870PM w/ 2 barrel dates

[870shucker]

First real post besides intro, so here we go...

Have a new to me 870 Police Magnum and being a supposed “real law enforcement turn-in” I’d like to get a little history. I’m sure I’ll place a call to Remington this morning but I wanted to see what I could find out online. I’ve heard that people have received all kinds of nutty answers from Remington so I figured I’ll vary my sources of info. Plus, this gives me a conversation starter as the new guy.

The first question is about the two barrel dates?
Barrel build letters: AI seems slightly larger, “displaces the blueing” while PO is more firmly stamped, seems blued
AI: March 2015,1988,1976
PO: June 1994 or 1977
Serial #: B115xxxM
Property/Inventory: #94443

What are any thoughts on the born on date? Any idea of what agency used this 870P? Maybe someone knows...
For all I know it could be any of the dates that popped up. The rest of the info I have should be evident in attached pics.

It is a clean 870P with light wear. This doesn’t look like a cruiser 870P to me, but admittedly This is my first used 870P where I or someone I didn’t know wasn’t the original owner.

I would guess it has been back to the factory for a rebuild/repair. That is why I am guessing it has two barrel date codes. It could be a 1994 & a 2015 date combo but my very limited knowledge and research has me guessing that some markings could be ‘70s or ‘80s. <—I could be wishing, here. The blueing is really nice. But I am really guessing.

The blueing quality on this 870 is really well done. The blueing does have some light surface rust and small finish scratches that can be seen in the right light, but few can be felt. I’m sure Kroil or other solvent will remove the rust it is so light. The wood stock has one or two finish scratches also but none marring the wood. So if refinished/repaired/reworked it was back in service after it was returned. Or maybe there was a civilian owner between LE and myself.

The trigger guard does seem like “pot metal” texture. I purchased a metal Remington trigger group in 2008 for an 870 Tactical Magnum and it looked identical to the polymer trigger guard. This one seems like a cheaper version and is obviously not polymer. It could be from the early days of MIM and is a metal trigger guard just not a great one. Which laughingly leads me to think 2015 for this firearm because of the determination by the current owners of the Remington brand to suck the life and money out of the company before declaring bankruptcy, getting a tax write off and selling the name to the next suckers, I mean investors.

The magazine on this 870P is a two piece unit. The factory magazine extension on my 870 Tactical Magnum is one piece. Surprising.
Ok, I’ll stop here. I get started and I can write a book.
Thanks in advance everyone... or maybe anyone, HA!

[870shucker]

More pics...

[870shucker]

Three more...

[Synchronizor]

Nice find. That does look like a legit Police Magnum. If not, someone did a pretty complete job of making it into one, in which case it's effectively Police Mag anyway.

A serial number starting with "B" means the gun was manufactured in the mid-1990s. So the "PO" stamp is probably the real one. The other letters could be repair or service marks, or maybe something to do with the department that used it. Or perhaps that barrel is a replacement, and not the original.

Folks seem to idolize the older 1970s-vintage 870s as some kind of pinnacle, and those are undoubtedly cool guns, but Remington has made a number of design improvements to the 870 since it was introduced. The big one is the flex-tab action update in the mid-80s, but other parts like the shell latches, follower, firing pin & spring, extractor, and others have also received beneficial tweaks. Older guns can be updated with all of this stuff, but that takes time and money, and specialized gunsmith tools for certain things. With a mid-90s Magnum model, you're good to go; that gun will be a great base for anything you might use an 870 for - which pretty much encompasses any shotgunning activity imaginable. As-is, if the insides are in as good of a shape as the exterior, you have a great, reliable work-horse of a fighting shotgun right there.

The trigger guard does seem like “pot metal” texture. I purchased a metal Remington trigger group in 2008 for an 870 Tactical Magnum and it looked identical to the polymer trigger guard. This one seems like a cheaper version and is obviously not polymer. It could be from the early days of MIM and is a metal trigger guard just not a great one.

870 trigger plates have never been MIM parts. That's too big a component to manufacture using MIM processes. The metal trigger plates are old-school pressed and sintered aluminum, which isn't the greatest material, though it works fine. I personally suspect the newer polymer trigger plates are better parts from a structural standpoint - they certainly do a better job of hiding wear. But cosmetics aside, the powdered aluminum parts have gotten the job done over many decades of hunting, gunfights, and military service.

[Snapshot870]

Hey Weed by the "WINK" how about getting out of our Remington Shotgun forum.