Recently I have bought two Remington 870 Police Magnum, police trade in shotguns. These guns were made in the late 80s. Both showed a great deal of finish wear and the stocks were pretty beat up…no broken parts, no corrosion- just honest finish wear. I paid $170 and $155 for the guns, total, shipped to my FFL which does not charge me transfer fees.
Shot the guns, both shot, fed and ejected- functioned fine. Both would cut clover leafs, point of aim, at 25 yards with Remington Reduced Recoil slugs. Would probably really shoot well with the newer Truball offerings…
Felt badly about how they looked. Stripped them down and started stripping stocks and foreends of finish and grime, steaming dents, Linseed oil. Both stocks really turned out nicely. FFL happened to mention that he recently added a new bead blast cabinet and a parkerizing tank. I asked if he cared if I used them after hours one night if I bought the beer…No problem. I dropped the parts in the solvent tank for about 15 minutes, blew them off with the air gun, bead blasted the metal (less trigger guards of course) and then tossed the parts in the park tank. Took longer to bring the tank up to temp than it did to actually get the parts parked! If I was smarter I would have lit the tank when I first got there before the parts soak etc…Live and learn…
Whole process took about 2 hours of steady work. Came home with two darn near new looking Police Magnum 870’s. Is there a cheaper home defense option that is 100% reliable etc…? I darn sure don’t think so. You can barely buy a used Hi Point for $150!!! Each of my sons will get one of these for their college apartments. Hate to think about it but if they get stolen etc…I don’t care, not sentimental, no great monetary loss— but they will absolutely put men in the ground if need be.
Sounds like you got a heck of a deal. Most PD shotguns are carried a lot (read: banged around in the cruiser) and shot very little. Which is why they may have been ugly but functioned flawlessly.
You should post pictures. I won’t buy any new Remington stuff after my 870 Express not working out of the box,but I’d definitely buy a used Police Magnum.
This. I had two Express 870s that failed out of the box. These things are junk. I then got a slightly used Wingmaster–whole different quality orbit! Got a 18" barrel for it and I trust it with my life.
If I were buying new today I’d settle for nothing but the Police 870.
I’ve got two. A Wingmaster and a police magnum. Together they were under $400. Both police trades. Been debating on getting rid of the Wingmaster simply because I never shoot shotguns…ever! Otherwise they’re nice, not really beat up or anything
I would not worry about the finish or appearance of a defensive shotgun. IMHO if it functions correctly, the money would be better spent on ammunition and training.
I have more than I need myself honestly but yesterday I was talking about it with some buddies at lunch and as a result may end up buying even more. Why? Several reasons.
First, there is no cheaper good option for a reliable self defense weapon. More people all the time are deciding that they need something to protect themselves with and this is a great option. Second, there is a parallel here between old police trade in wheel guns which several years were dirt cheap but have now literally quadrupled in price. Third, I enjoy the tinkering. Lastly, they dont make them like they used to as several people have commented, the “good stuff” is more scarce all the time.
They dont eat or take up much space so no harm, no foul.
There may not be a cheaper option but that only a concern to someone who doesn’t have anything to begin with.
At least with the old police revolver i will take it out once in a while for something different. Bought these shotguns about 7 years ago. Shot a box of ammo and literally haven’t touched them since.
They don’t take up much space but it is money sitting around that could be better used for something else.
We are all at different places in our life, with our training etc…To me, I know LOTS of decent people who don’t have a good weapon. Yes, all of my real friends are steely eyed death dealing gunfighters! But…I have a brother in law who is a good guy. He works his butt off and takes good care of my sister. He bow hunts, doesn’t do much with guns. If he needed something, I would hand him one of these shotguns and never think twice about ever seeing it again. My pastor is a good guy, loves to fish and canoe, mountain bike…did some hunting as a kid. If he needed a home defense weapon, not a problem.
You probably know more people than you think who could use a decent firearm that won’t cost an arm or a leg nor put you out much. Because as the “gun guy” that they know, they’re coming to YOU for information and advice- and you should be glad in that, that they aren’t getting crap info. from the gunshop commando. You have an opportunity to help put firearms in the right light and advance the cause and to help out decent, law abiding people that maybe you actually give a shit about…
As far as taking it out once in awhile for “something different”, why not do that with the shotgun? If you haven’t used yours in some time, then it would be Different, right? Everyone loves the AR15…there MIGHT be 8-10 million of them in the U.S… MAYBE… Remington has produced over TEN MILLION 870’s alone by 2010…How many Mossberg 500’s you think there are out there? How many Winchester 97’s, 12’s, 1300’s? How many Ithaca 37s? How many Savage 520/620/67’s?..I would submit that the pump action shotgun is probably the most common firearm in the US. Everyone has one tucked away in a closet, under a bed…“Uncle Joes’ old gun”…Why does that matter?—Musashi is why it matters…“A Warrior should not have a favorite Sword”. You should be able to pick up and fight well with ANY weapon (You do that through repeated and regular practice and training) and the shotgun being as common as it is…you ignore it at your peril.
I’m at the stage in life where money is less of a concern. Again, we are all at different places…If it were thousands of dollars, I might worry about it but it’s just not a lot of money to me. Besides, it’s probably an appreciating asset- and one that I can actually use vs. my Southwest Airlines stock certificates…
For home defense, I would find a decent flashlight mount, a good flashlight and pick up some # 4 Buckshot.
Pick up some high brass # 4 shot to train with, to save a little money over the buckshot cost, and shoot the hell out the shotgun you keep for home defense. Select some practical drills and run them until they are second nature. Keep it simple. Keep it effective.
Some people do not like a shotgun for home defense, but I think it is a cost effective option. I have an old surplus police 870 with a flashlight mount that is my primary home defense firearm. In addition to dry fire drills, I fire over 500 rounds per year. It’s like any other firearm. Pick something that works and practice, practice, practice.
My primary defensive long guns are carbines honestly. Having said that a well set up shotgun has much to offer.
Because I think “one trick ponies” should be horses I regularly practice with shotguns, various handguns including revolvers, lever guns, bolt guns, blades…
My shotgun practice is pretty much free. Local pawn shop often gets ammo traded in with guns. They can’t sell it for liability reasons. So they pile it up on a shelf and once a month I collect it. Mostly Dove loads, perfect for practice…free…couple boxes a month or so, several hundred rounds a year.
I recommend police “low recoil” or “tactical” 12-gauge buckshot loads. These are loaded several hundred feet per second slower than hunting loads, but have the same payload weight. You get less recoil and better control, and the bad guy(s) won’t know the difference.
As I re stock my shotgun ammo in preparation for the upcoming unpleasantness I am focusing on either buckshot with the Federal Flight Control wad, Hornadys similar offerings and the Federal Tru Ball slugs.
Clyde’s has a CRAPTON of police turn in 870P and 870 Magnums. All of them have a bit of finish wear but very few other signs of use. I picked up a 91 model with rifle sights and factory extension. I hate going in Clydes because I am having trouble resisting! These guns are amazing and make me sad to see how low Remington has sunk.
