Remington 870 DM Magpul (with Detachable Magazines) Review
What is the Remington 870 DM?
It is interesting that semi-automatic shotguns with detachable box magazines are quite common (Vepr-12, Fostech Origin 12, Saiga-12), even though they are rare options for pump-action shotguns. There are several shotgun models available, such as the Remington 870 DM (USA), Mossberg 590M (USA) and Hatsan Raider (Turkey). Remington even had a pump rifle (Remington 7600), which was designed to accept ordinary AR-15 magazines, before they designed the Remington 870 DM.
The Remington 870 DM, where DM stands for “Detachable Magazines,” is a new version of the good old Remington 870 pump shotgun. Please note that it has a detachable magazine which enables the operator to load their shotgun fast.
Remington made some changes to the 870 platform:
-Added a magwell.
-Modified the super magnum bolt.
-Modified the trigger group.
-The tubular magazine tube is not functional, and it works a guide for the slide.
-Designed 3 and 6-round removable box magazine
The interesting thing is that the Remington 870 DM comes with a super magnum bolt and a regular barrel with a 3-inch chamber.
According to Remington, they fired 100,000 rounds to test the new version, and it works perfectly. The new shotgun looks like a completely finished product with the same quality that Remington is known for.
Remington 870 DM Magpul (with Detachable Magazines)
First Impressions
It is the good old Remington 870, but with some additional parts. It is an interesting feeling when you hold the same pump you have, but now with a removable box magazine included. It is still easy to use and operate, but I had some issues pumping it. I will tell you about them a little later.
The magwell is made of aluminum and has some kind of coating. There will be some scratches for sure, but that is not a problem. The magwell is attached by some big bolts. Therefore, you will have to remove the magwell for cleaning and maintenance by removing the bolts first. The magazine release is in the front of the magwell. Some people don’t think it is very convenient and say that it can be accidentally actuated, but I didn’t have any problems with it.
Loading is easy because you just insert the magazine, which makes everything simple. The magazine release is a little stiff, so you need to pull the magazine at a certain angle.
Upgrades and Accessories
Most of the upgrades and accessories for the Remington 870 are compatible with the 870DM. The only thing that will not work is a longer forend which is not compatible with the magwell.
All the other upgrades, such as the stocks, forends, heatshields, sights, and barrels, can be installed on the Remington 870 DM. You can even get this shotgun with the Magpul furniture already installed.
Survival kit in the tubular magazine tube
The standard tubular magazine tube is empty inside, and you can even store something there. Just make sure to put some kind of plug there or even a standard magazine follower. That way, the contents of the tube won’t fall off from it.
There is enough space for some parts, simple tools or a cleaning kit (e.g. a small bottle of oil and a bore snake, at least).
Remington 870 DM Express
Advantages
I was able to attach a magazine and make a first shot in under two seconds! That impressed me. But also, with some training, you can even load one shotshell into a chamber and make a single shot really fast. So, having a magazine-fed shotgun doesn’t mean that you can’t load a single shotshell into a chamber.
The box magazine is an extremely useful feature for a beginner who needs to learn how to use a shotgun. It is much faster and simpler to load a magazine than to load a tubular magazine tube.
Another advantage is the ease of selecting the type of ammunition. You can have several magazines with different types of ammo, such as birdshot, buckshot and slugs, or even less-lethal ammunition and be able to quickly choose the one you need at that moment.
Disadvantages
Proper LOP is Critical
It is extremely important to have a proper Length of Pull with the Remington 870 DM. I haven’t seen this in other reviews, but it is possible to smash your hand between the forend and magwell if you hold the forend too close. That is why you need to be careful and hold the forend a little farther away, especially if you have the Magpul version.
Magazines
Only 3 and 6-round magazines are available. I wish they had more choices because it would be great to have more rounds. The 10-round magazine would be perfect.
One of the most popular questions is about the possibility of adding a magwell to the standard Remington 870. No, there’s no way of buying and adding a magwell kit to your 870 because the receiver is machined differently, and there are several other differences which make this impossible.
