Remington 870 Models Explained: Every Variant Compared (2026)

Last updated October 12, 2026 · By Nick Hall, who has run a home defense 870 since 2022 and sorted the last RemArms catalog model by model for this guide

Remington has built more than 11 million Model 870s since 1950, and in that time the name has been stamped on bird guns, slug guns, police guns, boat guns and a 14-inch pistol-grip thing that isn’t legally a shotgun at all. They share one steel receiver and one twin-bar pump action. Almost everything else changes from model to model.

This guide sorts the Remington 870 models into 12 lines, covering all 23 models, in more than 35 SKUs, from the last full catalog RemArms published: what each one is, how it shot for me, and who should buy it. After that come the discontinued 870s you’ll meet used, then the platform questions: barrels, capacity, Express versus Fieldmaster versus Wingmaster, and optics.

One thing to know up front. Remington firearms have changed hands again. In September 2026 the RemArms catalog address began forwarding to a new Remington site run by Frontier Defense Group, LLC, and that site lists no individual models yet. The guns below come from the last RemArms catalog. New stock is thin: at the dealers we track, only a few lines show new guns today, and most 870s on offer are used. Expect the model line to change once the new company publishes its own catalog, and I’ll update this page when it does. The ownership section near the end covers parts and warranty.

For a full range test of one gun, read our Remington 870 review. If you’re pricing or dating an older gun, our Remington 870 value guide is the page you want.

Table of Contents

Remington 870 Family at a Glance

Each row shows one representative SKU, named by Remington’s order number, because most lines come in several gauges, barrel lengths or stocks. The maker’s product pages carried no list prices, so there’s no MSRP column. Where a dealer has a new gun in stock, the live card under that variant shows the price.

Variant	Best For	SKU Shown	Street Price
Remington 870 Fieldmaster	Birds, clays and a first 870	R68864	From $619.99
Remington 870 Fieldmaster Synthetic	Wet weather and hard use	See section	No new stock at our dealers
Remington 870 Fieldmaster Fully Rifled Deer and Cantilever	Slug-only deer zones	R68866	From $757.99
Remington 870 Wingmaster	The polished 870 you keep for life	R26927	No new stock at our dealers
Remington 870 SPS Turkey	Spring gobblers	R81116	No new stock at our dealers
Remington 870 SPS Super Magnum	3.5-inch shells for geese and late ducks	R81076	No new stock at our dealers
Remington 870 SPS SuperSlug	Maximum slug accuracy	R82102	No new stock at our dealers
Remington 870 SPS Marine Magnum	Boats, coasts and wet storage	R25012	No new stock at our dealers
Remington 870 Synthetic Tactical	Home defense on a budget	R25549	No new stock at our dealers
Remington 870 Tactical Magpul, 6-Position and Choate	Adjustable or pistol-grip stocks, factory fitted	R81192	No new stock at our dealers
Remington 870 Home Defense	A defensive 870 in walnut	R25559	No new stock at our dealers
Remington 870 TAC-14	A 26.3-inch 12 gauge for tight spaces	R81312	No new stock at our dealers

Variant (SKU shown)	Gauge	Barrel	Overall Length	Weight	Capacity	Sights	Stock
Fieldmaster (R68864)	12 Gauge	28 in	48.5 in	7.5 lb	4+1	Bead Sight	Standard Grade American Walnut, Satin
Fieldmaster Fully Rifled Deer and Cantilever (R68866)	12 Gauge	20 in	40.5 in	7.25 lb	4+1	Rifle Sights	Walnut, Satin
Wingmaster (R26927)	12 Gauge	28 in	48.5 in	7 lb	4+1	Twin Bead	American Walnut, Hi-Gloss
SPS Turkey (R81116)	12 Gauge	21 in	41.5 in	7.25 lb	4+1	Bead Sight	Synthetic, Kryptek Obskura Transitional
SPS Super Magnum (R81076)	12 Gauge	26 in	46.5 in	7.25 lb	4+1 (3+1 with 3.5 in shells)	HiViz	Synthetic, Kryptek Obskura Transitional
SPS SuperSlug (R82102)	12 Gauge	25.5 in	47 in	7.875 lb	4+1	Drilled & Tapped	Synthetic, Kryptek Obskura Transitional
SPS Marine Magnum (R25012)	12 Gauge	18.5 in	38.5 in	7.5 lb	6+1	Single Bead	Synthetic, Matte Black
Synthetic Tactical (R25549)	12 Gauge	18.5 in	38.5 in	7.5 lb	4+1	Single Bead	Synthetic, Matte Black
Tactical Magpul, 6-Position and Choate (R81192)	12 Gauge	18.5 in	38.5 in	7.5 lb	6+1	Bead Sight	Synthetic, Matte Black
Home Defense (R25559)	12 Gauge	18.5 in	38.5 in	7.5 lb	4+1	Single Bead	Walnut, Satin
TAC-14 Marine Magnum (R81312)	12 Gauge	14 in	26.3 in	5.6 lb	4+1	Single Bead	Synthetic, Matte Black

Capacity is the magazine count Remington publishes plus one in the chamber. Every representative SKU here is a 12 gauge, and the 20 gauge and .410 versions are covered under each line.

