Remington 870 Fieldmaster

If you’re a hunter, there’s a good chance that a Remington 870 is resting in your gun closet. Since 1950 more than 11 million Wingmaster and Express pump-action shotguns have been sold, making the 870 one of the most popular repeaters of all time. In recent years, however, Remington’s future has been in an almost constant state of limbo. Since 2015 Big Green has filed for bankruptcy twice, and in 2020 the company was finally broken up amongst multiple buyers. The Roundhill Group, LLC, purchased the rifle and shotgun arm of Remington and rebranded it RemArms. One of the company’s first orders of business was to discontinue the Express in favor of the new Fieldmaster, a more polished variant of the 870 that still costs less than the Wingmaster.

gun
  1. The satin-finish walnut stock has a 14" length of pull to the back of a half-inch-thick soft recoil pad, a 1½" drop at comb and a 2½" drop at heel. An aftermarket recoil pad can be added for more length. Both the stock and forend have the familiar stamped fleur-de-lis checkering, and there are swivel studs for a sling. Channels that run along either side of the forend make the gun easier to grasp. The twin action bars ran smoothly, and the travel of the forend was only 3½", simplifying ejecting spent hulls and loading fresh rounds
  2. The Fieldmaster is available in 12 or 20 gauge with a 3" or 3½" (12 gauge only) chamber. Milled from a solid block of steel, the satin-black receiver has no engraving but is drilled and tapped. We found no raised burs in our gun’s chamber, which was an issue with some post-2000 Express models. The trigger group, which houses the pushbutton safety, is plastic and can be extracted by removing two pins that slide through the receiver. Trigger pulls averaged 4½ pounds. To open the bolt, you must depress a steel claw on the left side of the trigger group and pull the forend rearward. 
  3. The Fieldmaster comes in five barrel lengths: 18¾", 20", 21", 26" and 28". The first three are for 20-gauge compact or combo models, and each vent-rib barrel sports a white front bead. Three Rem Chokes—Improved Cylinder, Modified and Full—come standard and are identified by notches in the muzzle end and writing on the tube wall. The gun has a 4+1 shell capacity, and the magazine plug can be operated with a car or house key.

During pattern work, our 7.5-pound 12-gauge produced a 79% 10-shot average inside a 30" circle at 40 yards with 2¾", 1⅛-ounce lead No. 6s and the Full choke. It also performed well with steel shot, delivering a 73% 10-shot average with 3", 1¼-ounce No. 4s and the Modified choke. We “torture tested” the Fieldmaster, as well, leaving it in a chest freezer overnight, throwing clods of dirt in the action and even submersing the gun in a farm pond to see if it would cycle afterward. It passed every test, except that after being dipped in the pond, it fired the first three shells and jammed on the fourth. But then all that was needed was a strip down and wipe off to get the gun up and running again. The price is $550. For more information, contact RemArms, remarms.com. 

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