Here's What You Need to Know: Between the low recoil and the comfortable handling, there is easy accuracy time and time again. Built as an improvement on the Remington Model 870, the reliability of the 887 Nitro action has proven to be excellent.

Nearly a decade of use has this shotgun at the top of my favorites list. Now when I say it is a tough weapon, I mean tough.

Let me shine some light for you and dig right in with first impressions. Looking like Mad Max’s best friend, I love the way this shotgun is styled. The matte black from muzzle to stock looks awesome.

Remington has blended this over-under shotgun to look good, shoot better, and stay in tip-top shape indefinitely. Well-placed features include the Picatinny rail, directly above the ejection port, to mount any of my best accessories with ease. My gun light is the obvious choice, and that is all that I’ve ever added to this warrior.

A solid rib 18.5” barrel stretches towards my target. The ported choke, topped with a HiViz front sight, blends well and shoots better. It is so easy to point and is such a great blend of functional features.

The low recoil of my Nitro makes for easy and comfortable shooting. That ported Rem choke is combined with Remington’s SuperCell recoil pad. Hand in hand there is a big difference in the felt recoil. Honestly, claims that the recoil is reduced by more than half were easy to scoff at before I laid hands on the Nitro Mag. Once I let it rip, Remington made a very happy believer out of me.

Contoured grip panels along the fore-end give me a good grip on the well-balanced Remington 887. Between the low recoil and the comfortable handling, there is easy accuracy time and time again. Built as an improvement on the Remington Model 870, the reliability of the 887 Nitro action has proven to be excellent.

Moreover, the interchangeable use of 12-gauge 2 ¾,” 3,” and 3 ½” loads has become even more important than it used to be. This is because the not infrequent questionable availability of ammo has made things interesting for gun owners. The good news is the twin steel action bars have no trouble with whatever ammo you can find.

As expected on a top-shelf weapon, the solid steel receiver is paired with a hammer forged steel barrel. The durability of this shotgun is simply incredible.

There are so many of my favorite shotguns that have amazing features for home defense or CQB, but none of them can tout being completely rustproof.

When I’m getting ready to go hunting, there’s no question. I’ll definitely be bringing my Remington 887. Not having to worry about it being out in the elements keeps me that much safer at camp among the Grizzlies.

Remington has done incredibly well with this model. If you’re like me and getting out in the muck and the elements is what you’ll be doing, think about the advantage to the protection that ArmorLok provides. No doubt about it. Thanks to superb construction combined with incredible protection, the Remington Model 887 Nitro Mag is my go-to tactical shotgun for durability.

Richard Douglas is a long-time shooter, outdoor enthusiast and technologist. He is the founder and editor of Scopes Field, and a columnist at The National Interest, Cheaper Than Dirt, Daily Caller and other publications.

This article first appeared in March 2021 and is being republished due to reader interest.

Image: Reuters.