Home Defense Q's

J.Smith · May 7, 2008, 07:14 AM

I have lurked on this site for a few weeks now, and have finally summoned the courage to ask a few questions that have been hovering in my mind. A little background on myself. I am a Junior in College majoring in Administration of Justice and Psychology, with hopes of joining ATF or Enlisting or joining the Reserves after graduation. I live with 2 roommates who also own firearms. I don't have a live in girlfriend nor would a female need to use this weapon.

Currently I own a 20g 870 express that was reccomended to me by my local gunsmith as a good intro HD / Tactical shotgun. I have not been overly impressed with it up to date at the range, and I have found myself looking for something new. I went to the hunt club with some friends of mine and shot a nova and a browning, a few remingtons and mossbergs, and have decided that I really like the mossberg 590 sp specifically the #50665. This is the speed 8+1 synthetic with heat guard. So now for my questions. For those of you that have this shotgun or other tactical shotguns what are your reccomended accessories for it. I would like to get use to using a weapon with a tactical loadout so that I'll be more readily able to apply it to my future field of employment. So far I have only looked at a surefire light setup and am interested in the best on weapon shell carrier.

Thanks Jake Smith

Super-Dave · May 7, 2008, 07:23 AM

Honestly for law enfocement, at the federal, state or county level. I really expect you to be using a remington 870.

More than likely a standard remington 870 without ghost ring sights.

Now all of the above agencies swat teams probably all have the ghost ring sites on a tricked out remington 870 police model. But if you ever make a special response team you will get so much training that what you used before won't matter.

I think the mossberg 590 is hardly used in comparison to the remington 870.

Remington 870 is the emperor of police shotguns. They will probably never give up the throne.

J.Smith · May 7, 2008, 08:04 AM

Can you suggest a 870 model that would be in comparison to that 590.

Super-Dave · May 7, 2008, 08:37 AM

Not sure what you mean by in comparison. The 590 holds 9 rounds, has a bayonet lug and a tang safety.

The 870's do not have a bayonet lug and holds 7 rounds and has a cross bolt safety.

I would say the weight is comparable. The 590 with bayonet lug is 20" barrel.

There is a 18.5" 590 without a bayonet lug.

you can get an 870 in pretty much any barrel length.

Many people here will say the 870 will last longer.

I reccomend a standard 870 express with a factory 2 round magazine extension.

I bought one months ago for $320.00 at my local dealer. If I was willing to haggle longer I probably could have sneaked away with $300.00

The cheapest 870 police I could find is probably $699.00

The 590 A1 is $475.00 at my local dealer. I think I could haggle him to $450.00 but not much lower.

I do have both guns. I like them both. But realistically I do not expect many people at any level of government outside of the military to be using a mossberg 590.

There are tons of things you could do to trick out your 870. It all depends on how much you are
willing to pay.

Best on shell carrier is without a doubt Mesa Tactical.

I would mount a tri rail on the megazine tube and use clip on sure fire flashlights. The forarm flashlight mount plus flashlight is too expensive for my taste.

They also have the speed feed stock that hold 4 rounds availible for the 870 at about $69.99

J.Smith · May 7, 2008, 09:26 AM

Money is not an issue. I am just wanting to move to a 12 gauge, and having a 20 gauge 870 already I just liked the mossberg better. However I have searched through many of the past threads here and the 870 seems to be the prefered choice. I am willing to pay whatever it takes to get the weapon up to my liking. I wanted to stay with a tried and true pump platform which is why I looked at the 870, 500, and 590. Thanks for your help.

TxGun · May 7, 2008, 02:35 PM

Your not going to go wrong with either the 870 or the 590. Both are fine shotguns. Both are used by many police agencies, though the 870 has the majority there, while the 590 is used by the military. I have both, I love both.

BigJimP · May 7, 2008, 05:13 PM

I'm not really qualified to help you on the models, accessories question you asked. But you might want to check out the Wilson Combat website and look their offering over on their 870's . They have 3 or 4 configurations - and guys that I know that have them seem to like them.

http://www.wilsoncombat.com/index_sgt.htm

I'm not really into tactical weapons - but I do have a Benelli M4 - just for the heck of it - and I like it. You should at least check out their site and see how they configure their weapon as well. Its a different beast - since its a semi-auto - but in my opinion, its a good gun.

http://www.benelliusa.com/firearms/m4.tpl

Regardless of what you buy / train with or shoot now - you'll probably have to adapt to any dept's issue weapons down the road but the transition isn't that big a deal in my experience especially among the variety of pump guns. Once you get to a dept / or to a branch of the service - you'll have more time to spend with that specific weapon. Good luck in your adventures and goals down the road - and be safe.

