Facts about Remington 870 Express

MELRD,There's a valid reason for the lesser cost of the Express model, compared to the Wingmaster and it isn't the parkerized finish or cheaper wood grade.The Express model has unfinished stamped parts that have burrs that CAN cause mechanical problems. The Wingmaster has had more time and money put into the finish and wood, but most importantly the internal parts have been finished.Finished means that the a person took the time to take off the burrs on the internal working parts and see to it that they fit and function better. That extra time required to perform these tasks cost money.You will hear Express owners say that they've never experienced and function problems. I'm glad for them, but the truth is that there are Express owners that DO have function problems. The difference is that you don't hear of Wingmaster owners having as many (if any) of the amount of function problems as do the Express owners.Your Express model may function flawlessly for the rest of your life and I hope it does. I wasn't as lucky with mine. After sending it back to the factory 2 times for action malfunctions, I lost confidance in the weapon and sold it to purchase a Benelli Nova. I've had no problems with my new purchase.Good hunting, Bowhunter57

Remington sells about 500,000 shotguns per annum, and they don't seem to distinguish between internal Express parts and Wingmaster parts....at least not in their parts catalogue.This would make an excellent project for Jay. Take apart a Wingmaster and an Express and see what is different.After 200 rounds, I cannot feel any difference between a Wingmaster and an Express.More importantly, I have posted instructions on this forum as to polishing an 870, and after polishing common rubbing points the Wingmaster and Express guns perform identically. Certainly, burrs are not being polished off the gun.Gunsmith Ron, are you reading this? In your experience, can you see a difference in internal parts on these Wal-Mart grade guns? Let's say Remington makes 300,000 pumps per year? I just cannot image that they would degrade parts for the Express? Further, the whole liability issue would seem to prevent such an action? One of those issues where it would be nice to see more facts. Parts is parts, and I hate to see these issues fall into the category of "those Turkish pieces of crap" kinds of conversations.

I live within the belly of the beast. Bentonville, Arkansas is a neighboring town and I know several people (including "buyers") who work there. I have also spoken to several Wal Mart vendors regarding the subject. I assure everyone reading this post that Wal Mart does indeed purchase sub-standard merchandise.

Don't believe me? Here's a couple of examples which anyone can take time to verify:

1) Look at Fram air filters in the automotive section. Notice that the box will state "For light duty use". Know why? These filters have nowhere near the filtering capacity as a real Fram filter. Wal Mart specifies these filters because most people don't know the difference.

2) Go to your local Goodyear, B.F. Goodrich, or other tire dealer and ask if defective tires purchased at Wal Mart can be returned to the tire dealership due to defective materials or manufacture. Guess what - tires sold at Wal Mart have specific model codes which indicate less than standard quality and carry no manufacturers' warranty. If you need to return defective "name brand" tires which were purchased at Wal Mart, don't bother showing up at a tire dealership. They'll laugh at you.

This being said, I cannot say if firearms carried by Wal Mart are of poorer quality. I can however, say that I have noticed many guns at Wal Mart which exhibit an unusual amount of cost cutting. Ever notice that most of the guns in Wal Mart have very plain wood and dull bluing?

Tom