Post by Sgt K USMC on Feb 27, 2008 18:42:39 GMT -5
Most commonly found in police armories, the 870 series of shotguns is a proven reliable and durable weapon the has seen it's fair share of service both in LE and in the hands of the military.
It is sometimes argued that the 870 is in fact the most highly prized and recognizable shotgun in the world, it can be found almost anywhere in the world that shotguns are used, comes in a number of variations to meet various tactical and environmental conditions and can be customized with any number of easily located parts, pieces and accents.
The 870 is not only a favorite of LE but also of the military, and has been since at least Vietnam, during which military personnel would go so far as to have their personal weapons from home sent to them on the front when the armory ran out of them. This pretty much cemented the deal for the 870 that would, from that point on, ALWAYS have a home in any military armory, even to this day.
DA's Remington 870:
Although this is my wife's weapon I have fired it a number of times and will be giving my review of it.
Unlike my Mossberg there are no accessories on this weapon, no pistol grip, no folding stock etc. Additionally however there is something missing from this weapon that is, to me, essential in any weapon and that is the presence of sling mounts. This is easily corrected with adapters and of course if you add a folding stock, or any type of new butt stock, you can opt for one with a rear sling attachment, you will of course still have to purchase an adaptor for the front.
Accuracy and pattern: The weapon is very accurate at ranges up to 15 meters with a cone of fire that produces a 99% hit rate with at least 80% to 85% of my rounds in the kill box of the target using 00 and 000 buck shot. Anything beyond 15 meters however produces a cone of fire that becomes increasingly scattered to the point that by 25 meters a 3 to 4 foot diameter spread is not uncommon, with a drop of almost 4 to 5 inches from the point of aim.
Another down side is that due to the truly MASSIVE recoil of the weapon, anything approaching a rapid fire pace makes holding a true second and third round retention is almost impossible.
Range: While I have been able to hit targets as far away as 30 meters using sabot rounds, the accuracy is questionable as they generally fall to the left by as much as 6 inches from my point of aim each time. Buck shot has generally dispersed to the point that at 25 meters fewer than 20% of the hits are in the kill box.
Short range however is a different story altogether and I do give the weapon high marks for being able to hold a very tight group at ranges of 15 meters and closer, sometimes even surpassing that of my Mossberg 590.
Accessories: It is very easy to accessorize this weapon and in fact you would be hard pressed to NOT find accessories for it. The simple fact of the matter is that when accessories are made for shotguns, THIS is the weapon they are made for FIRST due their overwhelming popularity with both those in uniform and those in the civilian population.
Reliability: This is another shotgun that has a reliability that is near legendary, the only issues that generally arise from it are due to individual user error when taking the weapon apart for cleaning, as the ammo tube has a two part construction that can at times bind causing misfeeds. I feel it is important to point out however, this is a RARE malfunction and when it happens can generally be corrected by either tightening or loosening the ammo tube feed spring.
Ammo: The tube will carry 6, 2 3/4' shells (depending on the brand) or 5 3' shells (depending on the brand) and because of the one piece feeder tray is capable of using the newer mini-shells, of which it can carry 11 in the tube.
Recoil: I feel it is important to point out that this weapons recoil is WAY higher than one would expect for a 12 gauge, I'm not entirely certain as to why, but it is, in my opinion, the only real flaw of the weapon itself. The recoil makes extended use uncomfortable, makes firing magnum shells down right painful and makes hip firing nearly impossible with any degree of accuracy.
More importantly however the recoil is devastating to second and third round retention, as muzzle climb can go as far as a foot and a half to two feet (shooter dependant) and makes rapid fire all but impossible. It is not uncommon to lose your grip on the front of the weapon in fact, if attempting to rapid fire or fire heavier ammunition.
A number of accessories have been made to compensate for this to include an M-4 style collapsible stock which has a recoil spring. I am also sure that a forward pistol grip would greatly reduce this extreme negative as well.
Overall: I'm not a real big fan of this weapon, not just because I like mine better, but because the ammo capacity is too low, the recoil is too high, it is too heavy and it is not the right size for my frame. This is not to say that it is a bad weapon, as there are shooters world wide that would disagree with me, and it does have a number of plusses in it's favor, but for me this is not a shotgun that I would consider as a 'must have' when there are a number of others that fill it's roll with higher performance marks in every category.
