remington 870 express hardwood home defense

[H8tremorse]

Someone told me that the hardwood is Birch just stained dark like Walnut wondering if that is true ?? Another gun store told me that the 81197 model is Laminate and I don't think that's true !! And one thing the 870's have been made poorly between 2008 - 2015 but anything before and after are fine ??? I'll pick up my 870 day after tomorrow so I'm just wondering. Lol thanks guys 1st shotgun

[sodapopsixtysix]

I have a 870 Police and the stocks were described as "hardwood" when I bought it. It's not walnut but it does look like birch. It doesn't bother me, though. I love the look and feel of the wood furniture.

[Synchronizor]

I've handled 870s with the new hardwood furniture. It's definitely not the fake-looking laminate they used to use. The grain doesn't look like walnut, but I wouldn't worry about that; these are meant to be solid & functional, not pretty. If you need to smack a home intruder in the face, I doubt they'll be able to tell the difference. If you want though, you could always buy a new or used set of walnut furniture, then sell the set that comes on the gun to help offset the cost.

And one thing the 870's have been made poorly between 2008 - 2015 but anything before and after are fine ???

I have an 870 that was made in 2011, right in the middle of that date range. It's been running great, never lets me down unless I do something wrong or feed it bad ammo. The stock bolt was cross-threaded from the factory, so I needed to replace the receiver stud when I went to put a different stock on it, but that was an easy fix, and Remington sent me the new stud & stock bolt for free - no hassle. Other than that, it's been a great gun.