2014 wasn't a particularly bright year for the Remington Arms Company's products' reputation; to begin with, the R51 semi-automatic pistol − of which we wrote a few months ago, and which should have re-launched Remington's name as a manufacturer of original and effective handgun designs for defense purposes − was recalled from the market as the first samples sold to American shooters reported a staggering high rate of a wide variety of flaws and factory defects; Remington had thus to promise that all defective R51s will be replaced with factory-new, defectless ones, and got back to the drawing board to understand why a supposedly "perfect" design, whose prototypes were flawless, rolled out of the manufacturing lines in such low quality.
On November 28th, Remington Outdoor Products − the parent company of both Remington Arms Company (civilian firearms) and Remington Defense (MIL/LE products), and itself incorporated in the Freedom Group of Companies − issued a volountary product safety recall for all Model 887 "NitroMag" series pump-action shotguns manufactured between December 1, 2013 and November 24, 2014.
As the Remington Arms Company came to find out, the Remington Model 887 "NitroMag" shotguns manufactured between 12/1/2013 and 11/24/2014 may come with a factory defect that, in some circumstances, may cause the firing pin to bind in the forward position within the bolt.
This may cause a plethora of malfunctions, including accidental discharges, slamfires, or even out-of-battery ignitions: all of them may have catastrophic consequences for the gun itself, and pose a potential danger of death or serious injuries for the shooters and any bystander.
Being impossible to identify exactly whose specific shotguns may or may not be defective, Remington Outdoor Products decided to recall all samples and variants of the Model 887 "NitroMag" and "NitroMag Tactical" shotguns so that they may be inspected, repaired if necessary, and returned to their owners.
All owners of Remington Model 887 "NitroMag" or "NitroMag Tactical", in all their variants, should thus participate in the recall program for their own safety.
Residents of the United States of America may call 1-800-243-9700 (Prompt #3 then Prompt #2) Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT; you will be asked to provide your name, address, telephone number, and shotgun(s) serial number.
Both U.S. residents and international customers may otherwise visit the dedicated Remington recall website (887recall.remington.com), type in the serial number of their shotgun in the search field at the center of the page and hit the "Check now" button to see if their shotgun is affected. The serial number on Remington's Model 887 shotguns can be found in the slot in front of the loading port, as cycled in red in this picture.
Upon receipt of the information requested, U.S. residents will receive boxes and written instructions from Remington; the company will also arrange for a paid pick-up by UPS.
Non-US shooters will instead have to refer to their national or local distributor for delivery to an authorized maintenance center or return to factory.
In no case should shooters attempt to perform a repair on their own: any non-professional intervention may void the warranty and increase the potential danger; should you be in possession of a recalled Remington Model 887 shotgun, do not load or fire it before it is repaired.
Upon repair of your shotgun, you will note a punch mark on the right side of the bolt, confirming that it has been inspected and fixed by Remington under the recall program. Said punch mark is already to be found on all Remington Model 887 shotgun variants manufactured after November 24th, 2014; all Remington Model 887 shotguns manufactured before December 1st, 2013 and after November 24th, 2014 are NOT subject to the recall.
Remington Outdoor Products provided no explaination for the surge in product quality issues with Remington firearms in recent times.
We may however guess that said problems may be tied to the exponential increase in manufacturing volumes that the Company had to go through in the past months.
As you may know, gun control has been a hot topic in the United States ever since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting of December 2012. The U.S. internal market for guns have been skyrocketing ever since, as Americans feared that local, State or Federal-level restrictions may be placed over the manufacture, trade, and ownership of certain types of firearms.
As sales rose as never before, and U.S.-based gun manufacturers had to boost their production numbers (and cut their exports) to meet the demand. It's reasonable to assume that Remington might have forced to move resources in the production effort, handicapping other sectors such as materials and quality controls.
Remington is however steadily addressing the issues, as it would be expected from such a respected company, and we are confident that the quality of their products will soon return to the high levels we learned to trust and appreciate.
