Inside The Remington Factory
A cart full of 870 receiver blanks. Each one is a solid bar of steel weighing about seven pounds. Field & Stream Online Editors
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Inside The Remington Factory

Inside The Remington Factory

An 870 barrel blank being polished.
Inside The Remington Factory

Inside The Remington Factory

The VibraHone machine polishes barrels and receivers. The parts are underneath the polishing media, which is vibrated by the machine.
Inside The Remington Factory

Inside The Remington Factory

The second stage of polishing in the VibraHone uses fine grit. The Express 870s skip this second step. It’s one of the reasons they cost less to make and sell for less.
Inside The Remington Factory

Inside The Remington Factory

870 Express receivers with magazine tubes attached go into the bead blaster, which creates a kind of man-made sandstorm. Bead blasting puts a distinctive, slightly dimpled finish on the steel.
Inside The Remington Factory

Inside The Remington Factory

870 barrels in the bead blaster. The process takes only a few minutes.
Inside The Remington Factory

Inside The Remington Factory

This displays shows the variety of barrels made for 870s.
Inside The Remington Factory

Inside The Remington Factory

870s come together in the assembly area on the top floor. This man is putting together the parts of the 870’s trigger group.
Inside The Remington Factory

Inside The Remington Factory

Me, attaching the stock to my gun.
Inside The Remington Factory

Inside The Remington Factory

Me, during inspection, checking the barrel for straightness.
Inside The Remington Factory

Inside The Remington Factory

Me, putting the magazine cap on the gun.
Inside The Remington Factory

Inside The Remington Factory

Me, installing the trigger group.
Inside The Remington Factory

Inside The Remington Factory

Me, loading dummy shells in the magazine prior to checking the action for function.
Inside The Remington Factory

Inside The Remington Factory

My gun being proofed. It’s inside that steel box and is being fired remotely with a high pressure “blue pill” proof load in the chamber.

Read Phil’s story “It Always Goes Bang,” which was originally published in the September 2007 issue, by clicking here.