Whenever the action on an 870 is more than half-closed, the carrier should clearly be in the down position unless something's physically pushing it up and holding it there. If the action is closed but the carrier isn't down, the gun likely has missing or broken parts. This could be the carrier itself, or the spring that holds it in the down position. Neither are expensive or difficult to obtain and replace, but if the seller doesn't mention the issue, that should probably be a red flag.
- Carrier_side_01.JPG (54.43 KiB) Viewed 8786 times
As for Magnum vs non-magnum 870s, the latter
can be converted to cycle 3" shells by replacing just two small parts (plus the barrel, if needed). So a "V" serial number suffix doesn't necessarily rule out 3" capability, or your options if you decide you do want to use 3" shells in the future. However, those parts are riveted in the receiver, and changing them is a bit of a job (especially if the old rivets can't be reused), so it's best to assume a non-magnum 870 is just that unless the seller can confirm otherwise.
Newer 870Ps are probably better guns from a functional standpoint (mostly for the new-style internals), but looks aren't the first priority, so the wood is fairly plane-Jane and everything gets Parkerized (I suspect the reason the brazing looked sloppy is because Parkerizing wouldn't stick to the bonding metal). Older 870Ps were essentially combat-configured Wingmasters with blued steel, chromed bolt & carrier, and a higher polish on the wood. I think Remington still offers blued 870Ps, but you'll probably still see function-first finishing on the wood (though you could certainly refinish the wood if you wanted).
