But until that testing is complete, I can say without a doubt that under вЂњnormalвЂќ conditions the gun runs just fine.

In a few weeks weвЂ™ll transfer them to the bottom of a lake for a while, drop them from an airplane, and then blow them up. Probably being stepped on repeatedly by horses if I know the herd at the ranch as well as I think I do. Our 870 and a Mossberg 500 purchased at the same time, with the same round count on it, are currently lightly salted and sitting in a field somewhere in Texas. To be fair, we arenвЂ™t done testing this shotgun. The gun never malfunctioned, never hung up, and always ejected properly. I just assembled it straight out of the box and started stuffing shells up its pipe. Out on the range I put hundreds of rounds of birdshot, buckshot and slugs through the gun without a single problem - and never lubed it once. While it may not sound like much, itвЂ™s the only issue I found on the entire gun. It looks like the old metal trigger guard has been replaced with a new plastic version, and there was some leftover material behind the trigger that I could easily remove with a pocket knife and a few minutes of concentration.

The only thing I could find that wasnвЂ™t up to spec was on the trigger guard of the Remington 870. But overall, the Remington is still a clear winner. Other things come down to personal preference, like my partiality for the RemingtonвЂ™s cross bar safety as opposed to the Mossberg tang-mounted safety. While the finish and design on the 870 is sleek and solid, the 500 has some exposed mechanics and a strange slotted lifter design that I just donвЂ™t like. When racking the Mossy 500, it feels like itвЂ™s about to come apart. When you rack the 870, the gun feels solid and well-built. Compared to a Mossberg 500, for example, the gun is head-and-shoulders above the competition. Then, when you put the gun up against some competition, and you start to realize just how good you have it. ItвЂ™s the same Rem 870 weвЂ™ve come to know and love, and it feels as solid as ever. The blued steel of the receiver and bolt both feel silky smooth, and I canвЂ™t find any signs of errant tool marks or rough patches. While the stock and forend might not seem to be of the highest quality, thereвЂ™s no doubt that the action itself is up there with what weвЂ™ve been seeing for ages. It fits with the price tag and the overall style of the gun though, so IвЂ™m not complaining. The forend of the scattergun is a minimalist design, using a rough textured plastic as the sole ingredient. Out front, Remington seems to have skimped a little. At the top of the stock Remington has crafted in a good-sized comb that gives the shooter a solid cheek rest when aiming the gun, rounding out the fine design of the rear section of the firearm. Most of the stock is the standard slick black plastic, but there are some panels fitted into the gun around the grip area that are made of a squishy, grippy rubber material that give the shooter a much more secure hold on the gun.ДЄlso included is a rubber recoil absorbing butt pad, which is damn near required when shooting a shotgun this light - the gun weighs only a hair over seven pounds. The latest incarnation of the 870 uses the same style stock as the newer Remington 700 rifles. But for $350, you still get some nice features. This model is the least expensive version we could find, figuring that if there are any cracks starting to show in the old girl, theyвЂ™d be most apparent in the lower-end varieties.

Remington 870 super shorty