Bryan Reo Reviews Remington 870 Witness Protection AOW
by
Bryan Reo
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Permit me to begin by answering what is likely the first question you have upon seeing the title of this post, "what is the Witness Protection AOW?" It is a safe bet that a reasonably large percentage of the population of the United States knows that Remington is a gun company and that Remington 870 is a model of a shotgun, but only people with specific interests in particular firearms or categories of firearms know what an AOW is.
An AOW is a legal classification meaning "Any Other Weapon" it is a weapon that does not fit neatly into the designation of "rifle," "shotgun," "pistol," "machine gun," "short-barreled shotgun," "short-barreled rifle," etc. It is a Title II firearm under the 1934 National Firearms Act (NFA), and is subject to the NFA tax stamp payment. However, unlike a fully-automatic weapon (i.e. machine-gun or sub-machine gun), a short-barreled shotgun, short-barreled rifle, or a sound suppressor (commonly referred to as a "silencer"), which require the payment of a $200 dollars to the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) for the tax stamp, the AOW only requires a payment of $5 dollars for the tax-stamp.
An AOW is essentially any weapon that is capable of being concealed on the person from which a shot can be discharged through the energy of an explosion, except handguns with a rifled barrel. A shotgun with a barrel length of less than 18 inches is typically a "short barreled shotgun" (known as a "sawed off shotgun" in popular culture) if it has a stock. However, when a shotgun comes direct from the manufacturer without a stock, it can be made into an AOW shotgun with a barrel length under 18 inches, and it remains an AOW. Although it must be noted that such a shotgun cannot be equipped with a stock or else it would become a short-barreled shotgun.
Anyway, enough of the background information on the nuances of the National Firearms Act. If there are any questions on the National Firearms Act or what it entails to purchase/make a weapon/item that falls under the NFA, feel free to ask me and I will answer as best I can.
I purchased the Remington 870 AOW shotgun (in 12 gauge) from C&S Metall-Werkes in Missouri and had it shipped to a Class III dealer in my area to complete the transfer.
The Remington 870 AOW is built on the Remington 870 tactical express except that it was never fitted with a buttstock, it has no choke, and it was not threaded for a choke. The barrel is 12.5 inches long, the overall length of the weapon is 24 inches, and it has a matte blue finish. The standard capacity is 4 shells in the tube and 1 in the chamber for a total of 5 shells. It can handle 2 3/4 inch or 3 inch shells, including 3 inch magnum shells.
The gun as it was, without any attachments (light, special grip, etc) cost $595 dollars in addition to the $5 dollar payment to the ATF for the tax stamp, and the $90 dollars to my Class III dealer for the transfer/paperwork fee.
The weapon performs solidly and reliably feeds any buckshot and slugs but it has extraction issues with birdshot due to the short brass on the birdshot vs the "high brass" nature of the slugs and buckshot. I don't regard this as a weakness or a setback because a weapon of this nature is intended to be loaded with buckshot or slugs for close self-defense at ranges that might vary from 5 feet to 35 feet, it isn't intended to be used to take a pheasant in flight 80 feet away
Even with no-choke, at 25 feet with "00" buckshot, 2 3/4 inch shell, 9 pellets, all of the pellets were in the target (using a standard B-27 law enforcement style paper target). Contrary to popular belief, you cannot simply point a shotgun in the "general direction" of a target and expect to hit the target. You cannot point a shotgun down a hallway and "clear" the hallway. At 25 feet with a 12.5 inch barrel shotgun with no choke, the pattern was centered around the mid-upper chest area of the target and was about the size of a basketball. In other words, you need to aim. With the AOW this is accomplished by simply aiming down the barrel as the shotgun (at least the way I purchased it) has no sights, not even bead sights.
The gentleman at CSM will happily walk you through the process to buy one of his Class III weapons if you are interested in a weapon such as the Remington 870 AOW or any other weapon (no pun intended) that he might happen to have available.
http://www.csm-w.com/products/index.html?id=8&submit=view
As an additional note, I would like to discuss some modifications I made to the weapon after purchasing it.
