The author tested his 887 in Alberta, Canada and was happy with its performance—and its ease of cleaning! TEST FIRE: Remington Model 887 Nitro Mag

Story By Adam Heggenstaller,
Managing Editor, Shooting Illustrated

HiViz LitePipe front bead

Chances are something within your reach at this very moment is made of plastic. A water bottle, a pen and your cell phone are good examples. Plastic items are relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture, and they usually hold up well for their intended uses, which is why the material is so common in everyday life.

Considering the qualities of plastic—or what engineers like to call "polymer"—it shouldn't be a big surprise that the stuff is used in firearms, too. We've all seen polymer rifle stocks. If you're familiar with handguns, Glock, Springfield Armory XD and Smith & Wesson M&P pistols also come to mind. While their polymer receivers are pretty high-tech, the truth is manufacturers have been using plastic for certain gun parts for more than 50 years.

The latest firearm to take advantage of what polymer has to offer is the Remington Model 887 Nitro Mag, a new 12-gauge, slide-action shotgun with a 3½-inch chamber. Its entire receiver and barrel are covered in a shell of overmolded glass-filled nylon material (a type of polymer) that Remington refers to as ArmorLokt.

Before we go any farther, let me address Model 870 fans. Sure, the 887 is somewhat similar, being a pump gun and all, but you need not worry: Remington does not intend to replace the 870 with the 887. Instead, the 887 is intended to offer hunters and shooters—especially those of us in the younger crowd who thrive on high-tech advancements—an alternative to the 870. When you take a closer look at the 887, you'll realize it is actually an entirely different gun than the 870, and it offers some advantages over the 870's nearly 60-year-old design.

Manufacturer: Remington Arms Co., 870 Remington Drive, P. O. Box 700, Madison, NC 27025; (800) 243-9700; www.remington.com Gauge: 12, 3½-inch, 3-inch, 2¾-inch Action Type: Slide-action shotgun Receiver: Steel with ArmorLokt polymer overmold Barrel: Steel with ArmorLokt polymer overmold, 28 inches Chokes: One Rem Choke tube: modified (887 Synthetic), improved-cylinder (887 Waterfowl) Sights: HiViz LitePipe front bead, polymer mid-bead Trigger Pull: Single-stage; 4 pounds, 12 ounces Stock: Polymer with Remington SuperCell recoil pad: length of pull, 14 inches; drop at heel, 2½ inches; drop at comb, 1½ inches Overall Length: 48 inches Weight: 7 pounds, 6 ounces (887 Synthetic); 7 pounds, 8 ounces (887 Waterfowl) Accessories: Instruction manual; trigger lock; choke-tube wrench; one choke tube; magazine plug; and instructional DVD Suggested Retail Price: $399 (887 Synthetic); $532 (887 Waterfowl)

Of course, steel is present beneath the 887's polymer sheath. The steel lends strength while the polymer protects it. We all try to take good care of our guns, but they are still subject to corrosion, scratches and dings when we carry them afield.

The 887 Nitro Mag uses polymer technology to shield it from the elements, mud, briars and other hazards that are part of the hunt.

The receiver starts in Remington's Ilion, N.Y., factory as a stamped-and-welded steel frame. It is placed into a mold, which is then injected with the ArmorLokt polymer material. Perforations in the frame, along with the mold design, allow the ArmorLokt to completely encase both the exterior and interior steel surfaces and form the finished component.

The 887's barrel is first cold hammer-forged from 4140 steel, and then the ArmorLokt is fused to it via injection-molding in a process similar to the receiver construction. The polymer envelops the blank, with the integral barrel rib and rectangular design impressions also being formed in the mold. A green HiViz LitePipe front bead and red polymer mid bead top the barrel rib.

Remington calls ArmorLokt impermeable and has test results to back it up. Company engineers subjected 887 barrels to salt-corrosion and submersion tests, cross-sectioning each test barrel after the trials to ensure the ArmorLokt had not leaked or separated from the steel. They also fired more than 10,000 rounds through a single 887 barrel, again testing for separation. In all the tests, ArmorLokt held up to the abuse, making the 887 an ideal shotgun for less-than-ideal conditions—like lying in a sloppy cornfield during a sleet storm or hunting honkers on the Chesapeake Bay.

Perhaps the best characteristic of the 887 in terms of user-friendliness is the design and location of the slide release. Instead of a little tab of metal located along the left side of the trigger guard like on the 870, the 887's slide release is a large, triangular button conveniently nestled into the top half of the trigger guard's face. It is much easier to reach with the index finger, especially when that finger is covered with a glove or numb from the cold or both.

The slide release and trigger guard are integral to the 887's trigger plate assembly, which is also molded from ArmorLokt polymer. It houses the fire-control components, along with the carrier and both shell latches. Drifting out two cross pins frees the trigger plate assembly from the receiver for cleaning and maintenance. Disassembling the rest of the 887 is even easier, because it requires nary a tool.

Remington is offering two variations of the 887 this year: an all-black version and one covered in Advantage Max-4 HD camo. Both have a barrel length of 28 inches and a 3½-inch chamber, along with a composite fore-end and buttstock ending in a SuperCell recoil pad. The barrel of each version is threaded to accept Rem Chokes.

Last fall I had plenty of opportunities to test the 887's handling characteristics while hunting geese in Alberta, Canada, with outfitter Sean Mann. We had Canadas, snows and specklebellies, along with the occasional mallard, come to the decoys among cut pea and barley fields—sometimes all in the same morning. The 887 neatly folded several mixed bags of birds, and it didn't take me long to get used to the new gun's different feel.

Although we received no rain during the hunt to test the 887's weatherproof qualities, the warm, dry conditions made for plenty of dust in the harvested fields. Thanks to the ArmorLokt barrel and receiver, all I had to do to clean the exterior of the 887 was wipe it down with a damp washcloth I borrowed from the hotel.

One final note: Since the 887 has a 3½-inch chamber and a slide action, you can shoot all kinds of loads in it, from the light target variety to magnum goose crushers. This makes it a versatile shotgun for almost any type of winged game, and shooters who dislike recoil can use light loads without worry of malfunction. They won't have to fret about the hunting conditions either, because the Model 887 Nitro Mag is right at home in any weather.

The 887’s bolt is a rotary design that locks to the barrel extension with two lugs. It features a heavy-duty, claw-type extractor for reliable feeding.