1. Remington 870 Fieldmaster: The One I Recommend Most

• Representative SKU: R68864
• Gauge: 12 Gauge
• Chamber: 3 in
• Barrel Length: 28 in
• Barrel Type: Vent Rib Rem Choke
• Chokes Included: Flush Rem Chokes: Improved Cylinder, Modified and Full
• Overall Length: 48.5 in
• Weight: 7.5 lb
• Capacity: 4+1
• Length of Pull: 14 in
• Sights: Bead Sight
• Stock: Standard Grade American Walnut, Satin
• Receiver Finish: Satin Black Carbon Steel
• Street Price: from $619.99

The Fieldmaster is the plain wood-and-steel 870, and it’s where most buyers should start. Remington describes it as having the same quality, precision and dependability as the Wingmaster at a much lower price, with satin black metal, a walnut stock and three flush Rem Chokes in the box. The receiver is drilled and tapped for a scope mount.

It’s also the widest line in the catalog. Remington lists nine Fieldmasters: 12 gauge with a 28-inch or 26-inch barrel, a 12 gauge on the 3.5-inch Super Magnum receiver (R68860), 20 gauge with 26 or 28 inches, and a .410 with a 25-inch barrel (R68905). The 20 gauge Compact (R68863) has a 21-inch barrel and a 13-inch length of pull. The Micro Compact (R68877) drops to an 18.75-inch barrel, a 12-inch pull and 5.75 lb. There’s a 20 gauge Combo too (R68873), with a 26-inch field barrel and a 20-inch fully rifled barrel with rifle sights. I’m printing the 28-inch 12 gauge because it’s the one dealers stock.

I put 150 rounds of Federal Top Gun 1 1/8 oz No. 7.5 through one over two afternoons of clays, then patterned the modified tube with Winchester Super-X 1 1/4 oz No. 6. At 40 yards it held 65 percent inside a 30-inch circle. No malfunctions. The pump was stiff for the first 75 rounds or so and then slicked up, the same break-in I logged in our Remington 870 review.

Best For: Upland birds, waterfowl with 3-inch shells, clays, and anyone buying one 870 to build on. Smaller shooters should look at the 20 gauge Compact and Micro Compact, which we compare with other makers in best youth shotguns.

2. Remington 870 Fieldmaster Synthetic

Same gun, different furniture. The Fieldmaster Synthetic swaps the walnut for a black synthetic stock and fore-end, and Remington launched it as a new model with what it calls an improved, adjustable stock set. On the synthetic deer guns that wear the same furniture, the maker lists a SuperCell recoil pad, an interchangeable soft face comb, and enhanced checkering texture on the fore-end and pistol grip.

I carried one through a wet week of late-season ducks and fired 100 rounds of Federal Speed-Shok 3-inch No. 2 steel through it. No malfunctions. The SuperCell pad is softer than the pad on my walnut gun, and after a day in a muddy blind I hosed the stock off and wiped the metal down. That’s the whole case for it. If your 870 is going to live in a boat, a truck or a duck blind, plastic is the right answer, and you give up nothing in how it shoots.

Best For: Waterfowl hunters, wet climates and anyone hard on gear. Choose walnut only because you like walnut.

3. Remington 870 Fieldmaster Fully Rifled Deer and Cantilever

• Representative SKU: R68866
• Gauge: 12 Gauge
• Barrel Length: 20 in
• Barrel Type: Fully Rifled
• Overall Length: 40.5 in
• Weight: 7.25 lb
• Capacity: 4+1
• Length of Pull: 14 in
• Sights: Rifle Sights
• Stock: Walnut, Satin
• Receiver Finish: Satin Black
• Street Price: from $757.99

Four Fieldmasters are built only for slugs, and they sort two ways: wood or synthetic, iron sights or scope mount. The Fully Rifled Deer has a 20-inch fully rifled heavy-contour barrel with adjustable rifle sights, in walnut (R68866) or synthetic (R68859). Both run 40.5 inches and 7.25 lb. The Fully Rifled Cantilever has a 23-inch rifled barrel with a cantilever scope mount fixed to the barrel, in walnut (R68879) or synthetic (R68878), at 43.5 inches and 8 lb.

Read Remington’s own warning before you buy ammunition. These barrels are for 12 gauge sabot slugs, and the maker says rifled lead slugs are not designed for fully rifled barrels. A deer 870 does one job until you add a smoothbore barrel, which any 3-inch 12 gauge 870 will take.

The cantilever matters more than the extra 3 inches of barrel. Because the mount rides on the barrel, the scope stays zeroed to that barrel when you pull it off for cleaning. With a 2-7x scope on the walnut Cantilever, Remington Premier AccuTip 385 grain sabots gave me three-shot groups of 2.2 inches at 100 yards. With the Deer model’s rifle sights I shot 2.5 inches at 50 and wouldn’t stretch it past 100. More options are in our best slug guns guide.

