I find it ironic that the very person who very well may try to take my firearm rights away was instrumental in me purchasing a new addition to the family - a new Remington 870 pump action shotgun. After an uneasy encounter with unknown inividuals outside my home a few nights ago, I decided I wasn't going to be caught off-guard and unarmed again - making the choice to divert some of that stimulous money to our new security system.

One of the most impressive and unarguably successful shotguns in American history has to be the Remington Model 870. This is a gun that was so reliable and ahead of its time that it has been in production in one form or another since the 1950's.

With our strict California gun laws, it is easier to acquire a long gun (10-day wait) over and hand gun (30-day wait), besides, I know my little girl won't have the strength to pump the shot gun to chamber a round, if, God forbid she ever got her hands on it without me. So, with home defense in mind, nothing beats the simple and reliable mechanical action of the pump shotgun, and you can't beat the sound of a round being racked as its own deterrent. I chose the Marine Magnum model, with its 18-inch barrel, 6+1 ammo arrangement, and synthetic stock, it is one bad MoFo right out of the box. It is competent enough for plinking in the desert, as well.

People may wonder why I paid more for the Marine model, with its special, non-corrosive Electroless nickel coating (mostly designed for salt-water LE duty), over the similar and more inexpensive Express model. The truth is, I like that matte silver/synthetic look, and after reading about some problems with finishes corroding on the Express (I live near the beach), I wanted a gun that was going to give me years of service without the finish issues. It is also my understanding that the Marine Magnum has a few internal metal components where the Express plastic, and to me the pump action felt smoother and tighter on the MM. It doesn't hurt that the MM comes with a recoil pad at the end of the stock and a sling. The MM is also hard to come by, and when a local dealer had just gotten one in stock, I jumped at the chance to pick it up.

I don't consider this purchase just a gun for today, this is a gun for a lifetime, and if I am to believe the current MM owners, I will have years and years of wonderful trouble free service from my new "reset" tool.

So thanks, Mr. Obama, for the spendulous tax return money, and especially for my new friend. Do you think he knows?

--Sean P. Holman
Tech Editor - Four Wheeler Magazine