Emergency preparedness calls for reliable pump shotgun—the 870
by John C. Krull
Gun Week Production Manager
I’ve shot many different makes and models of shotguns over the years. Many shotguns fulfill only one purpose, being produced especially to fill the need envisioned by some company engineer or maybe it was suggested by customers. The make and model of gun I want to investigate in this article is a version of the Remington 870 (870 Remington Dr., PO Box 700, Dept. GWK, Madison, NC 27025-0700; phone: 800-243-9700; on-line: www.remington.com).
I’ve owned and shot several different models of the pump-action shotgun and have always been satisfied with the results. As far as I can discover, the first 870 came out in about 1950. The 870 has been produced in a configuration to satisfy anyone’s need from hunting, trap or skeet, to rifled deer slug guns, special versions for home defense, and, of course, we can’t forget the 870 produced for the military and the police agencies around the country.
The 870 is sturdily constructed on a reliable pump action. Some models have been “plain Janes” while others have been embellished with vent ribs and fancy wooden stocks. I’m sure there have even been presentation models with engraving. Other 870 have had camo stocks and fore-ends, or have had their receiver and barrel coated with the same camo finish. Early models were blued and later models have been Parkerized. I even bought a youth model in 20-gauge for one of my daughters years ago. Twelve years later, she is still using it for deer hunting and home defense.
In this article, we will be taking a look at a model of 870 designated as the 870 P Max. I don’t know how Remington came up with this designation, but this is what I think.
The gun is chambered for 12-gauge, 2-1/2- or 3-inch magnum shells. It has a smooth barrel, no rifling, with an improved cylinder choke. The barrel is just 18 inches in length and the tubular magazine will hold 6 shells that are 2-1/2-inch or 5 shells of the 3-inch variety, along with one in the chamber for each, giving you a 7 or 6 shot capacity. The gun also is equipped with ghost ring sights from Scattergun Tech, which is what a defensive shotgun should have. The stock is made of a synthetic, probably a polymer of some sort, with a pistol grip. The stock is finished with a Limbsaver recoil pad to help reduce some of the felt recoil. This stock is one inch shorter than normal. This feature is meant to accommodate the police industry for those who will be wearing a vest while using this firearm, but it is also a good feature for a gun that will fit more members of a family without modification. The women and children will feel more comfortable with its length.
Tactical Fore-end Light
The topping feature that I really like is the Sure-Fire (18300 Mount Baldy Cir., Dept. GWK, Fountain Valley, CA 92708; phone: 800-828-8809; on-line: www.surefire.com) Tactical Fore-end flashlight that this 870 sports. This fore-end replaces the one that would usually adorn the slide. I like the feel of it because it seems larger in size than the original and is rubberized for a sure grip. A 6-volt high-intensity flashlight screws right into the front of the fore-end. There is a thumb activated rocker switch for “Constant-on” installed on the left-hand side of the fore-end. Or, you can use the “Intermittent-on” that is activated with the fingertips on the right side of the fore-end. There is also a model from SureFire that has an additional switch that allows for the light to be completely shut off. Ours doesn’t have that feature, but I wish it did. For a black gun this is one that the “antis” are really going to dislike.
Be sure to have extra batteries on hand. The light is no good if your batteries go dead when you need them most. The lithium batteries do cost more than alkaline batteries, but they do have a 10-year shelf life. They are usually used in the hi-intensity lights that are on the market these days. It’s best to buy them directly from Sure-Fire, because they have a really good price on a box of 12.
So back to how Remington came up with the designation for this shotgun. The 870 is the model of the firearms, the P is for Police and the Max has to be that this shotgun is accessorized to the maximum. Sounds good to me!
I doubt if this gun can legally be used in all kinds of hunting because of its SureFire light feature and shotshell capacity, but when “The End of the World as we Know It (TEOTWAWKI)” comes, or a home invader breaks in, it will fill the purpose of both family/personal defense as well as game getter.
The 870 weighs right at 10 pounds according to my bathroom scale with a full compliment of 7 No. 4 buckshot loads. We do need to add a good sling to this gun to finish it off. It does come with sling swivels on the front of the barrel/magazine tube and in the stock, so you can use a typical ordinary everyday stock. I’m thinking more along the lines of a one point sling for this gun.
Range Testing
We shot the living heck out of our 870. We shot 00 buckshot, we shot No. 4 buck, and we shot both low recoil and full recoil tactical loads. In addition, we shot several makes of slugs.