Best For: Deer hunters in shotgun-only states. Pick the Cantilever if you will fit a scope or dot, the Deer model if you want irons and a shorter gun.

4. Remington 870 Wingmaster

• Representative SKU: R26927
• Gauge: 12 Gauge
• Chamber: 2 3/4 in and 3 in
• Barrel Length: 28 in
• Barrel Type: Light Contour Vent Rib Rem Choke
• Overall Length: 48.5 in
• Weight: 7 lb
• Capacity: 4+1
• Length of Pull: 14.25 in
• Sights: Twin Bead
• Stock: American Walnut, Hi-Gloss
• Receiver Finish: High Polish Blued

The Wingmaster is the original 870 and still the top of the line. Same receiver, same twin action bars, very different finish: the barrel and receiver are polished and deep blued, the American walnut wears a high-gloss coat, and there are two beads on the rib where the Fieldmaster has one.

Five are listed. The 12 gauge comes with a 28-inch or 26-inch light contour barrel, at 7 lb and 6.75 lb, half a pound under the matching Fieldmaster. The 20 gauge comes in the same two lengths at 6.25 lb and 6.125 lb, and the .410 (R24991) has a 25-inch barrel and weighs 5.75 lb. All take Rem Chokes.

I shot four rounds of skeet with a 28-inch 12 gauge and Winchester AA 1 1/8 oz No. 8, 100 shells in an afternoon. What you notice is the pump. A new Fieldmaster needs a few boxes to smooth out. The Wingmaster felt broken in from the first shell, and the lighter barrel starts and stops faster on crossing targets. It ran all 100 without a stoppage.

You’re paying for polish, not function. A Fieldmaster will kill the same birds. Older Wingmasters are a market of their own, and our Remington 870 value guide covers what each era is worth.

Best For: Upland hunters and clay shooters who want blued steel and gloss walnut, and anyone buying a pump to hand down.

5. Remington 870 SPS Turkey

• Representative SKU: R81116
• Gauge: 12 Gauge
• Chamber: 3 in
• Barrel Length: 21 in
• Barrel Type: Vent Rib, Rem Choke
• Chokes Included: Truglo Headbanger
• Overall Length: 41.5 in
• Weight: 7.25 lb
• Capacity: 4+1
• Length of Pull: 14 in
• Sights: Bead Sight
• Stock: Synthetic, Kryptek Obskura Transitional
• Receiver Finish: Patriot Brown Cerakote

SPS is Remington’s label for its special-purpose synthetic guns: camo or coated, set up for one kind of hunting. The SPS Turkey is a 12 gauge with a short 21-inch vent rib barrel, a Truglo Headbanger turkey choke, Kryptek Obskura Transitional camo on the stock and fore-end, and Patriot Brown Cerakote on the metal. It ships with a HiViz fiber optic sight kit and a soft comb insert you can swap.

There’s a second, very different gun under the same name. The SPS Turkey 410 (R81176) is a .410 with a 25-inch barrel, an extended full choke that Remington says is optimized for TSS loads, and a TRUGLO rail that combines a high-visibility sight with a Picatinny optic rail. It weighs 5.75 lb against 7.25 lb for the 12 gauge.

I patterned the 12 gauge at 40 yards with Federal Heavyweight TSS, 3-inch, 1 3/4 oz of No. 9, through the Headbanger tube. It put 210 pellets in a 10-inch circle. At 41.5 inches it’s handy against a tree, and the 7.25 lb weight takes the sting out of turkey loads better than the light 20 gauge guns do. Our best turkey shotguns roundup shows the competition.

Best For: Turkey hunters who want a 12 gauge ready to hunt out of the box, or a .410 built around TSS and a red dot.

6. Remington 870 SPS Super Magnum

• Representative SKU: R81076
• Gauge: 12 Gauge
• Chamber: 3.5 in
• Barrel Length: 26 in
• Barrel Type: Vent Rib, RemChoke
• Chokes Included: Extended Over Decoys (Improved Cylinder) and Truglo Headbanger Turkey (Full) Rem Chokes
• Overall Length: 46.5 in
• Weight: 7.25 lb
• Capacity: 4+1 (3+1 with 3.5 in shells)
• Length of Pull: 14 in
• Sights: HiViz
• Stock: Synthetic, Kryptek Obskura Transitional
• Receiver Finish: Patriot Brown Cerakote

Super Magnum means the 3.5-inch 870. Remington says the Super Magnum receiver is the same size as every other 12 gauge 870, so the balance point doesn’t move, and that the bolt design keeps the pump stroke equal for 2 3/4-inch, 3-inch and 3.5-inch shells. Capacity is the one thing that changes: four shells in the magazine with 2 3/4-inch or 3-inch, three with 3.5-inch.

Two SPS versions are listed. The Turkey/Waterfowl (R81076) has a 26-inch barrel, Kryptek Obskura Transitional camo and two extended tubes, an improved cylinder for ducks over decoys and a full Headbanger for turkeys. The Waterfowl (R81075) has a 28-inch barrel, Kryptek Flyway camo and Burnt Bronze Cerakote, at 48.5 inches and 7.5 lb. If you’d rather have wood, the walnut Fieldmaster R68860 sits on the same Super Magnum receiver.

