Question about quality of Remington 870 Police

[Dr. Marneaus]

I fond on the wood stocked 870P myself

So awesome!!!

[Lagnaf]

Here are some pictures of my 870P.

[EdwardE]

I'm fond of the wood stocked 870P myself.

This has a "Repel all boarders!" look to it. I like it.

Banshee, what kind of shot spread are you getting with this one?

[Banshee]

I'm fond of the wood stocked 870P myself.

This has a "Repel all boarders!" look to it. I like it.

Banshee, what kind of shot spread are you getting with this one?

I have never really measured the spread, but have used it in three gun and does as well as any 18 inch barrel. It is a factory Remington 14 inch barrel with improved cylinder. Barrel length has no effect on pattern.

[Mister_Remington]

I finally have some free time to say a few things. Synchronizer, thanks for the insights regarding the Moss. vs. Rem. situation, had I known that prior I may have chosen a Remington, as mentioned it was a close choice.

Right now my tough choice will be new or old. I like both, I have a slight preference for an old, basic, thin walled barrel 870 Wingmaster Police. I already have a nose heavy poorly balanced Mossberg, on the other hand, I never see a reason to use a shotgun with one hand only but admittedly, being able to move the shotgun around with only one hand makes it feel awfully handy. I like handy.

I'm thankful for your advice regarding the tabs and lock up issue, you've been very helpful, somewhere else on this forum you had some advice on how to inspect a used shotgun, I copied that to my files last week. Unfortunately this isn't possible when buying a used gun off the internet, and buying locally is awfully limited, I rarely find what I want locally and sometimes the net is the only place to go to when seeking certain used firearms.

It will be a tough call between a used and new 870 Police. Of course this will eventually be solved by buying both, but at this time funds are very limited. Quick anecdote, my first gun was a Ruger and a Smith & Wesson. Years ago in the Army, guns were new to me, and I wanted to buy one. The local shop had a S&W 629 and a Ruger Super Blackhawk. I went home and slept on it, and for a few days I could not make up my mind which I should buy. I solved the problem by buying both!

I am no longer an Army Private who has his food, housing, medical, transportation, and clothing paid for by my rich uncle, so I can no longer throw money around like a big spender! Now I will get one choice, a basic Remington 870, new or used, and only one!

Dr. Marneaus, Banshee, Lagnaf, those are some beautiful guns! You're making it very tough for me to choose a used blued Wingmaster and a brand new Police model with wood can be an easy choice. I guess I cannot go wrong either way, new or used. The wood on those guns is nice!!

I really like the handy feel of a five shot model, I even prefer the "look" over the seven shot model, but if I buy a new 870 it will be a seven shot, if I buy used, it will remain a five shot. Yes, seven are better than five, but this is going to be a house gun, and if I run out of five shots I'll have five more in a shell holder on the stock, and if I run out of that I'll just grab the Mossberg.

Both the old vintage 870 Wingmasters are truly beautiful shotguns, as are the new Police models. I goofed big time about 7 or 8 years ago, at the local shop there were many used shotguns and one that I picked up was this beautiful blued Remington with wood and an extended mag. The price was $385 and I'm 99% sure it was a Wingmaster, I think I remember that being the name. It had an 18 or 20 inch barrel, and though I knew nothing about shotguns I could tell it was something special, I did not buy it. Well, I'll have to make up for that mistake sometime soon and I'm very thankful that I will have the insights, advice, and guidance of all you guys! Thanks for being so generous with your time and your knowledge!

[Mister_Remington]

Plus 1.jpg (149.56 KiB) Viewed 7632 times

Can anybody identify this "plus one" extension on this 870 Police? I got this photo from a google search for Remington Police shotguns for sale and this turned up from Bud's Gun Shop, but it's sold.

Myself, I prefer the shorter 18 inch barrel shotguns, and though I know they have 18 inchers with both 5 and 7 shot capacities, I think I may go for a 5 shot with a plus one extension. I read that Wilson makes a plus one, and I found some others, but I wondered about the maker of the one in this photo. Now let's see if I can load the photo...

[Synchronizor]

That looks like a Wilson/Scattergun +1 extension.


I have one of these without the sling stud. I can't recommend the follower that came with it, but the extension itself is great. With the single-piece design, it's essentially just a long magazine cap. If you want a little extra capacity on a simple riot build without the added weight and complexity of a larger extension, a single-piece +1 like this is a good way to go. I frequently have my 870 configured with this barrel and extension for HD.

p1 ext S.JPG (43.18 KiB) Viewed 7629 times

Keep in mind that with 870s, the only difference between 5-, 6-, and 7-shot setups is what's screwed onto the end of the magazine tube. You can easily change any standard 870's magazine configuration to suit your tastes, so don't get too hung up about finding a gun in the exact configuration you want.

18_5MEco.JPG (52.26 KiB) Viewed 7629 times

Top to bottom: magazine cap (4+1), +1 extension (5+1), +2 extension (6+1); all under an 18.5" barrel.

18_5meCss.jpg (60.46 KiB) Viewed 7629 times

[Synchronizor]

The discussion of weight and balance got me thinking, so, here's some information on the weight and balance of a no-frills 12ga 870 Magnum that you can compare your 590A1 against. I'd be interested in hearing how your 590A1 compares, Mossberg gives the exact same weight for 18.5" 5+1 and 20" 8+1 configurations on their website, and nothing about where that weight is centered.

With Police walnut furniture, an 18.5" bead-sight barrel, no add-ons, no aftermarket internals, and no magazine extension (4+1 capacity); my 870 has an unloaded weight of just about 7 pounds. Replacing the magazine cap and 4-round spring with my Wilson Combat +1 extension adds 2.8 ounces (for 7.18 lbf total), and installing a factory Remington +2 extension and bracket adds 5.7 ounces (7.36 lbf). Loaded weight obviously depends on the ammo you're using, but 2.75" 12ga shells are usually between 1.5 and 2 ounces each (a tenth of a pound per round is a decent rule of thumb for 2.75" buckshot).

With an empty chamber and a fully-loaded magazine (Remington 2.75" #4 buckshot, 1.73 ounces per shell), the center of mass of each of these configurations is near the front of the receiver. Measured from the muzzle, the distance to the balance point is 18.125" for a 6-round magazine, 18.875" for a 5-round, and 19.375" for a 4-round. Keep in mind that a 12ga 870 is an inch shorter overall than a Mossberg 590A1 with the same barrel length and stock length of pull. With an 18.5" barrel and a 14" LoP, an 870 is 38.5" overall, and a 590A1 is 39.5" overall (according to Mossberg's website, I've never personally measured a 590A1).

Top to bottom: 6+1, 5+1, 4+1

balance comp small.JPG (50.88 KiB) Viewed 7605 times

Top to bottom: 6+1, 5+1, 4+1

balance comp CU.JPG (100.36 KiB) Viewed 7605 times

[Zebra62]

Olde Number 36 has undergone a lot of changes. It's always interesting to see how you have her configured for your next task.

Thanks for sharing her with us, Synchro.

[RussMo]

I just bought my 870P about 3 months ago and I'm impressed. I also own a 590A1, plus aBenelli SuperNova. I'll take the 870P over the other two any day. Fit/finish, this gun works. It's function is smooth and frankly just SOUND. There has been no regrets here at all for spending what I did. Oh and the sight alignment is spot on. Mine has the Ghost Rings cause the one thing I've notice is at 57 years old my left eye want to double image the front sight. The peeps help with this tremendously. I have given up just about any open sights where the rear sight is out in front of the receiver. Low light situations in bear country, I'll keep the 870P