I was probably most impressed with the group of the Nobel Sport (DKG Trading Inc, 8791 Stringtown Rd., Dept. GWK, Evansville, IL 62242; phone: 877-354-2666; on-line: www.dkgtrading.com) No. 4 buckshot loads. We got 25 or 27 pellets on paper with a group that was 16 inches square. They can work well for those who are not the best shots in the world or for anyone returning fire in a stressful situation. We got this group from the 25-yard line. Nobel Sport also makes a 00 Buck load with 12 pellets that doesn’t spread as much but will certainly do a job on your predator—either 4-legged or 2-legged.
We also shot the Centurion Multi-Defense loads while at the range. This is a really different load. On top is a .65 inch round ball surrounded by 6 No. 1 buck pellets. These shells make for some very interesting patterns on target. I would not want to be on the receiving end of this defensive load.
My favorite slug has always been the Remington 1-ounce sluggers. I have always used these in my Remington 1100 with the non-rifled deer slug barrel with the rifle sights on it. They work great. They also performed very well being shot from the 870. We got a 1˚ inch group from 25 yards. Personally, I never shoot slugs beyond an estimated distance of 50 to 75 yards, but with these, I would feel comfortable shooting out to 100 yards. We ran out of slugs, so couldn’t do this during our test.
We also tried something totally new to me with this shotgun. We did extensive shooting with Brenneke (Brenneke of America, LP, PO Box 1481, Dept. GWK, Clinton, IA 52733; phone: 800-753-9733; on-line: wwwbrennekeusa.com) shotgun slugs. I had seen an ad for Brenneke’s Tactical Home Defense reduced-recoil slugs in one of my outdoor magazines. I gave Brenneke a call and they put me in contact with their “PR” person. He graciously sent me a supply of six different varieties of their slugs. Unknown to me, all that Brenneke makes is shotgun slugs. They don’t make any shotshells. This was all news to me and I learned a lot from the information that they were able to send me.
I was very impressed with the groups that we got from the slugs. Most of the shooting was done from the Caldwell (Caldwell Shooting Supplies, a Battenfeld Technologies Product (5885 West Van Horn Tavern Rd., Dept. GWK, Columbia, MO 65203; phone: 877-509-9160; on-line: www.battenfeldtechnologies.com) Lead Sled so that we wouldn’t be putting ourselves through the ordeal of continued recoil. The Lead Sled performed just as described. The Lead Sled has two advantages: it gives you a rest to shoot from and holds the guns for you in additional to taking up the recoil. The butt of the firearm goes into the Lead Sled and then the Lead Sled goes into your shoulder where the gun would normally be. With enough weight in the front of the Lead Sled, you can shoot all day and never suffer adverse effects from continued recoil. It really worked out nice for the amount of slug shooting that we did.
Before next deer hunting season comes along, I suggest you get a selection of Brenneke slugs and try them out. I think you will be very happy with the results. They do have a couple of styles that have saboted projectiles for those of you with rifled slug barrels.
Low-Recoil Buck
I don’t want to leave out anyone here. We also did a lot of shooting with two different low-recoil loads from Winchester Ammunition (427 North Shamrock St., Dept. GWK, East Alton, IL 62024; phone: 618-258-3340; on-line: www.winchester.com). Both were 00 Buck Shot loads but one held 8 pellets and the other held 9. I didn’t see any real difference in their performance, so I would have to go with the 9 pellet load. It just makes sense to go with more.
I suggest that whatever load you end up using that you should go to the range and test fire several and stock up on the load that performs the best in your gun. Also remember that from lot to lot they may not perform the same as the ones you bought last time.
It is difficult to put a price on this gun. The Remington site doesn’t offer one. If you look in the different books on gun pricing, it out-and-out says that there are too many variables to give you a firm list price on a police tactical shotgun. Of course, none of us are going to pay list anyway. The list price on a Remington police shotgun is about $600. I can give you a retail price on the SureFire Tactical Light. We have the Model 618FA Tactical Light, which retails for $249. Remember we don’t have the switch that will shut off the light entirely. That model lists at $299. Be sure to buy extra batteries! You’ll need them for your other SureFire lights anyway, so stock up.
I really enjoy this shotgun and think it is probably the epitome of a family/home defense shotgun. If you already own a Remington 870 shotgun, you can install the SureFire fore-end yourself.
Remember when contacting any of the manufacturers mentioned in this article to tell them that John at Gun Week sent you.
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