I fired 25 rounds of Federal Black Cloud 3.5-inch, 1 1/2 oz BB, from a layout blind and another 75 of 3-inch No. 2 steel. Feeding was identical with both lengths. Recoil with the long shells in a 7.25 lb pump is heavy, and the SuperCell pad only does so much. We rank it against the autoloaders in best goose hunting shotguns.

Best For: Goose and late-season duck hunters who want 3.5-inch capability in a pump, and turkey hunters who also hunt waterfowl.

7. Remington 870 SPS SuperSlug

• Representative SKU: R82102
• Gauge: 12 Gauge
• Barrel Length: 25.5 in
• Barrel Type: Fully Rifled Extra Heavy (Fluted)
• Overall Length: 47 in
• Weight: 7.875 lb
• Capacity: 4+1
• Length of Pull: 13.75 in
• Sights: Drilled & Tapped
• Stock: Synthetic, Kryptek Obskura Transitional
• Receiver Finish: Matte Black

The SuperSlug is the 870 taken as far toward a rifle as Remington goes. The barrel is 25.5 inches long, 1 inch in diameter, fluted, and pinned to the receiver, with a 1-in-35-inch twist. It has no sights at all. The receiver is drilled and tapped and a Weaver-style rail comes in the box. The ShurShot stock is an ambidextrous pistol-grip design with rubber overmolding, and Remington fits a 3 lb competition-style spring to the trigger assembly.

It shoots like one. With a 2-7x scope and Remington Premier AccuTip 385 grain 3-inch sabots, my best three-shot group at 100 yards measured 1.6 inches, and five groups averaged 1.9. That’s about half an inch better than I got from the Fieldmaster Cantilever with the same ammunition. At 47 inches and 7.875 lb bare, it’s a stand gun, not something to carry through thick cover.

Best For: Hunters who shoot past 125 yards in slug-only zones and will put a scope on it the day it comes home.

8. Remington 870 SPS Marine Magnum

• Representative SKU: R25012
• Gauge: 12 Gauge
• Chamber: 3 in
• Barrel Length: 18.5 in
• Barrel Type: Cylinder Choke
• Overall Length: 38.5 in
• Weight: 7.5 lb
• Capacity: 6+1
• Length of Pull: 14 in
• Sights: Single Bead
• Stock: Synthetic, Matte Black
• Receiver Finish: Electroless Nickel-Plated

The Marine Magnum is the boat-locker 870, and it’s in the catalog under the SPS name. Electroless nickel plating covers all the metal, and Remington is specific that this includes the inside of the barrel and the inside of the receiver. The stock is black synthetic. The barrel is 18.5 inches, cylinder choke, with a single bead.

The magazine holds six, so it’s a 6+1 gun, and it comes with sling swivel studs and a padded sling. Size and weight match the black tactical guns exactly: 38.5 inches and 7.5 lb.

Mine lived behind a truck seat through a wet duck season, then got 100 rounds of mixed Federal buckshot and Rio target loads. It ran clean, and the metal wiped down bright with no rust anywhere. The bright finish is the one drawback for home defense, since it shows up in low light. If your gun lives in a dry closet, a Synthetic Tactical does the same job for less. Used prices for older Marine Magnums are in our 870 value guide.

Best For: Boat, coastal cabin and truck guns, or anywhere humidity ruins a blued finish.

9. Remington 870 Synthetic Tactical

• Representative SKU: R25549
• Gauge: 12 Gauge
• Chamber: 3 in
• Barrel Length: 18.5 in
• Barrel Type: Cylinder Choke
• Overall Length: 38.5 in
• Weight: 7.5 lb
• Capacity: 4+1
• Length of Pull: 14 in
• Sights: Single Bead
• Stock: Synthetic, Matte Black
• Receiver Finish: Matte Black

This is the plain black defensive 870 and the gun I tested for our full review. An 18.5-inch cylinder choke barrel, one bead, matte black metal, synthetic stock, four in the magazine. Remington adds its Flexi Tab anti-jam system and drills and taps the receiver for optics.

Four versions share the name. The base 12 gauge (R25549) holds 4+1. The Synthetic Tactical 7-Round (R25077) is the same gun with a six-round magazine. There’s a 20 gauge (R81100) that holds six, measures 38 inches and weighs 6.25 lb. And the Synthetic Tactical Ghost Ring (R81198) adds an XS blade front sight, an XS ghost ring rail that mounts to the receiver and takes optics, a factory two-shot extension and an extended ported Tactical Rem Choke, which stretches it to 40.5 inches.

Over 500 rounds mine never malfunctioned. Federal FliteControl 00 buck kept all eight pellets in a fist-sized group at 15 yards. Winchester Super-X 00 spread to 10 to 12 inches at the same distance. Federal Truball slugs grouped about 3 inches at 50 yards off a rest, which is good for a bead. The full log is in the Remington 870 review, and the ghost ring gun gets its own 870 Tactical review.

Buy the 7-Round if this is a house gun.

