870 Special Field Model
870 Special Field Model
Brand new here; have owned 2 Remington Tactical models but just traded on a Special Field Model. Really feel fortunate to find it, (small town, pawn shop). It's condition is NIB, Remington dates year of manufacture to 1985; amazed at this. I'm sure this model has been discussed here before but I'd be curious to hear some input. Love this shotgun!
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Banshee
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Re: 870 Special Field Model
I would love to short barrel one!
The devil danced as he went down, in the hail of arrows comin' Out on the wild Montana ground, Custer died a-runnin'.
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Synchronizor
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Re: 870 Special Field Model
A NIB Special Field is quite a find. Congratulations. What gauge is it?
The Special Field models were built to be lighter and faster-handling than standard 870s, and were intended specifically for upland hunting. They had shorter barrels, and shortened magazine tubes that held only three shells, rather than the standard four. The fore-end tube & fore-end were shortened as well, and they came with special straight stocks, rather than the standard semi-grip stocks. Special Fields came in 12 & 20 gauges (both chambered for 3" shells, I believe), and either 21" or 23" barrels, depending on the year. Earlier Special Field barrels had fixed chokes, later ones (mid-1980s and beyond) were threaded for Rem Chokes.
Though actual weight savings were pretty minimal (at least according to the specs in Remington's catalogs), the short barrels and special mag tubes & fore-ends did shift the center of mass back, which reportedly resulted in some very nicely-handling field guns (haven't yet had the chance to play with one myself).
But because of the special mag tube length, Special Fields can not accept other 870 barrels, only special barrels with guide rings set closer to the chamber. It is possible to move the guide ring on an 870 barrel, but you'll have to pony up for some professional gunsmithing work if you go that route The current-production 870 MCS combat shotguns also have 3-round magazine tubes, so you might be able to use MCS barrels without modifying them, but I don't know for sure that they're interchangeable. They also cannot use other 870 fore-ends, though a Special Field fore-end tube assembly can be used on a standard 870 of the same gauge. But as far as I'm aware, everything rear-ward of the barrel & mag tube (including the stock attachment) is normal, so you shouldn't have any issues with replacement parts and accessories.
The Special Field models were built to be lighter and faster-handling than standard 870s, and were intended specifically for upland hunting. They had shorter barrels, and shortened magazine tubes that held only three shells, rather than the standard four. The fore-end tube & fore-end were shortened as well, and they came with special straight stocks, rather than the standard semi-grip stocks. Special Fields came in 12 & 20 gauges (both chambered for 3" shells, I believe), and either 21" or 23" barrels, depending on the year. Earlier Special Field barrels had fixed chokes, later ones (mid-1980s and beyond) were threaded for Rem Chokes.
- From Remington's 1991 catalog
- Special Field 1991.JPG (66.14 KiB) Viewed 4268 times
But because of the special mag tube length, Special Fields can not accept other 870 barrels, only special barrels with guide rings set closer to the chamber. It is possible to move the guide ring on an 870 barrel, but you'll have to pony up for some professional gunsmithing work if you go that route The current-production 870 MCS combat shotguns also have 3-round magazine tubes, so you might be able to use MCS barrels without modifying them, but I don't know for sure that they're interchangeable. They also cannot use other 870 fore-ends, though a Special Field fore-end tube assembly can be used on a standard 870 of the same gauge. But as far as I'm aware, everything rear-ward of the barrel & mag tube (including the stock attachment) is normal, so you shouldn't have any issues with replacement parts and accessories.