I am thiking of buying a new Remington 700 Police Magnum at my local little guys shop.  He wants $395 for the gun new, but can probally get him down to around $350 if I work hard enough.  How would you compare this to the 870 express and what are the diffrences in the two guns?  The police magnum seemed heavier built, but for $150 is it worth it?  What are some other alternatives that you would suggest beside these 2 models?  I have also looked at an FP6 made by Heckler Koch that has the barrel shroud.  It looked like a vey good gun, but they wanted $475 for it and it wasn't from my local little guys gun shop.  I like to always help out this gun shop owner once and awhile becasue he does my FFL transfers for $10!

The finish is better on the magnum, I believe the Police has an extended mag and a steel trigger group housing as opposed to plastic on the express. The express has two dimples to prevent you from installing and extented mag but they can be drilled out or Dremeled.

I bought the Express HD and dressed it all up ( Vang Comp, extended mag, sidesaddle, ARS Metacol III finish) and now I wish I would have sprung for the Police model as well. If you do plan on dressing up you 870 I would suggest you look at Vang Comp and his complete shotguns. They look expensive, starting at $600+, but after all the work I had done to mine I spent that anyway.

Differences are:
Police has no dimples in the mag tube/old style spring retention cup, heavier mag spring, heavier trigger/sear spring, heavier shell releases, parkerized finish, synthetic or walnut stock with police fore end, aluminum trigger group, sling studs, and improved cylinder bore.

Express has:
Dimples in the mag tube/new style spring retention, black powder coat finish, plastic trigger group, synthetic or "pisswood" stock with civilian fore end, no sling studs, and cylinder bore.

Internal/external finish on the police seems to be smoother, with no burrs inside.

I think the additional expense of the police model is money well spent. My question is: When did Remington start putting "plastic trigger groups" in the Express? I have an Express HD that has what appears to be steel parts and maybe an aluminum trigger guard. Definately not plastic. I bought mine in 1996. I'm beginning to worry about Remington after some of the stories I've heard lately. Do the Express models nowadays also have any kind of stupid lock mechanism like on the new 700's?