[elfmdl]

Does anyone know if the older remington 870 wing masters have more value than modern 870's?

[VitSports6]

Hard to say, I would imagine its all about condition.
My dad has a Wingmaster from the first year of production, It was my Grandfathers, I certainly would like it some day.

[HockaLouis]

I will say this: IMO the old Wingmasters are much better than the crud Remington calls an 870 today.

[northhike]

Originally Posted by HockaLouis

I will say this: IMO the old Wingmasters are much better than the crud Remington calls an 870 today.

And there you have it....not an answer to your question. The answer is dependent on the age and condition. For example a good condition 870 Wingmaster from 1980 would still only go for $300-$400. You could do a search on sites like Gunbroker.com to get an idea/ballpark.

[Virginian]

All 870s are not Wingmasters.

[Buckethead47]

What is the difference between an express and a wingmaster?

[northhike]

Originally Posted by Buckethead47

What is the difference between an express and a wingmaster?

Wingmasters are specifically designed to be field guns. In reality there is not much difference in the basic 870 design of the gun, but there is in the quality of machined parts and materials. The Wingmaster uses higher quality and more refined stuff. For example.... if you work the action of a Wingmaster it is silky smooth vs Express. The stock and forearm is a nice and high gloss finished walnut on the Wingmaster....not so much on the Express.

[Virginian]

The difference to my mind is not quality, but level of finish. The Express is made as cheaply as possible to compete with the lower end guns and satisfy the endless questions for "where can I get the cheapest pump for HD or whatever". There ain't no free lunch. They work 99.99% of the time, but every time someone runs across a rough chamber it gets plastered all over the internet and everyone bemoans Remington's lack of QC. There are all still made with a forged steel receiver, they just aren't all that smooth out of the box. The new cheap steel base hulls don't help, and I have seen Mossbergs, Novas, and even a BPS being beat on the ground of late. The Expresses also use a MIM process extractor, and MIM parts are okay, BUT it's almost impossible to judge the quality of the finished product, and they are not as reliable in the whole as forged parts. A good one will stay with a forged one, but how do you know sort of thing? Remington still does have pretty good customer service, which some well known manufacturers don't even know how to spell. I have yet to hear of anyone with a problem, who did NOT try the old kitchen table gunsmithing buthchering first, who wasn't taken care of by Remington. There are a whole lot of people who own more than one Express. That ought to tell you something, too.

[Buckethead47]

as of late I've been heating a lot of 870 bashing . Not to long ago a member was having issues with his 500 out of the box. I an,willing to get that issues with guns,will go down once the economy gets better.

[northhike]

Originally Posted by Buckethead47

as of late I've been heating a lot of 870 bashing . Not to long ago a member was having issues with his 500 out of the box. I an,willing to get that issues with guns,will go down once the economy gets better.

I have owned both the 870 Wingmaster and the Express and now own a Mossberg 835. Here is the deal.....most of the time these guns are great out of the box....if there were not these companies would not be in business long or the line of guns would be gone. There are a lot more of the inexpensive guns sold in the market then the more expensive guns so more people (many times inexperienced gun owners) buy them. There is a lot of "user error" passed off as "a peice of junk gun." More expensive guns tend to be purchased by more experienced gun owners....not always, but most of the time.

They all launch pellets or slugs just fine if you use the right ammo, clean them regularly, oil them regularly and not abuse them.



sor at least the line of guns would