870 dark wood vs light wood

[lamphax]

Hey guys,

I bought a Remington 870 Express today at Big 5 for $279.00. They had 3 of them there in stock, I noticed that 1 of them was made from different wood than the others, it is much darker and has alot less grain. The guy said that the darker one is there demo, he has had it for over a year; the lighter, more grainy ones are the new version. My question is: does any know if Remington recently changed their stock material and if so, would it be better to get the newer style or the older one?

Thanks,

DC

[mike100]

There are a couple of different kinds of wood that you might find on an 870.

The nice ones (wingmasters and some police models) have walnut-beautiful deep grains and a very hard, dense wood.

expresses...maybe birch or something light. The other type you see around are laminate (plywood) stocks which have a lot of grain, but is cheap to make. I've noticed the stain color has varied over the years depending what was in fashion that decade.

[lamphax]

So you think it could be possible that this "demo" one could be a better quality (not made out of plywood"), even though it is only like a year older?

Thanks,

DC

[mike100]

I don't really know, but the laminate ones are actually semi-desireable since the ungrainy birch is lacking personality.

wood is like a snowflake or a fingerprint. I make them take the gun out of the box before I buy anything.

[mike100]

laminate example:
clicky

walnut gloss:
click

plain express wood:
click

[lamphax]

Hey thanks alot Mike, personally I really like the darker one. Hopefully I can convince the counter guy to give up the demo. I just saw this on shotgunworld, coulda had me a Wingmaster for an extra huned dolla!

http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=101771

Much appreciated,

DC

[DV8]

The demo may not be an express which means its better built but on the other hand its a demo. Who knows how many people have handled it, not to mention the number of clerks that have played with it, that might have caused wear to the gun.

If it were me, I'd pony up the extra bucks and have them order a new one. You might save some with the demo but if its damaged you might pay extra (money and time) in the end to get it fixed. Just my .02

[maxicon]

I love walnut - beautiful, strong, classic gun wood - but there's nothing wrong with birch, and laminate's better than either for functionality and durability. I'd worry about a Big 5 demo gun, just because I've seen so many of them mis-handled.

The main drawback to birch (aside from appearance) is that it dings more easily, being a softer wood, but I don't care as much when it happens.

I'd consider either ponying up for the better wood up front, or getting the less expensive one new and watching for nice wood on ebay or shotgunworld. You could then sell your old wood and get some of the cost back.

[mike100]

There is a reason why many top notch european autoloaders come in synthetic. wood is easy to mess up. I mananged to chip a big piece out of the pistol grip where it meets the reciever on my 1980 police model. This gun was never even fired until I got it in 2005. it could have something to do with it coming loose and then I over tightened it.

I found an nice dark grainy 1187 stock which I bartered for. replacement wood is out there, but some of it commands a hefty price (wingmasters).