Yes...the old 870's were the standard of the industry here for many years. Remington is now trying to have a presence in the Mossberg segment of the market, and put out a cheaper 870. They are blowing it in a big way, however. The cheaper 870 Express is giving them a black eye and hemorrhoids at the same time. They are gaining a bad reputation for the Remington line, and have many warranty repairs to cope with.

These things are happening all through the firearms makers right now. I am old enough to remember the outrage over the post 1963 Winchester company re-alignment...from the very best US production firearms, to some of the worst. I remember David O'Mannery pimping the "new Mdl 70" as the best rifle for Africa. We all know that they were terrible! It took them until 1980 to make a decent push feed rifle, but by then, it was too late for them to gain their following back.

I fear the same thing has happened to Merkel...

I shot an EEA 12/30-06 about 6 months ago...not too bad for the price of $429.00. I worry about durability, however, and the triggers were awful...ratchets...Still, not bad for the bucks by today's prices.