The Remington 870 Is Still My Favorite Turkey Gun. But There’s One Major Problem

It seems that most shotgun makers have a “turkey” version these days, and these modern gobbler guns typically sport short barrels, pistol grips, turkey chokes, and optics-ready receivers. 

I’ve shot a bunch of these guns over the years and I’ve come to appreciate the features of a modern turkey gun. But, when it comes down to practical performance in the woods, I have to say, my favorite turkey gun is the old, unremarkable, and infinitely reliable Remington 870.

With the right aftermarket accessories, a typical 870 can be turned into a turkey gun that is comparable (or better) than any of those high-end semi-autos — at least in my eyes. As longtime shotgun writer Phil Bourjaily recently told me, “If you’re doing it right, you’re spending more on your optic and choke than the gun.” 

And that’s the beauty of the simple 870. Save money on the gun itself, and then spend more on the aftermarket accessories that actually deliver performance in the field. 

I currently hunt with an 870 Fieldmaster that has an aftermarket 24-inch Carlson’s barrel, Primos Jellyhead Choke, and Vortex Viper red dot. All in, this is not a cheap rig. But it is a sweet shooting, turkey-slaying setup. One important side note is that if you want to save some money on the red dot, there’s a similar model made by Monstrum that runs for only $100. After all, that’s one of the great things about an 870: you can build it up to be as fancy as you like, or you can keep it basic. 

Patterning

All of the Remington 870s that I’ve shot over the years tend to pattern well. Even with a basic Jellyhead choke (.660 diameter) my gun shoots excellent patterns out to 60 yards with a variety of ammo. In our recent turkey load test, the Remington barrel smoked the comparable Mossberg 835 barrel in terms of pattern density (you can see that data below). In regards to pattern performance for the price, it’s hard to beat an 870.

The 870 has a tighter bore diameter than the over-bored Mossberg 835, which likely contributes to the different patterning results. On the flip side, the 835 can shoot 3.5-inch loads, if you’re into that kind of thing, which the new 870 Fieldmasters cannot. And of course you can also get an 835 to pattern tightly with aftermarket chokes, but in my experience, the job is more straightforward with an 870. 

Read Next: The Best Turkey Loads, Tested & Reviewed

Reliability & Simplicity

In the years following its 1950 introduction, the 870 became known as an unstoppable platform thanks to its dual action bars and simple pump action. Some of those older Wingmaster models run slickly, just as an old gun should. In my opinion, reliability is an underrated feature in turkey guns. Semi-autos are a little more prone to hang-fires, especially after crawling around in the brush. It’s possible for your bolt handle to get hung up on branches or vines and if the bolthead isn’t rotated all the way into battery, you’re going to get a click instead of a bang. That sort of blunder is probably going to cost you a bird, but a pump-action 870 would never even consider such an offense. 

I also like that you can drop a shell into a pump-gun’s chamber and quietly slide the action closed, without the loud clack of a semi-auto. This is key for loading up stealthily after you’ve snuck in close to a bird’s roost.

To be fair, I must mention that there were some serious quality control issues with the Remington 870 Express models in the mid-2000s. Bourjaily wrote about this in a recent OL article: “Remington still made lots of good 870s during that time. My SPS Super Magnum turkey gun, a 2008-vintage gun, has been a rock-solid gobbler-getter for me. On the other hand, I visited the Ilion, New York factory in the late 2000s and came home with a left-handed 870 Express that had so many problems I eventually stripped off any potentially useful parts and took the remains to the landfill.”

The new Fieldmaster models are nicer than the Express models and mine has yet to miss a beat. 

Modifications

Because the 870 was so popular for decades, there’s still a wide variety of aftermarket accessories available for them. This includes shortened barrels and pistol-grip stocks. There’s even a Timney Trigger kit for improving your 870’s creepy trigger. So it’s perfectly feasible to buy a cheap 870 and then turn it into a semi-custom turkey gun — all for less than what you’d spend on a high-end turkey gun. 

All the top turkey choke makers have 870 options. With the introduction of the Vortex Viper red dot, which mounts directly to the receiver, it’s never been easier to fix a low-profile red dot to an 870. All the modern Fieldmaster 870s are drilled and tapped for optics. Most 870 Express shotguns do not have receivers that are drilled and tapped, but a gunsmith can take care of that for an affordable rate. 

Read Next: Vortex Viper Red Dot Review: The Ultimate Shotgun Red Dot for Easy Mounting

Problems with the 870

The only real issue I have with the modern 870 is that there are not many of them available. It seems that the wood-stocked versions are completely sold out at all major online retailers — and they have been for some time. Now under the name of RemArms, the private equity group in charge of the 870 legacy is in transition as manufacturing has moved out of the historic Illion factory in New York to a new plant in Georgia. RemArms has been cagey about this transition and, while production is supposed to be underway by now, it doesn’t seem like new 870s are hitting the store shelves. 

Read Next: The Best Turkey Guns of All Time

We can only hope they do sometime soon. Because there’s a whole next generation of turkey hunters who should get the chance to steady a new, or old, 870 while a gobbler struts into range.