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Quality of Remington Firearms?

NOTPARS
First of all, for Remington fans my intention is not to offend but to get some information. About two years ago I bought a Remington 870 Express 12 gauge at K-Mart for $229. It is really a plain Jane gun but operates smoothly. I bought the 28" barrel with the intent to hunt birds with this pump and shoot some clay pigeons.

I was at a friends gun store. He was telling me that Remington quality isn't what it used to be and that the pumps don't stand up to the rigors of a lot of clay bird shooting. I am thinking please tell me this isn't so because I have this new one I have never even fired. In walks a guy from a Scout camp. They do a lot of clay bird shooting and his new Remington literally came apart!

My friend told me that in Olathe Kansas is a service center for Remington and they have to service a lot of their rifles and shotguns because of their poor quality. Has anyone else had this experience? Should I get rid of the Remington pump or is my friend a bit biased?
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • nmyers
    Remington quality hasn't been good since the end of WWII, but you have to look at the big picture. Folks in this country are generally unwilling to pay a lot for a gun that will be dragged through the fields, & modern manufacturing methods must be used to keep the cost down. All US manufacturers use the same basic methods; competition is based more on styling & features than craftsmanship.

    You paid $229 for your shotgun, & are worried about the quality? What do you expect for $229? If you want a better shotgun, they are available, but you will pay a heck of a lot more.

    Neal
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  • NOTPARS
    For NMYERS:

    Thanks for putting into perspective for me. You have a good point about price and expectations. Do you have any opinion on Browning shotguns by the way?
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  • wm69
    None of the gun manufactures make anything as well as they used to. If you look at a smith and wesson, colt, remington, or winchester made from the late 50's, and look at one made today, you will see a world of difference in workmanship, materials, and just general fit and finish. They have all gone away from hand finishing cause it's just too expensive, but when you had an actual person doing that hand fitting, they would catch a lot of the crap and cull it. That doesn't happen anymore, so the crap hits the shelves. As for your 870, it sounds like an express, yeah it's a cheap gun, but the 870 is one of the better values out there for the money. I've had several and never had any probelms out of them that were not caused by me. Sure I'd rather have a Winchester model 12 (for a pump), but given what I use mine for (dove hunting, duck huntint), the 870 works fine. Most of the difference you see now is cosmetic and fitting problems such as gaps inbetween parts etc. I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you were ok with the way the gun looked when you bought it, you will be fine. It's not the best gun on earth, but it's a good buy for the money, and I've been in the shooting game for a long time and have never seen an 870 that didn't hold up (although they are out there, but that's true of any mechanical device).
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  • wm69
    Brownings are prettier than remingtons, but if you want a gun for function, it's a toss up, and the Brownings a whole lot more expensive. If you want a GOOD gun, find any of the remington, winchester, browning, ithica made before 1960 (you can find them in like new cond) and pay a little more. Like I said before, when you compare them side by side, it's pretty obvious they used to put more work into putting out a quality product.... Why 1960? Quality control has been a downward spiral since then. You might find some really great examples made afterward, but you'll also see more and more crap made after then too. The good ones are the exception rather than the rule. From what I've seen, the late 50's were the hey day of the mass produced american firearm. You WILL see bad examples from that time period, but they will be few and far between.
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  • Kdub
    I normally don't have much good to say about Remington products - However -!

    Purchased a field grade 870 Wingmaster back in the very early '60's and had both the regular barrel with modified choke and a slug barrel. Could only hunt deer with a shotgun where I lived at the time. Had a detachable scope mount for the slug barrel use, along with two of the mercury containing recoil dampers installed in the stock. A bit heavy, but that gun always performed flawlessly and was still a good combo when traded in on a Browning Citori years later. As stated, to meet competition the gunmakers are offering all sorts of cost saving firearms today. You can still get quality US made firearms, just have to shell out the extra money. The Remington Classics and the Winchester premium grades are guns of such quality.

