NRA Gun of the Week: Blue Line Pump
This Week's Gun of the Week is the Blue Line Pump 12 Gauge Shotgun.
Imported by Blue Line Solutions of Ferndale, Washington, the Blue Line Pump is one of the most affordable 12-ga. shotguns on the market, and it works great, too. It’s a simple design that’s virtually a clone of the iconic Remington 870, which has been available to consumers for more than half a century. So, if you’re familiar with Remington’s 870 Express Synthetic Tactical, you’ll be right at home with the manual of arms on this Pump. Watch the video below to see the Blue Line Pump in use on the range.
The Blue Line Pump is a manually operated 12-ga. repeating shotgun. Its configuration is compact and lightweight, measuring 38.75” long and weighing in at 7 lbs., 11 ozs., empty, which makes the Pump an ideal candidate for home defense. Hunters may find use with the gun, too, though the shotgun’s 18.5” barrel is cylinder bore and has no provisions for adding choke tubes. Those who like to tune their payloads at distance will be restricted, but in a defensive scenario, we’ve found this constriction works well with a myriad of shot types and rifled slugs. Also, it’s important to note there is no sighting rib across the barrel’s top, merely a brass bead at the muzzle.
Internally the Blue Line Pump is much like the 870. You get a blued-steel bolt that locks up with the barrel’s extension within the receiver. This arrangement allows for a lighter aluminum receiver, which lowers the overall weight a bit, and the receiver comes with a dull, matte finish. Inside it there are two steel action bars that drive the bolt’s carrier and ensure reliable function. At the bottom of the receiver, you’ll find Blue Line supplies an enlarged loading port, which makes it easier when inserting six rounds into the tubular magazine.
Though the Pump shares much of its design with the Model 870, there are a few minor differences. So, if you’re looking to add a rifled barrel, trap barrel or other parts, you’ll need to wait on Blue Line to come to market with those. Insofar as the gun’s furniture, it is compatible with all Remington 870 options on the market. It’s important to note that the Pump’s stock is capped with a hearty recoil pad, offers sling attachment points both fore and aft and contains textured panels along the wrist and fore-end for positive purchase.
Spending time on the range with the Blue Line Pump was a blast. Our testers ran hundreds of rounds through the gun without a single failure; it worked every time. We fired buckshot to birdshot, from 2 ¾" shells to 3" and it all functioned fine. The gun patterned consistently, too, despite its fixed cylinder bore choke. We particularly enjoyed the familiarity of the design. The gun’s crossbolt safety is in an intuitive location at rear of the aluminum trigger guard, and we found the stamped-steel action-release button forward of the trigger was easy to manipulate.
Blue Line Pump 12 Gauge Specifications
Importer: Blue Line Solutions, LLC
Action Type: pump-action shotgun
Gauge: 12; 3"
Barrel: 18.5"
Receiver: carbon steel
Sights: brass front bead
Stock: synthetic; matte black
Trigger: single-stage; 6-lb., 2-oz. pull
Length: 38.75"
Weight: 7 lbs., 11 ozs.
MSRP: $249