Description

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 marketed as the “ball-bearing repeater” and was well-received, but its many machined and handfitted parts made the gun expensive to manufacture. Consequently, it struggled in sales compared to the Winchester Model 12. To achieve better sales, Remington produced the Model 870 in 1950, which was more modern and reliable in its construction, easy to take apart and maintain, and relatively inexpensive.^[4][5]

The 870 was a commercial success. Remington sold two million guns by 1973 (ten times the number of Model 31 shotguns it replaced). As of 1983, the 870 held the record for the best-selling shotgun in history, with three million sold.^[6] 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.^[7][8]