Blue Line Pump Shotgun Review - A Great Deal [2022]

Well, it has happened. I surpassed 1000 rounds through the previously viewed Blue Line Pump Shotgun. However, unlike the last shotgun I reviewed, the Blue Line is still alive. I was pretty positive in the last article, has my opinion changed much since then?

What Is The Blue Line Pump?

While I cover most of the details of the Blue Line Pump in the previous article, I'll do a recap here. The Blue Line Pump is a pump shotgun imported by Blue Line Solutions. It is a Chinese manufactured copy of the Remington 870, made by Hawk Industries. This shotgun had been imported in the past as the Hawk 981/982, and was received favorably by consumers.

The Blue Line Pump is cheap too, running in the $175-$215 ballpark. While the cost is lower, the quality is honestly on par, if not better, than the last few years of Remington 870 Express production. Rather than relying on poorly done metal injection molded (MIM) parts, the Blue Line uses more machined components. While this requires more machine time and labor to produce, it results in some better quality parts, namely the extractor. I can only imagine that the cheaper labor in China allows these shotguns to be so cheap, as it performed better than my old $500 870 Express Tactical.

Control layout, loading, and shooting are identical to an 870. Your accessory options for the 870 are also (mostly) cross-platform. Some parts, like barrels and magazine extensions, will require some fitting to work. Since the last article, I've replaced the OEM stock with a Magpul SGA, no fitting required. While the OEM stock was better than expected, the Magpul makes shooting more comfortable. Speaking of that, what did the rest of the ammo spread look like?

Further Shooting Of The Blue Line Pump

On the road to breaking 1000 rounds through the Blue Line Pump, I shot a wide variety of ammo.

• Federal Game Load 2 & 3/4", #6 Shot, 1oz (175 rounds)
• Federal 2 & 3/4", Foster Slug 1 oz (35 rounds)
• Black Aces 2 & 3/4", Foster Slug 1 oz (10 rounds)
• Federal 2 & 3/4", 9 Pellet 00 Buckshot, Standard and Low Recoil (50 rounds)
• Winchester 2 & 3/4", #7.5 Shot 1 1/8 oz (100 rounds)
• Federal Turkey Load, 3", #5/6/7 Shot 1 3/4 oz (5 rounds)
• Winchester 2 & 3/4", #7 Shot 1 1/8 oz (150 rounds)
• Winchester 2 & 3/4", #8 Shot 1 1/8 oz (400 rounds)
• Federal Light Game Load 2 & 3/4", #7.5 Shot 1 1/8 oz (25 rounds)
• Winchester 3", #4 Shot 1 7/8 oz (10 rounds)
• Winchester 2 & 3/4", #2 Shot 1 1/16 oz (25 rounds)
• Fiocchi 2 & 3/4", # 7.5 Shot 1 oz (25 rounds)

That's 1010 rounds that I logged through the shotgun. The actual number is slightly higher, as some friends brought their own shells to use in the shotgun, which I did not log. Aside from the occasional minor stumble with the pump, the Blue Line performed flawlessly during the testing period.

With the shotgun being cylinder bore, the pattern is fairly open. Buck and slugs land where the bead points (within reason), and birdshot was well, birdshot. I cannot complain with the raw performance of the shotgun, even in gross weather conditions.

Two of my nine range trips were soggy, so how did the shotgun wear with that?

The Finish, the Wear, and the Rough Parts

My testing of the Blue Line Pump ran from October 2021 to March 2022, but I shot it on nearly every range trip that I went on. The shotgun was cleaned internally only once, at around the 700 round mark. This was done mostly because I had gotten a lot of water in the receiver during the above video shoot, and wanted to make sure that there would be no rust forming.

Well, the finish is not great on the shotgun, but I've got no formations of rust on it. I did keep the gun relatively well oiled using Slip 2000 EWL, and I think that it helped out. I do have some marks and discolorations in the finish, but those came from falls, scratches of paint from other guns, and bangs in the safe.

Both the ejection port and action bars have the finish worn down to bare metal on them, however no material is missing. Unlike that Turdnelli that I reviewed, there are no deformations on the shotgun whatsoever. The bolt, bolt carrier, and trigger parts all held up great during the testing. Trigger pull remained consistent from round 1 to 1010, hovering in the 4.5lb to 5lb range.

Now, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. There is only one part of the Blue Line Pump that I don't like, and that is the loading port. Now, it is nearly identical to an 870, however the interior edges of it are a little sharp. After long days of shooting, my thumb would be raw from grinding on the rough edge of the loading port. However, a few passes from a fine file, and some extra fine sandpaper knocked off that rough edge. This is a minor gripe, just one that I noticed.

The Verdict

For the price of the shotgun, I think it is an absolutely outstanding deal. Even with the cost of the Magpul SGA furniture, I'm still in this gun for less than an 870 Express. Sure, it would be nice if it came drilled and tapped for an optic mount, or if 870 barrels could just drop onto it. However, that would increase price, and make this less of a good value for the average user. Hell, I've been happy enough with my Blue Line Pump that I'm thinking about getting it tapped for a rail!

That leads into the question, should you buy one? Well, that answer is a little hazy right now. After searching online, I cannot find any vendors that actually have the Blue Lines in stock. I certainly recommend buying one if you want an affordable, reliable pump gun, but finding one is going to be the hard part. The humble Xi-Xing-Pingmaster turned out to be great, and I'm almost regretting not buying a second one.