Scattergun Bob · May 7, 2008, 05:41 PM

Welcome to the forum.

I think Super - Dave did a great job steering you in the right direction, although as of late the feds have picked up some 590 Tactical the agency you mentioned is a straight up 870 agency.

BigJimP gave you great advise, wilson Tactical bought out Scattergun Technologies a few years back and the guns and accessories from wilson are among the best tactical stuff out there.

Hans Vang - an old guard fart like me makes GREAT shotguns DEA, and some FBI both uses his stuff.

Being a Remington police armorer, I am very impressed by the 870 Police Magnum right from the factory. It is a superior shotgun and the gold standard for L.E. use.

Good luck in your search, If I can help drop me an e-mail.

Administration of Justice, Boise State University, 1982 (social justice class really sucked)

Good Luck & Be Safe

J.Smith · May 10, 2008, 07:54 AM

Thanks for the welcome everyone I ended up transfering my 20 gauge to a friend who is deploying soon and needed a gun for his wife at home. She comes from a shooting family and was happy to have some protection while hes gone. I also found a 590 mariner that had some work done to it that I purchased last night. It has the mesa saddle carrier and the pistol girp and pump installed which I took off and switched back to the factory stock and pump. I'll be taking it out to the range the beginning of next month. My only concern is the trigger lock is one of the cheap universal key ones. Seeing as how I have cousins and friends with kids who frequent my house and my longuns are kept in a wooden cabinet does anyone have a favorite lock. This may seem like a simple go and pick one up type of question, but keeping things safe is my number one goal.

countryboy_soldier · May 10, 2008, 09:30 AM

hello to all,

i just had kind of a crazy curiousity question. i own a remington 878 and it is both my hunting weapo0n and home defense weapon. i was thinking about buying a second barrell and having it sawed off due to the tight door and hallway spacing of my home. I am a very good shooter. Ive been shootign since i was 6 and im 21 and in the Army. ive done tons of tactical training and my 878 wouldnt be most people first choice for a home defense weapon due to its length as a birdgun (hence the sawed off barrell ideal), but im very comfortable with and im a good shot with her. so anyone who has experience with sawed off shotguns, or just has advice, id appreciate it.

thanks,
eric

Teuthis · May 10, 2008, 04:26 PM

If you intend to prepare yourself for law enforcement, any good, 12 gauge, pump action shotgun would allow you to hone your skills. That is more important than having a specific brand or style. You never know what you might be issued eventually, so just learn the 12 gauge, pump and you are ahead of the game.

J.Smith · May 11, 2008, 06:53 AM

Thanks guys. For right now I bough a 590 mariner as it was the right price at the time. I'm going to start saving for a 870 magnum or a 870 express and custom build it. All of your help was greatly appreciated and for the primary purpose of home defense I'm glad to report I have not had to use it which makes a good start to any day in my opinion.

May 7, 2008, 07:14 AM	#1
J.Smith Senior Member Join Date: May 7, 2008 Location: Hampton Roads,VA / Wise Co. VA Posts: 157	Home Defense Q's I have lurked on this site for a few weeks now, and have finally summoned the courage to ask a few questions that have been hovering in my mind. A little background on myself. I am a Junior in College majoring in Administration of Justice and Psychology, with hopes of joining ATF or Enlisting or joining the Reserves after graduation. I live with 2 roommates who also own firearms. I don't have a live in girlfriend nor would a female need to use this weapon. Currently I own a 20g 870 express that was reccomended to me by my local gunsmith as a good intro HD / Tactical shotgun. I have not been overly impressed with it up to date at the range, and I have found myself looking for something new. I went to the hunt club with some friends of mine and shot a nova and a browning, a few remingtons and mossbergs, and have decided that I really like the mossberg 590 sp specifically the #50665. This is the speed 8+1 synthetic with heat guard. So now for my questions. For those of you that have this shotgun or other tactical shotguns what are your reccomended accessories for it. I would like to get use to using a weapon with a tactical loadout so that I'll be more readily able to apply it to my future field of employment. So far I have only looked at a surefire light setup and am interested in the best on weapon shell carrier. Thanks Jake Smith