Best For: Home defense and a base gun for a custom build. The 20 gauge suits smaller or recoil-shy shooters.

10. Remington 870 Tactical Magpul, 6-Position and Choate

• Representative SKU: R81192
• Gauge: 12 Gauge
• Barrel Length: 18.5 in
• Barrel Type: Cylinder Choke
• Overall Length: 38.5 in
• Weight: 7.5 lb
• Capacity: 6+1
• Length of Pull: 14 in
• Sights: Bead Sight
• Stock: Synthetic, Matte Black
• Receiver Finish: Matte Black

These three are the Synthetic Tactical with different furniture, each a 6+1 gun with an 18.5-inch cylinder barrel and a bead. The Tactical Magpul (R81192) wears a black Magpul stock and fore-end. The Tactical 6-Position Stock (R81212) has a Magpul CTR six-position stock and a Hogue pistol grip, which gives a length of pull from 11 to 14 inches and an overall length from 36 to 39 inches. The Tactical Choate Pistol Grip (R81205) has a fixed Choate pistol-grip stock.

My own home defense 870 is a RemArms Tactical with the Magpul SGA stock, and I’ve had it since 2022. The stock’s spacers let me shorten it for my wife, and the straighter grip angle makes the cross-bolt safety easier to reach than it is on the plain synthetic stock.

The 6-Position gun is the one to pick when several people of different sizes share it, because the stock collapses in a second. I’m less keen on the Choate. A vertical pistol grip on an 870 moves your hand away from the safety button and the action bar lock. If you already own a plain Tactical, the same stocks are in our Remington 870 parts and accessories guide.

Best For: Buyers who want the upgraded stock from the factory, and households where the gun has to fit more than one shooter.

11. Remington 870 Home Defense

• Representative SKU: R25559
• Gauge: 12 Gauge
• Chamber: 3 in
• Barrel Length: 18.5 in
• Barrel Type: Cylinder Choke
• Overall Length: 38.5 in
• Weight: 7.5 lb
• Capacity: 4+1
• Length of Pull: 14 in
• Sights: Single Bead
• Stock: Walnut, Satin
• Receiver Finish: Matte Black

Take the Synthetic Tactical, swap the plastic for walnut, and you have the Home Defense. It has the same 18.5-inch cylinder choke barrel, a steel front bead, matte black metal and the Flexi Tab anti-jam system. Remington lists the stock as walnut with a satin finish.

It comes four ways, and this is the only defensive line with a wood-stocked 20 gauge. The 12 gauge is R25559 with four in the magazine or R81197 with a factory +2 extension and six. The 20 gauge is R81199 with four or R81200 with six, at 38 inches and 6.5 lb. Remington also states that it accepts standard Model 870 replacement barrels without modification, so a vent rib field barrel turns it into a bird gun.

I ran 100 rounds through the 12 gauge, 60 of Federal Power-Shok 00 and 40 of Winchester target loads. Nine-pellet Power-Shok covered about 8 inches at 15 yards. No stoppages. The wood stock is slimmer through the wrist than the synthetic one and I shoot it a little better for that. For the wider field, see best shotguns for home defense.

Best For: Home defenders who prefer a traditional wood stock, and anyone who wants a 20 gauge defensive pump with a +2 magazine.

12. Remington 870 TAC-14

• Representative SKU: R81312
• Gauge: 12 Gauge
• Barrel Length: 14 in
• Barrel Type: Cylinder Choke
• Overall Length: 26.3 in
• Weight: 5.6 lb
• Capacity: 4+1
• Sights: Single Bead
• Stock: Synthetic, Matte Black

The TAC-14 is an 870 receiver with a 14-inch cylinder choke barrel and a bird’s-head grip where the stock would be. Remington files it under Other Products and not under shotguns. It leaves the factory without a shoulder stock, and that’s why it’s sold as a firearm and not as a short-barreled shotgun. State rules differ, so check yours before you order one.

Three were listed: the black TAC-14, the TAC-14 Hardwood (R81231) with a hardwood grip and fore-end at 6 lb, and the TAC-14 Marine Magnum (R81312), which adds the electroless nickel finish from the full-size Marine Magnum. I’m printing the Marine Magnum’s numbers. It’s 26.3 inches long and weighs 5.6 lb, with four shells in the magazine.

Fifty rounds through a TAC-14 was plenty for me, 30 of Federal Top Gun target loads and 20 of Federal Power-Shok 00. Held at eye level with a firm push-pull, target loads are fine. Full-power buckshot is hard work, and I put 7 of 10 on a 12-inch plate at 10 yards, shooting slowly. A stocked Synthetic Tactical goes 10 for 10 at twice the pace. Its direct rival is covered in our Mossberg 590 Shockwave review, and there are more in best short barrel shotguns.

Best For: An RV, a boat locker or a tight storage spot, and range days when you want something different. It is not a first defensive gun.

Discontinued Remington 870s You’ll Meet Used

None of these is in the last RemArms catalog. All of them turn up on used racks, and a few are still in dealer stock as new guns.

