870's are the one to buy,
they were used in Vietnam and totally reliable.
I've always heard that but the only 870 I've ever owned was a consistent jammer.
Same here, any piece of grass or dirt and the thing is a bear to cycle. Works great for clays, but not so good in the duck blind.
A lot of the newer 870s have earned that complaint. To keep costs down and to keep up with the demand for semi-disposable pumps, the finish quality is not what it used to be in the cheaper models. You can get a Wingmaster for $700, or an Express for $250; what do you think most people buy? Most of the problem seems to be spent shells not leaving the chamber cleanly. It's worse with some shells than others. Polishing the chamber cleans it up generally, from what I've heard.
We have two 20 gauge express models and I haven't seen the issue with either. I have a 70s Wingmaster that has been sunk, buried, etc. and fired thousands of times. I finally started to get some ejection problems a few years ago. Reaming out the chamber with a chamber brush to remove plastic build-up had it working as new again in 5 minutes.
