Title :

Remington Model 870

Category: Shotguns and Smoothbores

Remington Model 870 is a pump-action shotgun manufactured by the Remington Arms Company. It is widely used by the public for sports, hunting and in self-defense measures. This pump-action rifle is known for its strength and durability as its core features along with the silky-smooth bind free action. Law enforcers and the military around the globe use this model. Remington Model 810, a more fragile model was first manufactured by John Pedersen.

Remington Model 810 was later improved into the Remington 29. Later on, Remington 17 was introduced and would later be adapted into the Ithaca 37. Ithaca 37 was the basis from which Remington Model 31 was produced. This model found favor among the stakeholders but found the market a little bit of a struggle due to the presence of a better Winchester Model 12. In 1949, Remington introduced a streamlined, reliable, rugged, modern and a relatively cheaper shotgun, which was named the Remington Model 870.

The Remington 870 attracted better and steady sales. The Remington 870 holds the record for the best-selling shotgun in the history of shotguns. By 1978, Remington Model 870 had reached over ten million productions- remarkable ten times more productions than the Remington 31 Model.

The Remington Model 870 is designed with an array of features. It has a bottom-loading, a side-ejecting receiver, a tubular magazine located under the barrel, two action bars, an internal hammer and bolt locking into an extension in the barrel. Similar in design as the Remington Model 7600 centerfire carbines and riffle, it has an action, receiver and trigger system with a safety and slide release catch.

Initial models of the Remington Model 870 were offered with fixed chokes but in 1986, new Rem-chokes were introduced.

There are over a hundred known variations of the Remington 870 shotgun in the world. Most variations appear in gauges of 12,16,20,28 and .410 bore. The introduction of the .410 bore and the 28 gauge models that were on a new scaled down receiver saw the introduction of a 20 gauge version which was lighter and produced on the same sized receiver. All the gauges produced today come in the same sized receiver.

Currently, Remington Model 870 are produced for use by law enforcement bodies worldwide and the civilians too. The Remington Model 870 variants are grouped into, express which is chambered in 3”in 20 and 12 gauge, marine, mark 1 which has 21” barrel and an extended magazine of 8 rounds and an adapter fitted to allow use of the M7 bayonet for M16 rifle, the modular combat shotgun (MCS) that allows quick modification with different barrels, the police variant, the wingmaster and the super Mag were designed for 2.75” rounds 3.5” 12 gauge shot shells respectively.

Due to the design seceding patent protection, a Chinese arms manufacturer, Norinco, has made a variety of Remington Model 870 copies. The Norinco Hp9-1 and the M-98 are the most common designs. The HP9-1 has either a 12.5” or 14” barrel whereas the M-98 has a 18.5” barrel only. This model from China was imported and sold in the US under the names Norinco Hawk 982 and Interstate Hawk 982 because in the United States, the model was not supposed to be imported and sold in the country.