    Keep off the Ridgeline
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  • 9MMBERETTA92
    I agree with Neal. They just don't make them like they used to. Not only guns, but just about everything you buy these days. As for as the Remington 870 Express, I believe its a budget level gun that if used for hunting or home protection, it will work just fine. But, if your planning to go out and shoot some clays on a frequent basis, it ain't gonna last long at all. I had one that over time got very loose to the point that it was too noisy just to walk through the woods with it. It rattled like crazy. I eventually got rid of it. I don't know about you, but I need to practice shooting clays to ready myself for hunting season. I shoot alot of trap and skeet and practice doe's make a difference. I realize not everyone has the money to buy a top of the line pump, autoloader, or over & under shotgun, but it is a great investment that if you take good care of it, it will last a lifetime. Buy a good gun that has chokes that can be changed to give you a selection of patterns. This way it can be a skeet, trap, sporting clays, or a small game gun. All of the major brands also offer slug barrels for deer hunting. One more thing, don't be afraid to buy a used gun. Get it from a reputable gun shop that has inspected it and guarantee's it will work. You'll spend less money and you might be able to get that expensive shotgun that you would'nt have been able to afford if it was new. Bubba
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  • bobski
    it all boils down to unions and overseas markets. the unions of the east killed the manufaturures demanding high pay and forcing lower quality, and, the east coast states taxed the daylights out of gun mfg'ing. the gun companies went south to get cheaper labor and lower taxes; and with it, they got cheaper brains; coupled with automation, and you got a labor force that cant recognize problems brewing on the assy line and out they go inferior. heck, i know wetbacks that build hi standards! (no offense to the south, but my family has worked in winchester for generations. can someone from remingtons arkansas ammo plant say that?) when it was in bridgeport conn, the factory use to give free ammo away to clubs. it was that close knit up here. when companies werent regulated by unions, manpower was easily fired if the compnay didnt think you were good anymore, and theyd hire someone else cheaper and still make the high profit. browning is in kahootz with japan, who have the highest standards for gun mfg'ing in the world. browning charges you for it with their high dollar tags on their guns, but you get high dollar guns. guys like remington charge high dollar because if they dont, theyll lose the roof over their heads, and they just keep pumping out pot metal parts in guns. follow me? look at the italian market. italians have been making guns for 600 years and families own and operate the businesses. its an insult to turn out a poor product. kids learn gunsmithing as basic school ciriculum. you pay more for a gun but its a good gun! when a remington worker hears the whistle, odds are he doesnt want to see another gun until 7am the next morning. italians sometimes stay up and work and sleep in their shops.

    former air operations officer SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2. former navy skeet team, navy rifle/pistol team member. co-owner skeetmaster tubes inc.. owner/operator professional shooting instruction.
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  • geeguy
    I would disagree slightly with some of the above information.

    While it's true "they don't make them like they used to" this isn't always bad. The new CNC machining allows the fit to be much tighter then "in the old days". In this case, there might be the rub. If you shoot "hot" ammo in sporting clays the metal expands and binds easier then the old models. Also, the model you bought has no rib (most likely).

    I have shot trap, skeet, and sporting clays for over 30 years and only saw one 870 have a problem, and it was due to the shooter using 3.5 dram loads (loaded himself) of who knows what.

    This is not the gun for sporting clays, but there are some things you can do to help.
    1. Shoot low drams target loads. You'll still hit'm.
    2. Open the breech whenever you're not shooting to allow air to flow to the barrel. This should be done anyway.
    3. After a flurry of shots lightly blow air thru the breech and out the barrel to clear the hot gases. (I don't know if this is good for the gun, but it helps cool)

    Buy a better gun when you can afford it.

    Good Luck
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  • bambihunter
    I've seen Rem's last for years and years. Thier 870 model is in a nice very affordable price bracket. It won't shoot with a specialty gun, but why use a different gun for everything. I am a firm believer in using the same gun for skeet, turkey, doves, and geese. I personally use the Benelli Super Black Eagle for this reason. Your Remington should serve you fine until YOU want another one. If for some odd reason it does stop functioning, parts are readily available.
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  • MIKE WISKEY
    I'VE HAD A FEW 870 EXP. SHOTGUNS IN THE SHOT OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, MOSTLY WITH BROKEN EJECTORS BUT THEY ARE STILL A GOOD SHOTGUN FOR THE MONEY.IF YOU JUST WANT TO SHOOT A FEW CLAYS AND A GOOD HUNTING GUN IT WILL WORK FINE (SAME GUN AS THE WINGMASTER, JUST NOT AS SHINEY). BETTER THAN THE 1200/1300/1400/1500 WINCHECTERS. ANY LOOSNESS CAN BE TIGHTENED UP (IF YOU WANT RATTEL GET A BENNELLI NOVA). I JUST READ IN THE AMERICAN RIFLEMAN THAT REM HAS MADE SIX OR SEVEN (?) MILLION OF THESE SO SOME ARE BOUND TO NEED WORK.
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