Magpul 870 Stock Review

Remington 870 Tactical Magpul FDE Specs and Review

Among the disadvantages of working in a gun store is that you are always aware of the guns’ current dealer level pricings. I couldn’t help but shed some of my money when day when I found out that one of our distributors was offering a special promotion on their Magpul 870 Stock, and the guns are available for a ridiculously low price. Thus, I ordered one and out of the box, I realized it is a really good-looking gun. The specs are quite remarkable, too.

Specifications

The Remington 870 Tactical Magpul FDE is a 12-gauge shotgun that features a Magpul stock and forend, breacher brake, XS Ghost ring sights, and a 6 plus 1 capacity feature, all giving you great pump-action. On this model, the trigger pull break is at 4.5 pounds, while the length of the barrel works at 18.5 inches. Note: The unit’s barrel has a threaded-ability for chokes, and the shotgun also features a “SuperCell recoil pad” (in Remington’s terminology), which is effectively engineered to help reduce the gun’s felt recoil.

Shooting

At the range, the Remington 870 FDE performs without any issues on the feeding nor extraction aspects. It performs as expected of any 870, in short. Its SuperCell pad also does an amazing job at reducing felt recoil, that is, even when you pattern the gun with various loads of defensive buckshot. In terms of buckshot, with most loads, the shotgun holds really fairly tight patterns. In fact, the best two performers were the Federal buckshot and Hornady Critical Defense buckshot when I tested them. Both of these guns at 10 yards held approximately 3 to 4 inches, with their pattern shooting to the point of aim very exactly with XS sights.

Initially, the Remington 870 FDE’s pump would stick occasionally to the rear with its bolt in the position “open,” hence requiring you to exert some considerable force in order to return the gun to battery. My suspicion is that this is only due to the cerakoting on the shotgun, which adds only enough material to the unit’s internal receiver parts so as to occasionally enable to make things stick. Nonetheless, the dry and live fire gets this fixed until the subject contact points had a little bit gotten worn down.

To test this gun’s suitability for three-gun use, I used various target loads that are all-lead. While it’s certain that it’s NOT a 6-shot tube pump-type that will be your best choice for a 3-gun, using a defensive firearms for competitions still has its own value. In a gunfight like these, this unit allows you to pressure your gun as well as gear in stressful live-fire environments.

The 870 FDE keeps a fairly tight pattern held at 15 yards, which is tight enough for knocking down a pepper popper even to the very least. If you are going to run this shotgun in a pump-friendly 3-gun division, you can ditch the “tactical” choke and favor using a modified one, and then maybe have an extended mag tube.

Products from Magpul

But what if you’re buying from Magpul? Are their products worth your money? Yes. In fact, they are—most especially if purchasing their stock. Magpul’s forend is okay, but their SGA stock is most probably the best kind of factory shotgun stock you can find on the market today. It shoulders easily and grips well, and its adjustable risers do an amazing job of allowing you to change the unit’s cheek weld, that is, if you are using some kind of sight or optics. Really, it’s pretty awesome to have.

The Remington 870 Magpul FDE

Final Verdict

You will like this gun most especially if you are a sucker for 870s, FDE things, and thoughtfully geared products such as the SGA stock.

And now that this gun’s price tag has already fallen below the $600 mark at retail price, they are even more of a great deal for having a no-nonsense pump shotgun that is set up pretty well right out of the box. Optionally, another cool shotgun alternative is buying a spanking new Remington 870 Magpul gun over at Gunbroker as they are also at the 500 dollar range.

Just try picking up one of these, go ahead and shoot with it for a bunch of rounds, and feel yourself smiling. You might even want to take it to bed with you. What an awesome piece.