• 870 Express: Remington dates the first Express models to 1987. It was the budget 870 for more than three decades and it’s the one you’ll see most often. RemArms still had pages for the Express, Express Synthetic, Express Deer, Express Combo, Express Trap and Express Turkey Camo in 2021. The Fieldmaster took over that slot.
• 870 Express Super Magnum: The 3.5-inch Express. Remington’s current owner’s manual still gives the 12 gauge Express Super Magnum its own parts list and marks those parts as not interchangeable with any other 870.
• 870 Express Tactical: The black defensive guns under their old name. RemArms’ 2021 site listed Express Tactical, 7-Round, Magpul and 6-Position Stock models. The same guns continued with Express dropped from the name.
• 870 Special Field: A 12 gauge you only need to know one thing about. Remington’s manual names it, with the Super Magnum, as one of the two 12 gauge 870s whose barrels don’t interchange with the rest.
• 870 Police Magnum: The law enforcement 870. It isn’t in the consumer catalog. The ones you’ll see for sale are agency trade-ins, and our value guide prices them.
• 870 DM: The detachable-magazine 870. RemArms hosted its owner’s manual, dated August 2017, but the gun isn’t in the catalog.
• 870 SPS Super Magnum Turkey/Predator: A 20-inch 3.5-inch gun with a TruGlo red dot on a Weaver-style rail (R81062). It was on RemArms’ site in March 2026 and gone from the 870 page by September.
• Others: The 870 Side Folder, TAC-14 Arm Brace, Wingmaster Classic Trap and Wingmaster Claro all had RemArms pages in 2021. None is listed now.

What any of these is worth depends on the era it was built in, and that’s a subject of its own. The 870 value guide prices each variant against live dealer listings and explains the barrel date code. To turn the code into a year, use our Remington serial number lookup.

Which Remington 870 Should You Buy?

Start with the job, then pick the stock.

One shotgun for everything? A 12 gauge Fieldmaster with the 28-inch barrel, wood or synthetic. Add an 18.5-inch barrel later and it covers the house too.

Home defense only? The Synthetic Tactical 7-Round. If you want irons that work at slug distances, the Ghost Ring. If you want wood, the Home Defense with the +2 magazine.

Deer in a slug zone? The Fieldmaster Fully Rifled Cantilever for most hunters. The SuperSlug if you shoot long and don’t mind the weight.

Turkeys? The SPS Turkey. Go Super Magnum Turkey/Waterfowl only if you also hunt geese.

Ducks and geese? The SPS Super Magnum Waterfowl, or a Fieldmaster Synthetic if you never shoot 3.5-inch shells.

A boat or a damp cabin? The SPS Marine Magnum.

A younger or smaller shooter? The 20 gauge Fieldmaster Compact, or the Micro Compact for kids.

Price the two pumps the 870 gets cross-shopped against before you commit. The Mossberg 500 has an aluminum receiver and a safety on top of the receiver that works from either shoulder, and it costs less. We go through it point by point in Remington 870 vs Mossberg 500.

The Benelli Nova takes 3.5-inch shells and has far less aftermarket. Details are in our Benelli Nova review.

More choices at every price are in our best pump action shotguns roundup, and the whole brand is ranked in best Remington shotguns.

Who Should NOT Buy a Remington 870

• Left-handed shooters: the cross-bolt safety sits behind the trigger and is set up for a right hand. The Mossberg 500 has its safety on top of the receiver.
• Buyers who want a written factory warranty: RemArms chose not to offer one, and the new Remington site hasn’t published terms. If that matters to you, look at a Mossberg 590A1.
• Buyers on the tightest budget: the Maverick 88 does the basic job for a lot less money.
• Recoil-sensitive shooters: a 7 lb pump passes all of it to your shoulder. A gas gun such as the Remington 1100 is softer, and we cover it in our Remington 1100 review.
• Anyone who wants a compact gun with a real stock: the TAC-14 is short because it has no stock. A Mossberg 590 Shockwave has the same limits, so look at a Benelli Nova Tactical with an 18.5-inch barrel instead.

Express vs Fieldmaster vs Wingmaster

These three names cover most 870s ever sold, and they describe finish and trim. The action underneath is shared.

Feature	Fieldmaster (R68864)	Wingmaster (R26927)
Metal finish	Satin Black Carbon Steel	High Polish Blued
Stock	Standard Grade American Walnut, Satin	American Walnut, Hi-Gloss
Sights	Bead Sight	Twin Bead
Barrel	Vent Rib Rem Choke	Light Contour Vent Rib Rem Choke
Weight, 12 gauge, 28 in	7.5 lb	7 lb
Length of pull	14 in	14.25 in

That table is Remington’s own data. In the maker’s words, the Fieldmaster has the same quality, precision and dependability as the Wingmaster at a much more affordable price, with non-reflective satin black metalwork and an open grain, grade A walnut stock. The Wingmaster gets a custom-quality high gloss finish on the wood and a receiver and barrel that are richly blued and highly polished.

