Need help identifying 870
Need help identifying 870
I just picked up a brand new 870 Express with laminate wood furniture. The serial starts with RS so made Nov 1998 (yes, brand new, never fired from 1998) but the serial has a P suffix. Does this mean it's a Police version?
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knucklehead211
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Re: Need help identifying 870
Not sure. You can fire off an email to Remington customer service and they can identify and date it for you though. That's how I learned I have a 1953 Wingmaster that saw 60 years of service.
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Synchronizor
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Re: Need help identifying 870
Serial number prefixes indicate a range of dates, not one single year. An "RS" serial number prefix places your gun's manufacturing date solidly in the 21st century; probably the 2010s, or maybe the late 2000s, though if it was a 2000s gun, I believe the serial number would probably start with "C", "D", or "AB" instead. The "AB" block started in 2005, and while I'm not sure when Remington switched to the "RS" block, I know "RS" serial numbers were going on 870s at least as early as 2011. If you just bought your 870 brand-new in a store though, it's probably a 2015 or late 2014 gun.
As for the "P" suffix on the serial number, it doesn't mean you have a Police gun. The letter there only indicates what length shells the receiver is designed to handle (with the exception of some special-run 870s). 12ga 870 serial numbers end in "V" for 2.75"-only receivers and "A" for super magnum (3.5" and shorter) receivers. Magnum (3" and shorter) 12ga receivers used to only have serial numbers ending in "M", but now a bunch of different letters are used. If it's a 12ga and the serial number doesn't end in an "A" of a "V", it's probably a magnum receiver.
If your 870's barrel has a two-letter code stamped into it near the receiver, you can use that to identify the month and year the barrel was made, which is probably pretty close to when the receiver was manufactured if the gun is brand-new. If you want to be sure though, call or email Remington and have them look up the serial number, as Knucklehead211 suggested.
As for the "P" suffix on the serial number, it doesn't mean you have a Police gun. The letter there only indicates what length shells the receiver is designed to handle (with the exception of some special-run 870s). 12ga 870 serial numbers end in "V" for 2.75"-only receivers and "A" for super magnum (3.5" and shorter) receivers. Magnum (3" and shorter) 12ga receivers used to only have serial numbers ending in "M", but now a bunch of different letters are used. If it's a 12ga and the serial number doesn't end in an "A" of a "V", it's probably a magnum receiver.
If your 870's barrel has a two-letter code stamped into it near the receiver, you can use that to identify the month and year the barrel was made, which is probably pretty close to when the receiver was manufactured if the gun is brand-new. If you want to be sure though, call or email Remington and have them look up the serial number, as Knucklehead211 suggested.