Remington Model 870

Remington 870
Remington 870 Marine Magnum
Type	Shotgun
Place of origin	United States
Service history
Used by	See Users
Production history
Designer	L.Ray Crittendon, Phillip Haskell, Ellis Hailston, G.E. Pinckney
Designed	1951
Manufacturer	Remington Arms
Produced	1951-present
Number built	10,000,000+
Variants	Wingmaster, Express, Marine, SPS, SPS-T, XCS, TAC, Super Mag,MCS
Specifications
Weight	7.0 lb (3.2 kg) to 8.0 lb (3.6 kg)
Length	37.25 in (946 mm) to 50.5 in (1,280 mm)
Barrel length	18 in (460 mm) to 30 in (760 mm)
Cartridge	12 gauge, 16 gauge, 20 gauge, 28 gauge, or .410 bore
Action	Pump-action
Feed system	3- to 8-round internal tube magazine
Sights	Bead, twin bead, adjustable open sights, or ghost ring (all iron sights). Also cantilever and receiver-mounts for scopes

The Remington Model 870 is a U.S.-made pump-action shotgun manufactured by Remington Arms Company, Inc. It is widely used by the public for sport shooting, hunting, and self-defense. It is also commonly used by law enforcement and military organizations worldwide.

Development

The Remington 870 was the fourth major design in a series of Remington pump shotguns. John Pedersen designed the fragile Remington Model 10 (and later the improved Remington Model 29). Working with John Browning, Pedersen also helped design the Model 17 which was adopted by Ithaca as the Ithaca 37 and also served as the basis for the Remington 31. The Model 31 was well liked, but struggled for sales in the shadow of the Winchester Model 12. Remington sought to correct that in 1950 by introducing a modern, streamlined, rugged, reliable, and relatively inexpensive shotgun - the 870 Wingmaster.

Sales of the 870 have been steady. They reached 2 million guns by 1973 (ten times the number of Model 31 shotguns it replaced). By 1996, spurred by sales of the basic "Express" models, which were added as a lower cost alternative to the original Wingmaster line, sales topped seven million guns. On April 13, 2009 the ten millionth Model 870 was produced, and the 870 holds the record for best-selling shotgun in the history of the world.

Design details

The 870 features a bottom-loading, side ejecting receiver, tubular magazine under the barrel, dual action bars, internal hammer, and a bolt which locks into an extension in the barrel. The action, receiver, trigger system, safety catch and slide release catch of the Remington Model 870 shotgun are similar to those used on the Remington Model 7600 series pump-action centerfire rifles and carbines. The basic trigger group design was first used in the automatic 11-48. 20 gauge stocks will also interchange. Several parts of the 870 will interchange with the semi-automatic Remington 1100 and 11-87.

The original 870 models were offered with fixed chokes. In 1986 Remington introduced the new Remington "Rem Choke" system of screw-in chokes (also fitted to Remington model 1100 auto-loading shotguns at the same time). Initially, the Rem Chokes were offered on barrel lengths of 21", 26" and 28". It was not offered on 30" barrels, deer guns, target guns or as a retrofit.

Production 870s for over 30 years had a design whereby a user could either "short stroke" the action - not pull the forearm all the way back while cycling the action as they should - or fail to press a shell all the way into the magazine when loading such that the shell latch did not engage the shell, and such actions could tie up the gun. This was caused by the shell which slipped out of the magazine under the bolt in the receiver to bind the action, requiring rough treatment of the action or even disassembly to clear by the uninitiated. The potential issue was resolved with the introduction of the "Flexi Tab" carrier. Guns with this modification can be identified by the "U"-shaped cut-out on the carrier, visible from below the gun. The cut-out allows the carrier to flex when the shell presses on it without binding the action.