Remington 870 DM Detachable Magazine
One of the popular questions is about possibility to add a magwell to the standard Remington 870. No, there’s no way buying and adding a magwell kit to your 870, the receiver is machined differently and there are several other differences which make this impossible.
Conclusion
Still, I am a fan of the classic tubular magazine Remington 870. I like the DM, it was fun to shoot it, and I am sure that it will find some fans around the world. I think that this shotgun is a great home-defense tool and a good toy to try out on the range. But I’d really love to see the Versa Max, 1100 or V3 with a box magazine too!
Remington 870 DM (81350)
6 Round Detachable Magazine
Black Synthetic Stock with Super Cell Recoil Pad
Tactical “Corn Cob” Forend
18.5 Inch Fixed Cylinder Bore Barrel
MSRP – $529.00
Remington 870 DM (81350)
Remington 870 DM Tactical / Predator (81354)
3 and 6 Round Detachable Magazines
Over Molded ShurShot Thumbhole Stock with Super Cell Recoil Pad
Tactical “Corn Cob” Fore-end
18.5 Inch Rem Choke Barrel with two Trulock Extended Chokes (Boar Blaster and Turkey /Predator)
XS Steel Front Sight, XS Tactical Rail/Ghost Ring Rear Sight
Kryptek Highlander Camo
MSRP – $799.00
Remington 870 DM Tactical / Predator (81354)
Remington 870 DM Magpul (81352)
6 Round Detachable Magazine
Magpul SGA Stock with Super Cell Recoil Pad
Magpul MOE M-LOK Forend
18.5 Inch Rem Choke Barrel with Extended Ported Tactical Choke
XS Steel Front Sight, XS Tactical Rail/Ghost Ring Rear Sight
MSRP – $799.00
Remington 870 DM Magpul (81352)
Remington 870 DM Tactical (81360)
Remington 870 DM Tactical (81360)
6 Round Detachable Magazine
Pistol Grip Buttstock and Tactical “Corn Cob” Fore-end
18.5 Inch barrel with Extended Ported Tactical Choke
XS Steel Front Sight, XS Tactical Rail/Ghost Ring Rear Sight
MSRP – $799
Remington 870 DM Hardwood (81351)
6 Round Detachable Magazine
Hardwood Stock and Fore-end
18.5 Inch Cylinder Bore Barrel
Bead Sight
MSRP – $529
Remington 870 DM Hardwood (81351)
Remington 870 DM Tac-14 (81348)
Remington 870 DM Tac-14 (81348)
6 Round Detachable Magazine
Shockwave Grip and Magpul Fore-end
14 Inch Cylinder Bore barrel
Bead Sight
MSRP – $559
Related post:
Remington 870 Buyer’s Guide to Variants and Models
I recently purchased my Remington 870 express tactical. And now I just received a flier and the Remington 870DM is on sale for $259 bucks plus you get a $50 rebate! $209 bucks!! Do I pass up what seems to be a super deal??
Do not buy dm 870. There are no mags for this gimmick gun
Great review. Was looking at the fact you cannot modify existing 870 to mag version.
Thanks!
Total bs- you can’t get mags for these things and the parts support is garbage- I contacted them for a dm part and they said it was “restricted” because they didn’t want people trying to convert 870s…. possible last Remington I will buy the company was run into the ground
Sorry to hear about this. High capacity magazine limitations are stupid.
And here we are almost 3 years into the DM series, magazines are still impossible to locate, and no one in the aftermarket world has made any larger capacity versions of them, or even tried to replicate the 6 rounders…such a shame too, these are good guns but crippled by the lack of availability of a crucial component that is their defining feature that separates them from a standard 870…
I totally agree with everything you say. An extremely unwise decision by Remington Arms to introduce the model 870 with detachable magazine and then not have any magazines for sale. It completely defeats the reason for making the DM model in the first place – – – insane crazy marketing strategy and does not reflect well on Remington as a company.
