America’s Shotgun: The Story of the Remington 870

More than eleven million Remington 870s have left the factory since 1950, and by Remington’s own count the number now stands above thirteen million. That output makes the 870 the best-selling shotgun of any type in history, a title it earned by doing what a working pump gun is supposed to do: run without complaint, take a beating, and adapt to nearly any job you hand it. From duck blinds and deer woods to trap fields and patrol cars, the 870 became the default shotgun for a reason that has nothing to do with fashion and everything to do with reliability at a price ordinary shooters could afford.

If you are weighing what pump gun to buy, the 870’s long track record is the short answer. It has been in continuous production since 1950, chambered in every traditional gauge plus .410 bore, and configured for hunting, competition, defense, and military service. The design that reached the market three-quarters of a century ago is fundamentally the same one you can still buy, which is the clearest evidence that Remington got the core right the first time.

Why Remington Replaced the Model 31

The 870 exists because its predecessor was too expensive to build. Remington’s Model 31, produced from 1931 to 1949, was the company’s first side-ejecting pump and was aimed squarely at Winchester’s dominant Model 12. The Model 31 was a fine gun. Its action was so smooth and well-fitted that Remington sold it as the “Ball-Bearing Repeater.” That refinement came from more than 500 machined parts, and the cost of making them pushed the Model 31 above the price of the Winchester it was meant to beat.

The Model 31 struggled in sales against the Model 12 as a result. Rather than trim costs from the existing design, Remington started over. The company embraced more efficient manufacturing and pulled parts from guns already in its catalog. The 870 was the fourth major design in a line of Remington pump shotguns that traced back through the Model 31, the Browning-designed Model 17, and John Pedersen’s fragile Model 10. The new gun was more modern, more reliable, easier to strip and maintain, and considerably cheaper to produce.

The Engineering That Made It Cheap and Tough

The design team of L. Ray Crittendon, Phillip Haskell, Ellis Hailston, and G. E. Pinckney built the 870 around parts and dimensions borrowed from existing Remington firearms. The receiver dimensions of the 16-gauge Model 11-48 semi-automatic were used for the 12-gauge 870, which lowered production cost and produced a lighter gun. That receiver was machined from a steel forging, giving shooters the strength they expected from a hard-working pump. Remington still machines the receiver from a solid billet, a method it describes as the heart of the gun’s durability.

Two engineering choices set the 870 apart from the pump guns of its day. The first was twin action bars. Many contemporaries used a single bar, which left the action prone to twisting or binding under load. The dual-bar system removed that weakness and gave the 870 the smooth, dependable stroke that became its signature. The second was a trigger group that drops out after you punch two retaining pins, borrowed from the semi-automatic line and making routine cleaning simple for the average owner. The basic fire control group design first appeared in the 11-48.

One Receiver, Any Job

The feature that did the most to broaden the 870’s appeal was its interchangeable barrel system. Unscrew the magazine cap, pull the barrel, and slide on another one. No gunsmith required. A single 870 could serve as a deer gun in the fall, a turkey gun in spring, a waterfowl gun over water, and a clay target gun at the range, all determined by which barrel you fit. That flexibility is why the 870 became the do-everything shotgun for shooters who could afford only one.

Remington reinforced that versatility at launch. The 870 arrived in 1950 in fifteen variants across 12, 16, and 20 gauge, spanning field, trap, skeet, and riot configurations. The entry-level Model 870 AP Standard Grade sold for $69.95, roughly fifteen dollars under the Winchester Model 12. Being both adaptable and cheaper than the market leader made the 870 an immediate success.

Over the decades the platform expanded to cover all four traditional gauges plus .410 bore, with chamber lengths from 2¾ inches up to 3½-inch super magnums. In 1969 Remington introduced 28-gauge and .410-bore models on a new scaled-down receiver, and in 1972 the 20-gauge Lightweight version moved to that smaller frame; all the smaller gauges are built on it today. Screw-in Rem Choke barrels arrived in 1986, further extending what a single gun could do.

A Sales Record No Other Shotgun Has Matched

The commercial numbers tell the story plainly. Remington had sold two million 870s by October 1973, ten times the total of the Model 31 it replaced. By 1983 the gun held the record for best-selling shotgun in history at three million units. The lower-cost Express line, added as a budget alternative to the original Wingmaster, drove sales past seven million by 1996. The ten millionth Model 870 came off the line on April 13, 2009, and Remington’s current figure exceeds thirteen million guns sold to hunters, competitors, police, and home defenders.

The One Flaw Worth Knowing

The 870 is not without a documented weak point, and it is worth understanding before you buy an older gun. For more than thirty years of production, a shooter could fail to seat a shell fully into the magazine, so the shell latch did not catch. The shell could then slip under the bolt and bind the action, sometimes requiring rough handling or even disassembly to clear. Remington fixed the problem with the “Flexi Tab” carrier, identifiable by a U-shaped cutout visible from the underside of the gun. That cutout, paired with modified machining on the slide assembly, lets the action open with a shell on the carrier. If you are shopping the used market, check for that cutout.

What to Buy and What to Check

For a first shotgun that can genuinely do everything, the 12-gauge Express remains the practical pick, historically available for well under $400 and capable of trap, turkey, and deer duty out of one receiver with the right barrels. Match the barrel to the task and confirm the barrel markings for chamber length before firing any shell, since the receiver determines whether a round will feed but the chamber determines whether it is safe to fire.

Buying used, prioritize a Flexi Tab carrier and inspect the action for smooth travel. Because buttstocks, magazine tubes, and other parts interchange with the 1100 and 11-87 semi-autos, and because Rem Choke barrels are widely available, the 870 remains one of the easiest platforms to fit, feed, and repair long after purchase. That serviceability, more than any single spec, is what has kept the gun running in safes for generations.

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