Remington 870 Police Magnum Review

The Remington 870s have been around since the 1940s and over 10 million have been sold since for a reason----they work.   I picked up the police trade in gun reviewed today about a year ago for under $300 (should have bought 5 at that price!); it's the 20'' 7+1 model with rifle sights.   It was beat up on the outside but looked like it had been shot very, very little.   I put on a set of my favorite furniture (Magpul), polished up the chamber with some steel wool, and got to running rounds through it.  Quick summary of the pros and cons below:

Pros:
-100% reliable with all loads I've put through it from low brass Walmart ammo to full power 3'' slugs/buckshot
-Parkerized finish
-Tons of aftermarket support
-I'm a fan of the rifle sights
-Combat proven shotgun
-Comes with the forged extractor and heavy carrier dog spring that many Express model users end up installing anyway
-7+1 capacity on this model
-Handles & points very well
-Spare parts are available at pretty much every gun shop in the country should you ever need them

Cons:
-14'' factory LOP.   I'm 6'0'' and I prefer a shorter (around 12'') LOP.  Most people I know do as well
-The rear sight is somewhat odd.  The notch is a little tight and a peep sight would likely be both faster and more accurate.  I know they have models with Wilson rings on the receiver but just replacing the rear sight with a peep would still help out with quick acquisition

Here's a review video with some shooting and a discussion of the gun's properties:

Molot VEPR 12 Review

Well, Molot finally got through all the US legal import related red tape and their VEPR 12's are on American shores and in American's hands.   The gun arrived dripping with some sort of preserving lubricant in a cardboard box with 1 factory 5 round magazine (higher cap mags from SGM are on the way).  I unboxed it yesterday, cleaned/lubricated it, and started putting rounds through it.    So, far I've got 250 rounds of various ammo (#4 buck, #1 buck, 00 buck, slugs, and some low brass range ammo) with 0 failures of any kind.  Here's some of the features of the gun along with what I've found...

Pros:

-100% reliable thus far

-Hinged dust cover with a 1913 rail.  I mounted a red dot and opened/closed it repeatedly and it held zero

-The action is extremely smooth; much more than any Saiga 12 I've ever shot

-Original Molot polymer grip.  Much more comfortable than many AK factory grips out there

-Molot self-regulating gas system.  This one's key to the 'why is this better than a Saiga 12?' question.  Izhmash has a version of this system but reliability reports are still hit or miss with the low brass ammo

-Original Molot competition magazine well.   Allows for fast reloads eliminating the need for rocking and locking the mags

-Molot factory AK adjustable rear sight.  This is essentially a beefed up RPK rear sight

-Molot original AK enhanced safety lever.   It allows for easy disengagement of the safety when shouldering the gun

-Cost.  The gun is available many places for $1000.   Considering what it costs to buy a Saiga 12 and convert it to this configuration that's not too bad

-Factory chrome lined barrel,  chamber,  receiver shaft and  gas chamber

-Factory threaded barrel.  Treads are the same as the Saiga 12 so there are lots of brakes/flash hiders available

-The fit/finish are superb.   It's as nice, if not nicer, than any AK platform gun I've ever seen

-Machined bolt assembly, gas blocks etc.  As far as I know there is no MIM on this gun at all.  Every part feels very solid

Cons:

-Bolt hold open feature doesn't function on the gun 100% of the time (see video below for a better explanation)

-The safety was so tight from the factory that it was almost unusable.   I fixed it with a little filing but just beware you may need to adjust it a bit

Here's a video review where I test out the gas system, do some shooting with slugs from 100m, disassemble/assemble the gun, and discuss some or the features of the shotgun: