Hello from a new Remington 870 Magnum owner in Michigan!

[Roadblock]

Hello! New to this forum and also new to Remington 870 shotguns!

I actually just had a Remington 870 Magnum given to me as a "throw in" as part of a firearms sale. I was trying to sell another gun and the buyer could only come up with $800.00 of the $950.00 I was asking so he threw in a Remington 870 Magnum. I figured I could re-coop the $150.00 difference from one of my hunting or clay shooting buddies, they are always looking for shotguns. I'm personally not a shotgun guy.

I had not seen the shotgun but he said it was refinished a couple years back and looked good. We made the deal and each drove an hour to meet. I wasn't expecting much but holy crap, this 870 looked brand new! I don't know shotguns but I do know what internally worn gun parts look like and internally the gun looked great too. There is no way it has more then a couple thousand rounds threw it.

I've shot plenty of Remington 870 Express shotguns when I've been invited to shoot clays. It seems everyone either has a Remington 870 Express or a Mossberg 500. One thing I've noticed on the Express is that the finish looks like CRAP. It's always wearing thing or they have rust speckles because they get used outside for hunting etc and no one keeps the oiled down.

The guy couldn't remember the exact finish but he thought it was something called Cerakote. It's a very dark matte black and it looks GREAT whatever it is. He sent it out to a shot to have the work done. Not a flaw in the finish I could find. Not a scratch or knick that was covered over. They put some good prep work into the gun before the refinish.

I've been wanting a cheap shotgun for home defense for a while but not being a shotgun guy, I always put my money into AR-15's, 1911's and other guns from HK.

I've decides to keep this Remington 870 though! I'm not dumping a ton of money into it but I would like to add an extension tube and some type of pistol grip stock. I'm liking the Speed-feed and the Mesa tactical stocks but I've not decided yet.

Don't really have any photos to post yet and it's dark and raining outside but you guys already know what these look like anyway! Here is a receiver shot though. Finish is damn good in opinion! The receiver, magazine tube and tube nut, barrel and trigger guard were all done.

[Synchronizor]

Welcome to the forums, and what a great deal you got. $150 is a good price for a thrashed fixer-upper 870 gathering dust and rust in the corner of a pawnshop. For a lightly-used specimen with an upgraded finish, that's a steal! The picture looks great, but did you Photoshop out the serial number, or is the receiver old enough to have been made before serial numbers were mandatory?

I've shot plenty of Remington 870 Express shotguns when I've been invited to shoot clays. It seems everyone either has a Remington 870 Express or a Mossberg 500. One thing I've noticed on the Express is that the finish looks like CRAP. It's always wearing thing or they have rust speckles because they get used outside for hunting etc and no one keeps the oiled down.

The Express is Remington's response to people wanting something that goes bang for as little money as possible. The finish isn't very durable, but it's perfectly sufficient for a bedside gun or fair-weather range toy, and it does a lot better in wet conditions than most people give it credit for, but - as you mentioned - it has to be kept oiled, and a lot of people don't do that.

Thankfully though, Remington didn't follow other manufacturer's leads and release a significantly different, light-duty-only version for Wal-Mart customers. Under the basic finish and no-frills furniture, these are the same tough, reliable guns that have been serving Police, military, and everyone else for over 60 years. Most of the high-end shotgun builders know this, and use Expresses as the basis for their custom-finished $1000+ 870s.

I've been wanting a cheap shotgun for home defense for a while but not being a shotgun guy, I always put my money into AR-15's, 1911's and other guns from HK.

I've decides to keep this Remington 870 though! I'm not dumping a ton of money into it but I would like to add an extension tube and some type of pistol grip stock. I'm liking the Speed-feed and the Mesa tactical stocks but I've not decided yet.

I'd suggest putting some shells through the gun with the current stock, and see how it feels. Pistol grips are nice for taming recoil when going through hundreds of shells at the range, or if you want to go for a "tactical" look, but the traditional semi-grip stocks tend to be more maneuverable, and the 870's controls seem to be set up better for them (in my opinion, at least). With a good recoil pad, a semi-grip stock is plenty comfortable for a HD gun, where you'll probably only be firing a handful of shots, and you'll be so pumped up on adrenaline that you won't care anyway. Then again, if you've got a lot of trigger time with AR-15s, and your gun-handling muscle memory is based on those, you might find the pistol-grip stocks work better for you. Either way, I always suggest trigger time; that's the only good way to figure out what works for you and what doesn't.

[Roadblock]

Yes it has a serial number.

I removed it with Photoshop! I guess is really doesn't matter as I bought that second hand so it's in no way linked to me but I still don't like putting pictures of my firearms serial numbers on the net.

Other then the serial Photoshop, the gun looks that good!

Thanks for the info and advice btw. I've shot the gun a couple times already. I've shot Herters 2 3/4, 7 1/2 shot, Federal 2 3/4 7 1/2 shot and some Royal 2 2/4 00 Buck 9 Pel shot. I've not tried any 3 inch shells in it. I can't see a reason I ever would really need 3 inch shells. Anyway the gun has very nice recoil compared to some 12ga shotguns I've shot. I can see where the synthetic might be an advantage.

I like the look of wood but I've been doing a lot of browsing the past couple days and I think I would prefer a pistol grip style stock. I really like the short factory Remington model.

I was thinking about just getting the factory style pistol grip tactical stock, the 2 round extension tube, a 4 or 6 shell saddle and some Scattergun Technology Trak-Lock Ghost Ring Sights and calling it good.