It is sometimes argued that the 870 is in fact the most highly prized and recognizable shotgun in the world, it can be found almost anywhere in the world that shotguns are used, comes in a number of variations to meet various tactical and environmental conditions and can be customized with any number of easily located parts, pieces and accents.
The 870 is not only a favorite of LE but also of the military, and has been since at least Vietnam, during which military personnel would go so far as to have their personal weapons from home sent to them on the front when the armory ran out of them. This pretty much cemented the deal for the 870 that would, from that point on, ALWAYS have a home in any military armory, even to this day.
DA's Remington 870:
Although this is my wife's weapon I have fired it a number of times and will be giving my review of it.
Unlike my Mossberg there are no accessories on this weapon, no pistol grip, no folding stock etc. Additionally however there is something missing from this weapon that is, to me, essential in any weapon and that is the presence of sling mounts. This is easily corrected with adapters and of course if you add a folding stock, or any type of new butt stock, you can opt for one with a rear sling attachment, you will of course still have to purchase an adaptor for the front.
Accuracy and pattern: The weapon is very accurate at ranges up to 15 meters with a cone of fire that produces a 99% hit rate with at least 80% to 85% of my rounds in the kill box of the target using 00 and 000 buck shot. Anything beyond 15 meters however produces a cone of fire that becomes increasingly scattered to the point that by 25 meters a 3 to 4 foot diameter spread is not uncommon, with a drop of almost 4 to 5 inches from the point of aim.
Another down side is that due to the truly MASSIVE recoil of the weapon, anything approaching a rapid fire pace makes holding a true second and third round retention is almost impossible.
Range: While I have been able to hit targets as far away as 30 meters using sabot rounds, the accuracy is questionable as they generally fall to the left by as much as 6 inches from my point of aim each time. Buck shot has generally dispersed to the point that at 25 meters fewer than 20% of the hits are in the kill box.
Short range however is a different story altogether and I do give the weapon high marks for being able to hold a very tight group at ranges of 15 meters and closer, sometimes even surpassing that of my Mossberg 590.
Accessories: It is very easy to accessorize this weapon and in fact you would be hard pressed to NOT find accessories for it. The simple fact of the matter is that when accessories are made for shotguns, THIS is the weapon they are made for FIRST due their overwhelming popularity with both those in uniform and those in the civilian population.
Reliability: This is another shotgun that has a reliability that is near legendary, the only issues that generally arise from it are due to individual user error when taking the weapon apart for cleaning, as the ammo tube has a two part construction that can at times bind causing misfeeds. I feel it is important to point out however, this is a RARE malfunction and when it happens can generally be corrected by either tightening or loosening the ammo tube feed spring.
Ammo: The tube will carry 6, 2 3/4' shells (depending on the brand) or 5 3' shells (depending on the brand) and because of the one piece feeder tray is capable of using the newer mini-shells, of which it can carry 11 in the tube.
Recoil: I feel it is important to point out that this weapons recoil is WAY higher than one would expect for a 12 gauge, I'm not entirely certain as to why, but it is, in my opinion, the only real flaw of the weapon itself. The recoil makes extended use uncomfortable, makes firing magnum shells down right painful and makes hip firing nearly impossible with any degree of accuracy.
More importantly however the recoil is devastating to second and third round retention, as muzzle climb can go as far as a foot and a half to two feet (shooter dependant) and makes rapid fire all but impossible. It is not uncommon to lose your grip on the front of the weapon in fact, if attempting to rapid fire or fire heavier ammunition.
A number of accessories have been made to compensate for this to include an M-4 style collapsible stock which has a recoil spring. I am also sure that a forward pistol grip would greatly reduce this extreme negative as well.
Overall: I'm not a real big fan of this weapon, not just because I like mine better, but because the ammo capacity is too low, the recoil is too high, it is too heavy and it is not the right size for my frame. This is not to say that it is a bad weapon, as there are shooters world wide that would disagree with me, and it does have a number of plusses in it's favor, but for me this is not a shotgun that I would consider as a 'must have' when there are a number of others that fill it's roll with higher performance marks in every category.