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). John Browning designed the Remington Model 17 (which was later adapted by Ithaca into the Ithaca 37), which 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 1949 by introducing a modern, streamlined, rugged, reliable, and relatively inexpensive shotgun - the 870. It was an adaptation of the Remington 11-48 autoloader, itself an adaptation of the John Browning-designed Remington 11.

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 history.