I installed a Knoxx Industries Spec Ops grip to replace the standard bird's head grip that the shotgun came with. The standard grip was leaving a bit to be desired as it did nothing to absorb recoil and after firing a few dozen rounds (especially 3 inch magnum buckshot) my hands were starting to crack and bleed where I was gripping the weapon. The Knoxx Industries Spec Ops grip has some sort of internal spring/recoil absorber/dissipating system that is so effective you can hold the weapon with one hand (as with a pistol) and fire it effectively, even with slugs or 00 buckshot. The Knoxx Industries Spec Ops grip almost eliminates felt recoil, at any rate it certainly saves the hands from cracking/bleeding. The grip can be purchased for approximately $100 dollars.
Also, I installed a Surefire 618LM LED light that came on a shotgun forend, replacing the standard forend on the 870 AOW. The light can be activated with a momentary on touch/hold pad or it can be turned on/off with a push button. The Surefire LED light/forend essentially replaces the "pump" the standard forend that comes on the shotgun. The light typically retails around $380 but I was able to purchase one for about $320. The light has a maximum output of 200 lumens and has 2 hours of continuous run-time, and comes with high-energy 123A batteries.
The third modification I made was to install a tac-star side saddle shell holder, which screws into place on the left side of the receiver. All mounting hardware is included with the TacStar side saddle shell carrier and the item can be had for around $40 dollars. It holds 6 shells thus more than doubling the amount of shells that are readily accessible/available. The capacity of the shotgun remains unchanged at 4+1, but now with the TacStar side saddle there are 6 more shells available and ready to be inserted into the tube, being held in place next to the receiver until they are needed.
by
Bryan Reo
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Permit me to begin by answering what is likely the first question you have upon seeing the title of this post, "what is the Witness Protection AOW?" It is a safe bet that a reasonably large percentage of the population of the United States knows that Remington is a gun company and that Remington 870 is a model of a shotgun, but only people with specific interests in particular firearms or categories of firearms know what an AOW is.
An AOW is a legal classification meaning "Any Other Weapon" it is a weapon that does not fit neatly into the designation of "rifle," "shotgun," "pistol," "machine gun," "short-barreled shotgun," "short-barreled rifle," etc. It is a Title II firearm under the 1934 National Firearms Act (NFA), and is subject to the NFA tax stamp payment. However, unlike a fully-automatic weapon (i.e. machine-gun or sub-machine gun), a short-barreled shotgun, short-barreled rifle, or a sound suppressor (commonly referred to as a "silencer"), which require the payment of a $200 dollars to the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) for the tax stamp, the AOW only requires a payment of $5 dollars for the tax-stamp.
An AOW is essentially any weapon that is capable of being concealed on the person from which a shot can be discharged through the energy of an explosion, except handguns with a rifled barrel. A shotgun with a barrel length of less than 18 inches is typically a "short barreled shotgun" (known as a "sawed off shotgun" in popular culture) if it has a stock. However, when a shotgun comes direct from the manufacturer without a stock, it can be made into an AOW shotgun with a barrel length under 18 inches, and it remains an AOW. Although it must be noted that such a shotgun cannot be equipped with a stock or else it would become a short-barreled shotgun.
Anyway, enough of the background information on the nuances of the National Firearms Act. If there are any questions on the National Firearms Act or what it entails to purchase/make a weapon/item that falls under the NFA, feel free to ask me and I will answer as best I can.
I purchased the Remington 870 AOW shotgun (in 12 gauge) from C&S Metall-Werkes in Missouri and had it shipped to a Class III dealer in my area to complete the transfer.
The Remington 870 AOW is built on the Remington 870 tactical express except that it was never fitted with a buttstock, it has no choke, and it was not threaded for a choke. The barrel is 12.5 inches long, the overall length of the weapon is 24 inches, and it has a matte blue finish. The standard capacity is 4 shells in the tube and 1 in the chamber for a total of 5 shells. It can handle 2 3/4 inch or 3 inch shells, including 3 inch magnum shells.
The gun as it was, without any attachments (light, special grip, etc) cost $595 dollars in addition to the $5 dollar payment to the ATF for the tax stamp, and the $90 dollars to my Class III dealer for the transfer/paperwork fee.