I called the Remington Parts Department on June 24, 2020 and spoke with a helpful individual there. He told me the Model 870 DM shot gun has been discontinued by Remington and that no more will be manufactured. I asked him about the magazines, and he said magazines will continue to be made even though the gun is discontinued. He just did not have any availability date on the magazines. So who knows if they will ever make any more magazines for the 870 DM.
Yep. same boat. I bought one right before the silly liberal lawsuit shut them down. I can find mags but they are 100 each. No idea why Magpul or someone will not step up. Worthless without extra magazines.
Yeah, it seemed like a great deal. I also got mine for under $300. However, there are no magazines to be had. Remington, listen up! You are killing yourself here. Get the products to the customers. I won’t buy another Remington ANYTHING until this has been addressed.
The Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post both ran articles on June 26 stating that Remington Arms has just filed for bankruptcy and that a possible buyer of the company is none other than the Navajo Indian Nation. Heavy debt, bad management – – that might explain why no magazines and the discontinued model 870 DM shotgun.
Here is the Washington Post article: https://nypost.com/2020/06/26/gunmaker-remington-preps-for-bankruptcy-sale-to-navajo-nation/
i also bought an 870 DM and have been trying for a year to get
magazines. none available anywhere. i like some others have contacted remington only to hear their sad tale of woe.
Navajo , do yourself a favor and don’t buy remington. i
am another who will no longer buy anything with the name or
association to remington. I let the factory know what a poor
management team they had and what stupid decisions that
they had made. Once a great company, now not worth a
Will the ProMag Saiga 12 Gauge 10rd Magazine, Black Polymer SAI 02 work in the *&) DM?
No
Have they made a conversation Kit for the Remington 870 standard shotgun to convert it to the Remington 870 DM?
No, it’s not possible.
I bought one about 2 years ago and from the beginning I had problems with both mags trying to chamber the 1st of 6 rounds. It would jam every time. I was using 3″ shells. I looked closely while it tried to chamber the 1st round. The round was not being pushed out of the mag by the bolt face. I then looked at the mags and both were the same. I was able to get it to work OK by spreading the retaining tabs out very slightly. Do not bend them more than a degree or two or it may start having feed issues. This decreased the force to strip the first round under higher spring force from it’s maximum compression. When the round is stripped out it has to push all rounds down against the spring, so the bolt was slipping over the first round but this allows for a good retention while carrying an extra mag. Since then, it has worked flawlessly. I changed the MIM extractor to a Volquartsen, the safety button to a large diameter and last I put in heavier hammer and sear Springs. All this can be found at Brownells.
The one thing that pissed me off was the amount of shot blast beads left in the extractor spring pin hole and other areas. It took about 2 hours to completly disassemble and completely clean it.
Thanks for the info!
Where can I get a couple more of the 6-round magazines for my Remington 870 DM? Thanks
Hi Vitaly, do you have any information if Remington or another manufacture is supplying the DM magazine for the model 870. Since Remington was sold in parts, who would be the company who should resupply the DM magazine to the customers? Thank you for a reply.
Tony
Hi Tony! I hope that Remington will continue manufacturing firearms and parts soon. Remington Arms was bankrupt again and was bought by Roundhill Group recently.
Remongton should pay what they owe to the magazine manufacturer or give them the patent or whatever release they need to sell them aftermarket. We tne consumer are being punished by greedy corporate…
Vitaly, Any info on availability of the 6 round mag?
No info yet, sorry. A lot of Remington parts are out of stock but I hope to see them available soon.
Any word on magazines yet? I’m afraid to even shoot the gun. I only gave the one mag that came with the gun.
No info yet, sorry.
Is there any way another magazine can be modified to fit the 870DM?
Unfortunately, no.
After reading this article (very informative) I noticed you’re from Ukraine. I hope you’re well-armed and staying safe. In the US, we don’t agree on much but all of our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Ukraine – we HATE Putin. Great work with the blog and enjoy the MP5! Love from America
Thank you for your support!
Pls keep us updated on the magazines
Thanks Remington for selling me a shotgun but no magazines available