Variants

There are hundreds of variations of the Remington 870 in 12, 16, 20, 28 gauges and .410 bore. From the original fifteen models offered, Remington currently produces dozens of models for civilian, law enforcement, and military sales. 870 variants can be grouped into:

• Wingmaster – Blued steel with high gloss or satin walnut stocks. They have been offered in Skeet, Trap, and field configurations. Originally the basic Wingmaster was chambered for 2 3/4" rounds and came with a fixed choke, and the 3" chambered versions were designated Magnum models. Models built after 1986 offer the RemChoke Interchangeable choke tube system, and the 12 and 20 gauge versions are chambered in 3" for either 2 3/4" or 3" shells. Prior to the introduction of the "Police" model 870, altered Wingmasters were popular among law enforcement.
• Police – Blued or Parkerized steel with satin walnut, stained hardwood, or synthetic stocks. These models feature a stronger sear spring and magazine spring, and they receive extra care and inspections during assembly. Also often has an extended tube magazine.
• Marine – Nickel plated with synthetic stocks.
• Express - Matte blue/black bead-blasted with laminated hardwood or synthetic stocks and chambered for 2 3/4" and 3" 12 or 20 gauge shotshells. All Expresses have been chambered in 3" in 12 and 20 gauge, but markings have varied.
• Express Super Magnum – Matte black bead-blasted with laminated hardwood or synthetic stocks and chambered for 3½" 12 gauge shotshells.
• MCS(Modular Combat Shotgun)- A new modular version of the M870 which can be quickly modified with different barrels, magazine tubes, and stocks for different purposes, such as urban combat and door breaching.

Chinese M870

China has made unlicensed M870 copies by Norinco as the Norinco HP9-1 and used by the People's Liberation Army as the standard shotgun.^{[citation needed]}

However, the M870 copy is a widely-distributed design no longer under patent protection, and most parts interchange freely. In the United States, where Norinco products are specifically non-importable, this gun is imported and sold under the names Norinco Hawk 982 and Interstate Hawk 982.^{[citation needed]}

Users

A U.S. Coast Guard petty officer from Maritime Safety and Security Team 91106 armed with an M870P fitted with a Trijicon reflex sight and a Speedfeed stock.

The Remington 870 12-gauge shotgun loaded with pyrotechnical shells (blanks) is seen here used as a last resort to scare off unwanted birds in flight from the vicinity of Incirlik Air Base.

Country	Organization name	Quantity	Date
Australia	Australian Defence Force	_	_
Austria	EKO Cobra	_	_
Bangladesh	Bangladesh Armed Forces	_	_
Canada	Canadian Forces	_	_
	Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)	_	_
China	Made unlicensed copies by Norinco as the Norinco HP9-1 and used by the People's Liberation Army as the standard shotgun[citation needed]	_	_
Finland	Finnish Army	_	_
Germany	Bundeswehr	_	_
Greece	EKAM counter-terrorist unit of the Hellenic Police	_	_
Hong Kong	Used by various units of Hong Kong Police such as Special Duties Unit and Police Tactical Unit[citation needed]	_	_
Ireland	Army Ranger Wing	_	_
Israel	Israel Defense Forces	_	_
Republic of Korea	Republic of Korea Naval Special Warfare Brigade	_	_
Luxembourg	Unité Spéciale de la Police group of the Grand Ducal Police	_	_
Malaysia	Malaysian Special Operations Force	_	_
Sweden	Swedish Armed Forces	_	_
Switzerland	Swiss Armed Forces (designated Mehrzweckgewehr 91; MzGw 91)	_	_
United Kingdom	United Kingdom Special Forces (designated L74A1) and some Specialist Firearms Officers (as a breaching weapon)	_	_
United States	U.S. Border Patrol	_	_
	U.S. Department of Education	_	_
	U.S. Military (designated M870)	_	_
	U.S. Secret Service	1,600	2001
	Internal Revenue Service	_	_
	Various police forces such as the California Highway Patrol (since 1965), Phoenix, Arizona SWAT, and Sparta, New Jersey Police Department	_	_

See also

• Combat shotgun
• KAC Masterkey
• List of individual weapons of the U.S. Armed Forces (Shotguns)
• List of shotguns
• Norinco HP9-1, Remington 870 derivative.
• Remington 887 Nitro Mag

External links

• Remington page for 870
• Remington page for 870 Tactical
• Remington Military MCS page
• Important differences between Remington 870 Police and 870 Express shotguns
• KAC Masterkey page