If you want a Remington Tactical Shotgun that will perform as need, when needed, the first thing to do is "Read your Owners Manual" and if you follow those basic safety rules and the recommendations of Remington you now own a weapon that will last a life time.

Safety First

To break your new weapon in will not take 00 buck or high end ammo.  Go buy 100 rounds of any target loads that are on sale.  Inexpensive low brass # 7 1/2 or 8 shot will work fine.  However, do not get the Winchester Universal Target loads as these will cause issues, they are crap.  You are only shooting to test feed and function.  I call this " 100 for 100" which means 100 rounds for 100% confidence in your weapon before you deploy it for duty or rely on it to defend yourself of family.

Rack this weapon hard. Understand this.  The 11-87 and 870 are the same weapon, however, the 11-87 is semi-auto and has a gas system that sends the bolt to the rear and a heavy action spring that slams it forward.  You can not rack it back harder then that gas system nor ram it home harder then that heavy action spring.  I tell you this so you will know that you can not hurt your weapon shooting it this way.  Most all feed and function problems you will have will come from you being to genteel with this weapon.  It is built to fire this way so do it......... So for some of you that don't uderstand the above, do this - "Rack the damn thing like you got a pair"

After firing about 10 rounds.  Put a very small drop of oil on the outside of the action bars where they enter the receiver.  This will oil the channels in the receiver that the action bars slide in and will help smooth out the parkerizing or factory finish.  repeat this after the next 20 rounds and again after the next 30.  Of note: this is a good trick for you if shooting in competitions as it helps insure smooth and speedy function..........GO EASY ON THE OIL.....oil is not your weapons friend inside the receiver and if you over oil any weapon you are asking for gunk to build up.........

Recoil Reducing Stocks:

If you have the Knoxx SpecOps stock on your weapon read the Knoxx owners manual that came with it.  It is critical for safety that you have the stock properly adjusted.  If it is not adjusted properly you are going to get popped with the receiver as the weapon cams back on the pistol grip....
By starting with low brass target loads you will have an opportunity to adjust to the functions of the SpecOps.... there are two recoil reducing systems.  The first is the cam system in the pistol grip and the second system is a buffer spring in the stock tube.  To see the system in action do this... Make sure the weapon is unloaded and completely safe.... place the stock butt down on the floor with the barrel up.  Place both hands on the barrel and push down on the weapon.  Watch the weapon cam back on the pistol grip.  Watch the stock tube push into the rear stock unit.  As you release the weapon watch the weapon return to the starting position...... this is why you need to have the stock properly adjusted to keep the weapon from caming back and popping you in the face.................

If your weapon has a bead sight the best way to use this stock is to keep your head up and raise the weapon to your eye level.   You can accomplish this by simply hunching your shoulder up, or, you can place the butt higher in your shoulder.  I place the butt in the pocket of my shoulder and then take the outside ball of my shoulder and try to stick it in my ear.  This brings the weapon up to my line of sight.  I can then slightly cant my head over and I am right on my sights.  If you are doing this right your cheek is just slightly forward of the recoil pad.  If you keep the weapon low and lay your face down on the stock to line up the bead you will be subject to face slap, raise the weapon up so you don't have to lay your face over and you can shoot this stock all day long for 100's of rounds with no issues.......oh yea, these stocks get expensive to shoot 'cause you will shoot every round you bring with you. 

Now that you know how the stock works you have to understand this.  If you grab the forend and lock your arm you are freezing the weapon up and preventing it from caming back and all the recoil will go into your shoulder.  You have to hold the forend firmly enough to control the weapon but loose enough to allow it to cam back.  If you fight the stock you defeat the recoil systems.  Also, if you grasp the pistol grip and lock up your right arm you prevent the weapon from coming back into the buffer spring and you defeat the recoil reducing ability of that spring.

When shooting the SpecOps stock learn to hold the weapon firm but not tight.  Keep the left arm loose and keep your right arm loose and the elbow up high and out from you body like a chicken wing so it will bend.  This is going to take some practice but once you master this stock you are going to be amazed by it.  You can shoot all day long and you will notice the muzzle staying almost horizontal with the ground and you are getting back on target fast for that critical second shot.

If your weapon has the Mesa Tactical Stock with Endine Buffer follow the advise that is listed above for the SpecOps.  The Mesa also cams back into the buffer so do not lock the weapon up by gripping the forend with a death grip.  Keep the left arm loose and let the stock do it's job.

Your Parkerized Finish:

After a vigorous break in you may notice striation makes down the mag tube  at 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock and 9 o'clock.  This is caused by detents in the forward tube assembly and are common on pumps.  Ignore them for awhile and let them wear in, oil them but wait till you have several hundred rounds through it.  If they wear down to bare metal wait and  when you do a complete breakdown of the weapon for cleaning, simply degrease the mag tube and take a Q-tip with some cold blue on it and go over the lines, let that dry then reassemble the weapon.  This will cover them and help protect the metal.

If your weapon is an AI&P Tactical Model it is parkerized with Zinc and Zap pre-blackner is used.  You are going to see black on the rag you wipe the weapon down with for the first few times you clean it.  This is not your finish coming off, it is just the Zap and will stop after a few wipe downs.

And yes dang it you have to oil parkerizing.   Parkerizing is like a sponge.  It is very pourous and these pours soak up and hold the oil better then any other finish.  It is the oil that protects the weapon not the parkerizing.  So soak it down and let it sit a few minutes.  Then wipe off the excess and your weapon is protect.

Ammunition

Recommended ammunition for your weapon..........I have a specific recommendation here for what you should fire from this weapon and use for home defense.  You should go buy whatever is on sale.  They all work.  Spending more does not matter with a smooth bore shotgun.  00 buck is 00 buck at 20 feet and that is about the distance you will be at in your home.   For slugs use simple rifled slugs and buy the ones on sale.  I like the Remington Sluggers but if the Federal or the Winchesters are cheaper I grab them.   It is a serious waste of your money to shot sabots from a smooth bore, they are made to fire in fully rifled barrels.  If you have that kind of money to burn I should have charged you more for your weapon.  I use less then lethal rubber 00 in my home defense weapon for the first round only.   I have  five very important reason and if this interest you call me and I will explain. 

Your weapon is not broke in after that hundred rounds.  This was just a test of the feed and function of your weapon.  It will take hundreds of rounds to break in an 870 and it will continue to get smoother the more you shoot it.   I don't know the life expectancy of one of these weapons as I have never seen one worn out if cared for properly.  Follow the advise in your owners manual to maintain your weapon and call me with any questions.