Ya got a solid one! I have (or have kind of inherited) 2 870's, one a 870 express with aftermarket synthetic stocks in 3" 12ga, one a Wingmaster 20ga lightweight magnum (3"). Both my father bought many years ago, the 20ga LWM shortly after he graduated... I'm not sure when he bought the 12ga Express, but I do have a picture with it and 2 dead ducks when I was about 4 years old. I always wanted to go, but only got to pose with the game! Anyways, I've hunted with these 2 870s since, and have taken nearly all of my birds with them. I used to frequently hunt next to guys toting anything from BPS's, 1100s, 1187s, even SBES and yea, it would be nice to have one of those nice guns... but I've never felt the need to upgrade. My Express 12ga is my duck gun/beat around gun, and it has always functioned flawlessly no matter how I abuse it. Likewise, my Wingmaster 20ga LWM has be flawless, but it is relegated to upland work behind dogs since I can't bring myself to abuse it's beautiful wood in the duck boat. My dad still has an 870 wingmaster 12ga that he bought in high school, the mag tube is silver... not from poor fitting, just because it's been shot that many times. He got out of bird hunting for about 10 years, but recently got back into it. He bought a new barrel for it, just because it had fixed chokes, and the old gun is back at it. The old man nailed a rooster 50yds away, right to left shot in a 30mph crosswind.... first hunt, no practice at all. I was impressed! Needless to say, the old Wingmaster is a fine firearm. It is a little saddening to hear that Remington is dropping it's standards. It's one thing to make a price point firearm with less amenities, but they should never sacrifice the quality action they have. The good news is that I know my children and their children will still be using the 870s that my father gave to me.
