hi,
just purchased 870 that shoots 3.5 shells. I hear that the new Remington's are not made as quality as in the past? As a new comer to the shotgun world i was curious if the 870 should have any issues like feeding and cycling and jamming? Any ammo recommendations as far a brand and size?
thanks
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Re: new to forum
The notion that older 870s are better than newer ones comes mostly from a skewed perspective. Every company makes some amount of defective product; but older 870s that are still around are unlikely to be defective ones, for obvious reasons. Time is a great filter. Plus, many older 870s are from the days when all were finished as Wingmasters, rather than the more budget Expresses that are big sellers now, but the primary differences between the two lines come down to cosmetic or surface stuff like the finish or visual quality of the wood. Wingmasters appear to be much more finely-made firearms, but inside, they're the same guns. A brand-new 870 is also not going to have the benefit of decades of breaking-in right out of the box, which can make their actions seem rough and stiff compared to well-used older guns, but they will slick up with use just the same.
In fact, Remington has made a number of improvements - one relatively major update in the mid-1980s and a handful of more minor tweaks over the decades - that make modern 870s a bit more robust and reliable than they were originally. The early models are still fine shotguns, but for applications where an 870 really needs to be depended upon, I always recommend a newer model (or an older one with certain key updates).
Read your owner's manual and do what it says before taking the gun out for the first time, then put a good number of shells through it to start running it in. Due to how they are designed and built, 870s need to be used to be at their best. Most jams folks report with new 870s involve fired hulls sticking in the chamber and making extraction difficult. One cause of this is the user failing to clean the factory protective grease out of the chamber - as instructed in the manual. A brand-new chamber may also have very minor machining marks or rough finishing that can increase drag. This should take care of itself as you use your gun, but some folks like to help it along by lightly polishing the chamber with a cleaning brush wrapped in fine steel wool.
Another big contributor to extraction issues is the steel cups used to make many modern shotshells, which does not stretch and relax as nicely as brass does. High-end shells with genuine brass cups (not brass-plated steel) will be most reliable, while steel-cup shells can be hit-or-miss, depending on the quality. This especially goes for the inexpensive bulk-pack target shells that many folks use for breaking in their guns, and for recreation, practice, & plinking. Hulls used for some of these loads - Winchester Universals, for example - are not built very well, using thin and/or soft steel cups, and are very prone to sticking in chambers after firing (this happens in other guns besides the 870). Others, like Remington Gun Club and Federal Top Gun shells, are better-made. They may occasionally be tough to extract if the gun is also dirty and/or not broken in, but they run much better on average, and shouldn't cause any issues in a properly cared-for 870 that's been run-in.
If you're going hunting (which is why I assume you spent more for the SuperMag model) or using your gun for some other serious role, quality ammo is obviously recommended, but mostly for performance reasons.
In fact, Remington has made a number of improvements - one relatively major update in the mid-1980s and a handful of more minor tweaks over the decades - that make modern 870s a bit more robust and reliable than they were originally. The early models are still fine shotguns, but for applications where an 870 really needs to be depended upon, I always recommend a newer model (or an older one with certain key updates).
Read your owner's manual and do what it says before taking the gun out for the first time, then put a good number of shells through it to start running it in. Due to how they are designed and built, 870s need to be used to be at their best. Most jams folks report with new 870s involve fired hulls sticking in the chamber and making extraction difficult. One cause of this is the user failing to clean the factory protective grease out of the chamber - as instructed in the manual. A brand-new chamber may also have very minor machining marks or rough finishing that can increase drag. This should take care of itself as you use your gun, but some folks like to help it along by lightly polishing the chamber with a cleaning brush wrapped in fine steel wool.
Another big contributor to extraction issues is the steel cups used to make many modern shotshells, which does not stretch and relax as nicely as brass does. High-end shells with genuine brass cups (not brass-plated steel) will be most reliable, while steel-cup shells can be hit-or-miss, depending on the quality. This especially goes for the inexpensive bulk-pack target shells that many folks use for breaking in their guns, and for recreation, practice, & plinking. Hulls used for some of these loads - Winchester Universals, for example - are not built very well, using thin and/or soft steel cups, and are very prone to sticking in chambers after firing (this happens in other guns besides the 870). Others, like Remington Gun Club and Federal Top Gun shells, are better-made. They may occasionally be tough to extract if the gun is also dirty and/or not broken in, but they run much better on average, and shouldn't cause any issues in a properly cared-for 870 that's been run-in.
If you're going hunting (which is why I assume you spent more for the SuperMag model) or using your gun for some other serious role, quality ammo is obviously recommended, but mostly for performance reasons.