Review by Larry S. Sterett | Contributing Editor
GUN DIGEST BOOK OF THE REMINGTON 870, by Nick Hahn.
©2012. Published by F + W Media, Inc., 700 East State Street, Dept. TGM, Iola, WI 54990. Price: $32.99, plus shipping. Available at most bookstores.
During the first half-plus of the 20th century the pump action shotgun to own, if you were a shotgunner and a pump or slide-action fan, was a Winchester Model 12. It was all steel and walnut, with a fully machined receiver and parts. Prior to the introduction of the Model 12, the Winchester Model 97 did yeoman duty, but it was a hammer gun and when you shucked the slide, all sorts of things happened, the least of which was the breech bolt moving rearward out of the receiver to cock the hammer.
Then there was the excellent Remington Model l0, the first of the hammerless slide-action shotguns, originally introduced in 1908 and on the scene four years earlier than the Model 12 Winchester. It was an excellent shotgun, with loading and ejection through the bottom of the receiver. It was another machined steel and walnut shotgun, and while it lasted more than two decades before it was replaced by the Model 29 (another bottom loader/ejector) it never really caught on. There were some other good shotguns—the Remington Model 17 which eventually became the Ithaca Model 37, and the slick ‘ball bearing’ Remington Model 31—to mention a few. They all had something in common; they required a lot of increasingly expensive machine work.
The Model 12 eventually became too expensive to produce and was discontinued, only to be brought back, briefly, by popular demand. Meanwhile, the Remington Model 31 was also deemed too expensive to continue manufacturing, but Remington engineers were busy designing a new pump action which would contain fewer machined parts and a good number of tamped steel and less expensive parts, including the springs.
Enter the Model 870, a dependable slide action shotgun which has become the biggest selling shotgun of all times.
This 256-page hardbound volume is the story of the Model 870, a shotgun whose production output passed the 10,000,000 mark in 2010, and is still going strong.
Even those shooters who do not happen to own a Model 870 have probably shot one at some time. (When originally introduced 63 years ago, the Model 870 Wingmaster retailed for $69.95, with a deluxe model available for a sawbuck more. Times have definitely changed.) Following the preface and acknowledgements, this volume is divided into 14 well-illustrated chapters. There is neither a bibliography nor an index, just excellent coverage of the most mass-produced pump action shotgun of all times, with scores of color photographs and a few black and whites, plus some drawings.
From plain, but reliable field grade guns to elaborate carved and engraved trap guns the Model 870 has been produced in almost every possible configuration, including special versions for trap and skeet shooting.
(Unfortunately, the use of pump guns in these two clay target events is on the downward slope, as most shooters have switched to break-action single shot or over/under shotgun models.) The illustrations in this volume include both black and white and full color photographs. Many are reproductions of Remington advertising brochures, catalogs, instruction manuals, and similar material. There are, however, many photos of actual shotguns, from the first versions to the latest prior to publication. For 870 owners wanting to know more about their particular 870, or how to disassemble it for a thorough cleaning, Chapter 10—The 870 Inside and Out, shows a full page parts view of the 870.
There have been scores of articles written about the Remington Model 870 shotgun, and it is discussed in many books, including military manuals. But for complete coverage, this volume has to be the “Bible” on the 870. It’s a book which should be on every 870 owner’s ‘wish to have (receive for Christmas, birthday, etc.)’ list, if he or she does not already own a copy.
