On a loose 870 stock: 1) remove the butt pad 2) use a long screw driver (or sometimes it uses a socket wrench) to tighten up the bolt that connects the stock to the rear of the receiver 3) If there is still wobble, take the bolt out and check if your lock washer is smushed and needs replaced, since it is what keeps tension on the stock bolt. 4) if that's not it, then take the stock off and make sure your receiver stud nut is tight. 5) consider putting removable loctite on the stock bolt while you have it out. 6) make sure the stock bearing plate is in place between the stock and the receiver. If all that is done and you still have problems, then you're likely going to need something to fill any gaps in the front of the stock that are causing the wobble, which is a whole other conversation.
Best series on the channel as I love a well used gun. My 870 isn’t as experienced as this one but my buddy’s is. He actually misplaced it on a swamp edge once and found it the NEXT duck season. Took some cleaning but he still uses it with no issues.
Very cool. My own 870 story. In the mid 1980s - dating myself - I participated in my high school's Academic Decathlon team. Our team won our county competition in Tucson, AZ and finished second in statewide competition. We won cash "scholarship" prizes. I rushed out to what was then Sunset Sports - akin to a Big 5 - and bought my 870 in 1985. I think it was $189 - which was a lot to a 17 year old punk kid then. 38 years later it looks like new despite hundreds of hours shooting AZ dove and quail and clay birds. Love this gun.
I turned 18 in Oct of 88. Bought a 870 express 12ga combo. A ruger 1022. And a 870 20ga express over a few months. Still have the 12 and 1022. Waterfowl hunting took a toll on express finish. It's been rattle can painted for 20 years
@Alan Lechleidner Nice! My first firearm - along with my 3-years older brother who gotna matching one - was a 10-.22. I was 11, my brother 14, can still remember my parents had them hidden behind curtains near Xmas tree - last gift - "why don't you boys keep looking around, maybe Santa left you each sonething else. Still basically like new 43 years later after gosh knows how many rounds!
Ive carried my dads 870 for years its just like that. Rob roberts himself couldn’t trade me a Benelli he hand built for it. That 870 has more character than most people
Pull the two screws from the butt pad and there’s a nut in there you can snug up to get everything tight again. My first gun was an 870 express from Fleet Farm when I was 12 as well. 1994 😬 But when it comes to the one that just needs to come out with me, I’ve got my lefty 1100 with fixed full choke barrel that always comes to the pheasant fields over my Maxus 2, Benelli SBE II, and s couple others. That 1100 just does the job with total confidence
This year… I took my 870, purchased new in ‘94? & outfitted it with a saddle mount & red dot. Turkey season opens in 3 days. I’m very excited to put it to work.
I bought a 870 when I was 12 in 2002 as well, and it's about the only shotgun I use. It's killed many a turkey, coyote, waterfowl, and a deer or two. I have others, but when I want to go kill something that's the one I grab. Granted mine has gone through some evolution through the years. I ceracoted mine camo at home in the oven. Added a rifled barrel and typically run a 18' Carson home defense length smooth barrel with a primos extra tight choke. I added a collapsible stock so it fits in the truck better as mine was a synthetic stock not wood. I use the shorter barrel since it points better in tight brush and you only lose like 5fps per inch in 12ga last I checked. A claw sling with a homemade sternum strap is great as well for long walks with it all folded up so it doesn't fall off my shoulder ever 10 seconds or get stuck on limbs clawing through thick stuff. I've got about 4 other wood stock 870's that were passed down to me from family as they passed that still work great as well.
Yeah boy, love my 870. If I could only have one firearm for hunting everything, it would be my trusty 870. Through hell and back, it feeds anything and never quits.
Nice! My Remington 870 has a very similar story. I purchased mine in 2000 and has been used for my "first of everything" for trap, pheasants, turkey and grouse. I use mine a designated turkey rig and the occasional late season pheasant hunting tool.
You can definitely tighten that stock up, you can bed the stock and receiver with epoxy just like you’d bed the receiver to the inletting on a rifle. You can also add washers to the stock screw. This will provide a better fit if the wood is worn out and increases the pressure on the stock to the receiver. You can easily do this at home but I would recommend taking it to a gunsmith you trust since it has sentimental value to you
Absolutely, if the stock has shrunk to the point where tightening the screw doesn’t fix it you call always shorten the screw by an 8th to get you there.
Have a 870 Express Magnum 20ga and a 870 Super Mag 12ga. Throw in some Apex TSS an lights out. Wouldn't trade them for anything! Long beard choke in the 20 and Indian Creek in the 12
I have a Remington 870 express magnum the has a slot of the same personality marks. It's been out for quail doves rabbits pheasants ducks. I am just on my way home from a turkey hunt. Unfortunately I was not able check that box with my gun. But would love to
It would be interesting to see this gun in 2024 after all the buzz of red dots on shotguns these days. As evidenced by Vortex Nation podcasts about red dots on many hunting shotguns…. 👍🏽👍🏽🍿 My 1988 870 has a electronic sight on it for reasons.
Mine is a Bennelli SBE2 I ironically got at Ganders going out of business sale. 30% off! It’s long 28” barrel so not as maneuverable as I’d like but accuracy and handling is outstanding
Tighten the stock…. Pull the butt plate off and there will be a bolt/nut at the rest of the reciever. Just tighten that nut, you’ll be a long extension to reach.
To fix your butt stock movement get a bicycle inner tube cut a patch that fits the inlay, cut a hole in the center of it for the screw and tighten it down. It that's what I did and it fixed it. I know that sounds iffy but it works. It's a simple fix just try it.
