Thinking about buying a Remington 870 Express (18 inch barrel, extended mag, matte finish) for home defense, etc. Never owned a Remington 870 but I've heard a lot of positive comments about them. How do they stack up against other shotguns such as the Mossberg 590 and Winchester Defender as far as reliability/durability?

You will never regret buying a Remington 870.

My dad bought an 870 Wingmaster in the early fall of 1961 and it is still going strong, never missing a beat. And I'll guarentee you he has never taken the trigger assembly out for cleaning.

All 870's have forged steel receivers and were the police standard for many years. I really don't know if the military used very many or not. They probably used them to some degree.

I bought an 870 earlier this year, very reliable, never had any problems, and from looking at the components, I'll be damned if anything will break under normal use.  It's all very sturdy construction, nothing weak/flimsy in it.

FOTBR

the Remington 870 is the best pump shotgun money can buy and it does not take a lot of money to purchase one.  i would get the supermag so you can shoot 2 3/4", 3" and 3. 1/2" magnum shells.  the super magnum runs about $50.00 over the cost of the standard shotgun.

it is far superior to the Mossberg 590 and Winchester Defender.  it is made high quality steel and will last several lifetimes of hard use.  they are totally reliable.  

if you have the means i suggest the 11-87 super magnum automatic.

I have both.
The Remington 870P and the Winchester Defender 1300.
Both are great.
No problems at all.

Two things you should know about the Remington 870 Express Home Defense:1) the trigger plate is made of polymer, not metal;2) you cannot put a magazine extension on without have the magazine tube modified.

I bought some components from Scattergun Technologies and built up a nice home defense shotgun.

A couple of links:
www.snipercountry.com/Rem870Express.html
www.scattergun.com

One thing that is very important to look for in buying a shotgun is "fit." You should actually settle for a shotgun that fits rather than a particular model.

You don't "aim" a shotgun, you "point" it.

When you throw the shotgun to you shoulder it should stop so you are looking straight down the barrel with a proper cheek weld. If you have to "adjust", like you would your rifle, your cheek weld then you won't hit what your pointing at. If you see too much of the receiver top and barrel top you will shoot high. If you don't see the bead well you will hit low. And that is where you will point the shotgun when you are in a hurry, whether shooting birds or goblins.

If you don't think the 870 fits right try the others, including the 870's with synthetic stocks. Once you try a few you'll see what "fits" and what doesn't.

I have found that only wood stocked 870's and 1100/1187's fit me. Not even the synthetic stocked guns of the same model. I worked for a few years in a gun store and tried every shotgun that came in. Nothing fit like the w/s Remingtons.

You will not regret this purchase. I was given my 870 for my 15th birthday. I am almost 22, and not a single problem. I have had it in some of the worst conditions imaginable. It even shoots great when the mercury dips down into the 0-5F range. No wind-chil.

Ditto what everyone else has said. My 870 Wingmaster has killed everything I pointed it at, from Woodcock to Moose. I've got a Hastings barrel for it (screw in chokes) and a 18 1/2 in slug barrel. I put choate synthetic furniture on it (corncob forend) It fits me like a glove and I have the utmost confidence in it.
One word of advice, if I were you I would look around and find a used one. The older models seem better built and you might get a great shooter for alot less $.

I ;ove mine. Yes Love.  It took it out today, everything I pointed it at was destroyed, very nice.

I bought a used 870 wingmaster last week for $150. I was thinking I'd put on a mag extention, pistol grip stock, and some rifle sighs, but I'll be damned. A week of playing around with it has convinced me that this gun is too nice to go turning it into an evil black social gun. I'll have to save up a few more bucks and get a mossburg to turn into an anti-thug device.


Question for you shotgun guys. How hard is it to put a bead on the end of a shotgun? This one has no sighting devices whatsoever. Smooth receiver top and smooth barrel. Does anyone shoot with one like that? How hard is it to aim?

For use shooting clays or birds the bead on a barrel is about as usefull at tits on a bull. You absolutely do not need them and you are not supposed to use them. You are supposed to mount the shotgun to your cheek and look at the bird, you do not look at the barrel. Your peripheral vision will tell you where the barrel is in relation to the bird.

For me anyway the same principle applies to home defense. You think the bad guy is going to just stand there while you get your bead lined up on his chest or maybe your fancy red dot? Hell no, if hes smart he will be MOVING! Ever tried hitting a moving target with a red dot?

Quoted: Two things you should know about the Remington 870 Express Home Defense:1) the trigger plate is made of polymer, not metal;2) you cannot put a magazine extension on without have the magazine tube modified.

I own an 870 Express HD and it definately has a metal trigger plate. Mine was made around 1997 or so - when did they make this change?
The mag tube modification is EXTREMELY easy to do. I don't even consider it as a factor. With a Dremel tool it takes all of five minutes, plus clean up time.

AFAIK the trigger group is aluminum alloy painted black.  That's also the reason why the Mossberg 590 is a better shotgun than the 500 - it has a metal trigger group while the 500 is plastic.

This might give you some ideas. This shotgun was an 870 Express combo. It came with a 18" open choke barrel and a 28" vent rib Remchoke barrel. I used to switch barrels and use it for everything, HD, skeet, trap, and bird hunting. Now I have other shotguns for clays and birds so this one is my back door gun. I added a Tac Star sidesaddle and mag tube extension, police stock set, CQB Solutions sling and buttstock shell pouch.



Edit: BTW, DBerryhill, the Mossberg M590A1 is the only one with a metal trigger group, as well as a metal safety. The other 590s are plastic, as well as the 500s.