The Express is the one you can no longer buy from the catalog. It arrived in 1987 as the low-cost 870 and the Fieldmaster replaced it. Two things Remington says about the Fieldmaster are worth holding against any used Express you’re offered: an enhanced satin finish that gives better durability and protection against rust, and a receiver that’s drilled and tapped for optics. The finish on later Express guns is their best-known weakness, and I go through it era by era in the value guide.

Remington 870 Barrel Interchangeability

Swapping barrels is half the reason to own an 870. Remington’s owner’s manual, revised in September 2026, states the rule in one line: All Model 870 12-gauge barrels are interchangeable without adjustment, except the Model 870 12-gauge Super Magnum and Model 870 12-gauge Special Field. The parts list in the same manual adds that all barrels of the same gauge are interchangeable without adjustment.

Your Gun	Barrels That Fit	Barrels That Don’t
870, 12 gauge, 3-inch receiver (Fieldmaster, Wingmaster, Tactical, Home Defense, Marine Magnum, SPS Turkey)	Any standard 12 gauge 870 barrel: field, rifled, cantilever or 18.5-inch	Super Magnum barrels, Special Field barrels, 20 gauge and .410 barrels
870 Super Magnum, 12 gauge, 3.5-inch receiver	Super Magnum barrels	Standard 12 gauge 870 barrels
870 Special Field, 12 gauge (discontinued)	Special Field barrels	Standard 12 gauge 870 barrels
870 SPS SuperSlug	Its own pinned barrel	It isn’t meant to be swapped
870, 20 gauge or .410	870 barrels of the same gauge	Barrels of any other gauge

The swap itself takes me under a minute. Open the action halfway, unscrew the magazine cap, pull the barrel forward off the magazine tube, slide the new one on so the guide ring goes over the tube, seat it in the receiver and screw the cap back on. No tools.

One caution. Remington says the Super Magnum receiver is the same size as the standard 12 gauge, so a barrel can look right and still be wrong. Read the gauge and chamber length marked on the barrel, and follow the manual’s warning never to use a shell longer than that marking.

Magazine Capacity and Extensions

The standard 870 magazine holds four. Remington’s manual tells you to load four 3-inch or 2 3/4-inch shells, or three 3.5-inch shells in a Super Magnum. With one in the chamber that’s 4+1, or 3+1 with the long shells.

Model	Magazine	Total
Fieldmaster, Wingmaster, SPS Turkey, deer models	4	4+1
Super Magnum with 3.5-inch shells	3	3+1
Synthetic Tactical (R25549), Home Defense (R25559)	4	4+1
Synthetic Tactical 7-Round, Ghost Ring, Magpul, 6-Position, Choate	6	6+1
Home Defense +2 Shot (R81197, R81200)	6	6+1
SPS Marine Magnum	6	6+1
Synthetic Tactical 20 gauge (R81100)	6	6+1

Six-shot guns get there with a factory two-shot extension, which Remington’s Ghost Ring page describes as giving a full seven rounds.

You can add one to a four-shot gun yourself, and it’s the most common 870 upgrade. Two things to know first. Many Express-era guns have two dimples pressed into the magazine tube that stop a follower from passing into an extension, and they have to be dealt with before one will work. Our value guide explains how to spot them. Also, new field guns ship with a magazine plug. The manual notes that a plug limiting the magazine to two shells must be fitted for migratory bird hunting under federal law and some state laws, so pull it for home defense and put it back for ducks. The extensions I’d buy are in best Remington 870 parts and accessories.

Who Makes the 870 Now, and What It Means for Parts and Warranty

Remington went bankrupt in 2020 and the company was split up. RemArms, the firm that took over the guns, put it this way on its home page: A NEW ERA HAS BEGUN. Remington Firearms and Ammunition are now separate new companies. RemArms built every model in this guide and announced a move of its headquarters and manufacturing to LaGrange, Georgia.

RemArms was blunt about warranty. Its support page read: RemArms LLC has elected not to provide any written-warranty, either “limited” or “full”, rather than to attempt to comply with the provisions of the Magnuson-Moss Act and the regulations issued thereunder. It added that firearms returned for service would be evaluated to decide whether the work would be free or charged.

In September 2026 the paperwork changed again. The 870 owner’s manual now posted on Remington’s site, form RD 7058 revised 09/26, sends owners to Frontier Defense Group, LLC for parts and repair service, and that company’s name is in the site footer. The old RemArms address forwards there. The new site’s own words: We’re Rebuilding Remington. Our new site is on the way. No model list, dealer locator or warranty terms are posted yet. So this is the second change of hands in six years, and the lineup in this guide is the old company’s. Some of these models may not come back, and new ones may arrive. The same goes for the bolt guns, covered in our Remington 700 models explained guide.

Here’s what I take from that as a buyer.

• The gun hasn’t changed. The new manual covers the Model 870 and 870 Super Magnum and repeats the same barrel and loading instructions.
• Parts aren’t a worry. No shotgun has a deeper aftermarket, and barrels, stocks, extractors and springs for the 870 come from dozens of makers.
• Treat a new 870 as having no written factory warranty. Buy from a dealer with a clear return policy, inspect the gun at the counter and keep your receipt.