The weapon performs solidly and reliably feeds any buckshot and slugs but it has extraction issues with birdshot due to the short brass on the birdshot vs the "high brass" nature of the slugs and buckshot. I don't regard this as a weakness or a setback because a weapon of this nature is intended to be loaded with buckshot or slugs for close self-defense at ranges that might vary from 5 feet to 35 feet, it isn't intended to be used to take a pheasant in flight 80 feet away
Even with no-choke, at 25 feet with "00" buckshot, 2 3/4 inch shell, 9 pellets, all of the pellets were in the target (using a standard B-27 law enforcement style paper target). Contrary to popular belief, you cannot simply point a shotgun in the "general direction" of a target and expect to hit the target. You cannot point a shotgun down a hallway and "clear" the hallway. At 25 feet with a 12.5 inch barrel shotgun with no choke, the pattern was centered around the mid-upper chest area of the target and was about the size of a basketball. In other words, you need to aim. With the AOW this is accomplished by simply aiming down the barrel as the shotgun (at least the way I purchased it) has no sights, not even bead sights.
The gentleman at CSM will happily walk you through the process to buy one of his Class III weapons if you are interested in a weapon such as the Remington 870 AOW or any other weapon (no pun intended) that he might happen to have available.
http://www.csm-w.com/products/index.html?id=8&submit=view
As an additional note, I would like to discuss some modifications I made to the weapon after purchasing it.
I installed a Knoxx Industries Spec Ops grip to replace the standard bird's head grip that the shotgun came with. The standard grip was leaving a bit to be desired as it did nothing to absorb recoil and after firing a few dozen rounds (especially 3 inch magnum buckshot) my hands were starting to crack and bleed where I was gripping the weapon. The Knoxx Industries Spec Ops grip has some sort of internal spring/recoil absorber/dissipating system that is so effective you can hold the weapon with one hand (as with a pistol) and fire it effectively, even with slugs or 00 buckshot. The Knoxx Industries Spec Ops grip almost eliminates felt recoil, at any rate it certainly saves the hands from cracking/bleeding. The grip can be purchased for approximately $100 dollars.
Also, I installed a Surefire 618LM LED light that came on a shotgun forend, replacing the standard forend on the 870 AOW. The light can be activated with a momentary on touch/hold pad or it can be turned on/off with a push button. The Surefire LED light/forend essentially replaces the "pump" the standard forend that comes on the shotgun. The light typically retails around $380 but I was able to purchase one for about $320. The light has a maximum output of 200 lumens and has 2 hours of continuous run-time, and comes with high-energy 123A batteries.
The third modification I made was to install a tac-star side saddle shell holder, which screws into place on the left side of the receiver. All mounting hardware is included with the TacStar side saddle shell carrier and the item can be had for around $40 dollars. It holds 6 shells thus more than doubling the amount of shells that are readily accessible/available. The capacity of the shotgun remains unchanged at 4+1, but now with the TacStar side saddle there are 6 more shells available and ready to be inserted into the tube, being held in place next to the receiver until they are needed.
Pictured below is the modified/customized Remington 870 AOW "Witness Protection" above a regular/full-length Remington 870 Police Magnum for size comparison.
Below is a picture of the Remington 870 AOW "Witness Protection" shotgun prior to the customization (taken from the CSM-W website, the dealer/manufacturer from whom I purchased the shotgun).
In conclusion, I am very pleased and satisfied with the shotgun and the customer service I received from the owner/manager of CSM-W. At the present time I am considering purchasing another Remington 870 AOW from the CSM-W, one which I would leave "as is" with no customization.
The only thing I might do differently the next time around is to see if it is possible to have the AOW based on a Remington 870 Police Magnum instead of the Remington 870 Tactical Express. If the extra cost (there will likely be additional cost) is less than $100 to $150 dollars, it is probably worth opting for the AOW to be based on the Police Magnum as the Police Magnum is an improvement in quality over the Tactical Express. Don't take that as a negative statement on the Tactical Express because by no means is the Tactical Express lacking. It is my view that the Tactical Express is grade A, while the Police Magnum, with some minor improvements and more attention to detail is an A+, but neither one will let you down.
If you are considering an 870 AOW then by all means, contact CSM-W and inquire about their AOWs and see what can be done for you.
