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Maruzen M870 Pistol Grip Version Review
by Mentall
Stock Specifications
Model Remington M870 ABS
FPS 430fps HFC22 / 1BB
Length: 925mm
Weight: 2,200g

Ammo capacity:

4 + 1 shells

3-10 bb's per shell

M870 Review #1 | M870 review #2 | M870 review #3 | M870 custom parts review



The gun itself

Maruzen Remington M870 Pistol grip Version This gun is an excellent replica. It's heavy and well made though consisting mostly of ABS plastic.

The weight is quite impressive. It weighs in at 2kg (4 pounds) which is just right for holding it in one hand. (U talkin' to me punk? ;)

I choose the pistol grip version over the full stock since I planned on using this for CQB and the full stock would get in the way. (although still wanting the M1100 Fullstock ever since I got this puppy)

Action:


The loading hatch

Loading the shells

The chamber

Shell being ejected

Shell being loaded

The gun's action is just like the real steel. You load shells under the gun (see above) and the gun holds a total of 4 in the magazine tube and 1 in the chamber. You then cycle the pump the front grip and thereby load a shell into the chamber. The simply press the trigger and the BB's go flying. Repeat as necessary…

Magazine tube extensions are available for the real steel version which I _think_ will fit the Maruzen version. I'm actually planning on ordering one from ASPI Tactical.

Update: I found out, through a great review at Arnie's Airsoft concerning aftermarket parts, that the Real Steel Remington folding stock will fit the Maruzen M870.

Performance: The gun shoots around 400fps (haven't chronoed yet) with 1 0,20g BB. This is drastically decreased when using more than 1. And when using 10 there's much to be desired but still adequate for CQB.

The sound of the gun is the biggest disappointment as it's a mere "puf". But where the gun lacks "umpf" when shooting, the racking of the pump-action makes up for.

The shells: The shells can hold from 1 to 10 BB's at a time. And what does this mean? This means that you can have either 1 BB that travels around 400fps and has (a little) range or 10 BB's that spread nicely. Very effective for CQB purposes.

The shell catcher: This mounts on the right side of the receiver. It can hold 15-20 shells before it prevents shells from ejecting.

It's probably not the prettiest thing out there but it's really effective. It simply mounts on the receiver and collects the shell. It closes at the bottom using Velcro, which means that you can easily empty it during skirmishes.

The gas tank: A nice thing about this piece is, that it uses loose gas tanks, which you can change in the heat of battle.

Update: I tested one full tank and fired shells with different amounts of BB's in them. After I had fired 100 shots off the same tank I stopped. This gun ROCKS when it comes to gas usage.


Skirmish ability:
As mentioned earlier this gun is mainly usable for CQB/Building scenarios. It simply does not have the range for outdoor/Woodland skirmishes when using more than one BB. And that ruins the point of having a shotgun.

I've gotten some 0,12's tested and the actually spread very nicely. I found the best way was to use 5-6 BB's per shell and still be able to achieve sufficient power. (shoot a guy in the ass from 1½ meters…one word: FUN ;)

Conclusion

Build Quality

4/5

Power

3/5 (when using 1 BB that is)

Upgrade Potential

4/5 (there's an upgrade valve somewhere but REALLY hard to find)

Skirmish Ability

3/5 (Good for CQB, horrible for longer ranges)

by ©Mentall - mentall_illness@ofir.dk

External Links:

Reviews
"Airsoft Base" :M870 review -the only English review I could find (Arnie)
Doraguner's M870 Riot version review - a review in Japanese
"Airsoft Guns in Russia" M870 review - a review in Russian

Other Interesting links:
Remington M870 Manual - The official manual for the real-steel Remington Pump action
SureFire Tac Mount - A Page with details of kits to mount Surefire lights and lasers onto the shotgun
Magazine Extension Kit @ ATI Gun Stocks - details of magasine extension tubes for the M870/M1100
Operator's Manual - the official US Government's operators guide to the M870
Custom Remington 870 laser mounting - a custom method for fitting a laser unit to the end of the 870, not a method I would recommend though.
"The Tactical Shotgun" - an article about shotguns and their use in a tactical environment. It's a VERY good read
The original website is from this page here: http://www.angelfire.com/tx/ShotGun/ "The MultiPurpose Shotgun"

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Last modified: Wednesday, May 9, 2001 9:37 AM copyright 2001 ArniesAirsoft