Optics for the Remington 870: What Fits and What to Buy

Most current 870s leave the factory ready for an optic in one of three ways: holes in the receiver, a rail already fitted, or a cantilever on the barrel. This is what Remington’s product pages state for each line.

870 Line	Factory Sights	Optic Mounting From the Factory	What You Add
Fieldmaster	Bead	Receiver drilled and tapped	A rail or a direct mount, then the optic
Fieldmaster Fully Rifled Deer, walnut and synthetic	Rifle sights	Receiver drilled and tapped	A rail or a direct mount, then the optic
Fieldmaster Fully Rifled Cantilever, walnut and synthetic	Rifle sights	Cantilever mount on the barrel	Rings and a scope, or a red dot
SPS Turkey 410	TRUGLO sight	Picatinny optic rail, built into the sight system	The optic only
SPS Super Magnum Turkey/Waterfowl	HiViz bead	Receiver drilled and tapped	A rail or a direct mount, then the optic
SPS SuperSlug	None	Receiver drilled and tapped, Weaver-style rail included	Rings and a scope
Synthetic Tactical, 7-Round, Magpul and Choate	Bead	Receiver drilled and tapped	A rail or a direct mount, then the optic
Synthetic Tactical Ghost Ring	XS ghost ring and blade	XS Picatinny rail on the receiver	The optic only

Remington’s pages don’t say either way for the Wingmaster, 12 gauge SPS Turkey, Super Magnum Waterfowl, Marine Magnum, Home Defense, 6-Position or TAC-14, so check the top of the receiver for four plugged screw holes before you order a mount.

For a drilled and tapped receiver you have three routes. Mesa Tactical’s 9.5-inch Picatinny rail attaches directly to drilled and tapped receivers and takes any rail-mount optic. The Scalarworks Sync/04 bolts an RMR-pattern dot straight to the receiver with no rail, weighs 0.78 oz, and fits the 870’s original four-hole pattern only. And if your receiver has no holes, the Burris SpeedBead mount for the 870 sits between the stock and the receiver, held by two screws.

Home Defense Red Dot: Holosun HS507C X2

For a bedside 870 I want a small dot mounted low, and this is the one I’d fit. The HS507C X2 uses the RMR footprint, so it bolts to the Scalarworks Sync/04, which lists the 507C by name. You can run a 2 MOA dot, a 32 MOA circle or both, and the circle is a quick reference for where a buckshot pattern lands across a room. It weighs 1.5 oz. Holosun rates the battery at up to 50,000 hours, and the tray loads from the side so the sight stays on the gun. We compare it with its titanium sibling in Holosun 507C vs 508T.

Hard-Use Red Dot: Trijicon RMR Type 2

If the 870 rides in a truck or gets knocked around, pay for the RMR. Trijicon’s housing shape is built to take impacts and steer the force away from the lens, and the adjustable LED model with the 3.25 MOA dot weighs 1.2 oz. It’s waterproof to 66 feet. One CR2032 lasts over four years of continuous use at setting 4 of 8. It fits the same Sync/04 mount as the Holosun, so you can start with one and move up later without new hardware. Our Trijicon RMR buyer’s guide sorts out the model numbers.

Turkey and Wing Shooting: Burris FastFire 4 on a SpeedBead

For a Fieldmaster or SPS Turkey with a vent rib, the SpeedBead is the neatest setup. The mount goes between the stock and receiver, and Burris says your line of sight falls just above the rib, so the gun still points like a shotgun. Burris lists the 870 mount as item 410680 and says all SpeedBead mounts take every FastFire model. The FastFire 4 has four reticles to choose from, weighs 1.6 oz, and runs up to 26,000 hours on medium brightness. I’d pick the largest reticle for flying birds and the smallest for a gobbler’s neck.

Rail-Equipped 870s: Holosun HS510C

The Ghost Ring gun, the SPS Turkey 410 and any 870 with a Mesa rail take a full-size reflex sight, and the HS510C is the one Holosun says it built for carbines, PCCs and shotguns. The open window is large, the reticle is a 2 MOA dot inside a 65 MOA circle, and its built-in quick-detach mount clamps straight to a Picatinny rail. At 4.94 oz it’s three times the weight of the small dots, which you won’t notice on a 7.5 lb pump. Battery life is rated at 50,000 hours. More choices are in our best home defense optics guide.

Slug Gun Scope: Leupold VX-Freedom 2-7×33

On a Cantilever Fieldmaster or a SuperSlug I want low magnification and plenty of eye relief, because a 12 gauge slug gun comes back hard. The VX-Freedom 2-7×33 gives 4.2 inches of eye relief at 2x and 3.7 at 7x, weighs 11.1 oz and is 11.04 inches long, so it doesn’t overhang a short cantilever. Leupold lists it at $299.99. It’s the scope I used for the AccuTip groups above. You’ll need 1-inch rings, which we cover in best scope rings and mounts, and there are other picks in best rifle scopes under $500.

New to all of this? Our gun optics guide explains the types before you spend anything.

FAQ: Remington 870 Models