work. The magazines don't even need a spring retainer at the end; the magazine cap alone serves the same purpose.
For the follower, I'll take plastic over plain steel any day for less friction and wear, better visibility, and one less part that can rust. Even then, any stock follower, steel or plastic, is best replaced with a quality aftermarket part. There are plenty of aftermarket followers out there that you could easily pay for just by skipping those fancy coffee drinks for a week.
The Flexi-Tab is a brilliant fix. Credit to Remington for coming up with a simple yet effective solution instead of doing some over-complicated redesign of the entire action (believe me, it happens).
Overall, I think the new 870s are an improvement, despite a couple changes that should have been given more thought. You do get what you pay for, like anything, so it's not really fair to complain about lower-end finishing or materials on a bottom-end, budget model.
The extractor can be upgraded if you bought a lower-end model. Mine has the cheaper MIM extractor though, and it's never given me any trouble at all. It's even torn right through a shell rim when I had a bad reload swell and lodge in the chamber. When I went through and upgraded the internals, I decided to save the money and skip the extractor upgrade.
The polymer trigger guards are actually tougher than the old aluminum ones. The plastic will flex and absorb impact where the cheap aluminum will simply break. The plastic also won't show scratches as much. The new trigger guards are an upgrade, in my opinion, and I'm not the only one who thinks so.
The dimpled magazine tubes on newer guns are a definite negative. You can avoid it in an 870 project by starting with a model that comes from the factory with a magazine extension. Otherwise, it takes some machining work. The magazines don't even need a spring retainer at the end; the magazine cap alone serves the same purpose.
For the follower, I'll take plastic over plain steel any day for less friction and wear, better visibility, and one less part that can rust. Even then, any stock follower, steel or plastic, is best replaced with a quality aftermarket part. There are plenty of aftermarket followers out there that you could easily pay for just by skipping those fancy coffee drinks for a week.
The Flexi-Tab is a brilliant fix. Credit to Remington for coming up with a simple yet effective solution instead of doing some over-complicated redesign of the entire action (believe me, it happens).
Overall, I think the new 870s are an improvement, despite a couple changes that should have been given more thought. You do get what you pay for, like anything, so it's not really fair to complain about lower-end finishing or materials on a bottom-end, budget model.