May 7, 2008, 07:23 AM	#2
Super-Dave Senior Member Join Date: February 1, 2008 Location: Florida Posts: 795	Honestly for law enfocement, at the federal, state or county level. I really expect you to be using a remington 870. More than likely a standard remington 870 without ghost ring sights. Now all of the above agencies swat teams probably all have the ghost ring sites on a tricked out remington 870 police model. But if you ever make a special response team you will get so much training that what you used before won't matter. I think the mossberg 590 is hardly used in comparison to the remington 870. Remington 870 is the emperor of police shotguns. They will probably never give up the throne. __________________ If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever. George Orwell

May 7, 2008, 08:37 AM	#4
Super-Dave Senior Member Join Date: February 1, 2008 Location: Florida Posts: 795	Not sure what you mean by in comparison. The 590 holds 9 rounds, has a bayonet lug and a tang safety. The 870's do not have a bayonet lug and holds 7 rounds and has a cross bolt safety. I would say the weight is comparable. The 590 with bayonet lug is 20" barrel. There is a 18.5" 590 without a bayonet lug. you can get an 870 in pretty much any barrel length. Many people here will say the 870 will last longer. I reccomend a standard 870 express with a factory 2 round magazine extension. I bought one months ago for $320.00 at my local dealer. If I was willing to haggle longer I probably could have sneaked away with $300.00 The cheapest 870 police I could find is probably $699.00 The 590 A1 is $475.00 at my local dealer. I think I could haggle him to $450.00 but not much lower. I do have both guns. I like them both. But realistically I do not expect many people at any level of government outside of the military to be using a mossberg 590. There are tons of things you could do to trick out your 870. It all depends on how much you are willing to pay. Best on shell carrier is without a doubt Mesa Tactical. I would mount a tri rail on the megazine tube and use clip on sure fire flashlights. The forarm flashlight mount plus flashlight is too expensive for my taste. They also have the speed feed stock that hold 4 rounds availible for the 870 at about $69.99 __________________ If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever. George Orwell

May 7, 2008, 05:41 PM	#8
Scattergun Bob Senior Member Join Date: February 29, 2008 Location: Nine Mile Falls, Washington Posts: 1,186	Hi J. Smith Welcome to the forum. I think Super - Dave did a great job steering you in the right direction, although as of late the feds have picked up some 590 Tactical the agency you mentioned is a straight up 870 agency. BigJimP gave you great advise, wilson Tactical bought out Scattergun Technologies a few years back and the guns and accessories from wilson are among the best tactical stuff out there. Hans Vang - an old guard fart like me makes GREAT shotguns DEA, and some FBI both uses his stuff. Being a Remington police armorer, I am very impressed by the 870 Police Magnum right from the factory. It is a superior shotgun and the gold standard for L.E. use. Good luck in your search, If I can help drop me an e-mail. Administration of Justice, Boise State University, 1982 (social justice class really sucked) Good Luck & Be Safe __________________ First, with the most, WINS! Regards, Scattergun Bob

May 10, 2008, 09:30 AM	#10
countryboy_soldier Junior Member Join Date: May 9, 2008 Posts: 2	Just a little curious.. hello to all, i just had kind of a crazy curiousity question. i own a remington 878 and it is both my hunting weapo0n and home defense weapon. i was thinking about buying a second barrell and having it sawed off due to the tight door and hallway spacing of my home. I am a very good shooter. Ive been shootign since i was 6 and im 21 and in the Army. ive done tons of tactical training and my 878 wouldnt be most people first choice for a home defense weapon due to its length as a birdgun (hence the sawed off barrell ideal), but im very comfortable with and im a good shot with her. so anyone who has experience with sawed off shotguns, or just has advice, id appreciate it. thanks, eric

May 7, 2008, 08:04 AM	#3
J.Smith Senior Member Join Date: May 7, 2008 Location: Hampton Roads,VA / Wise Co. VA Posts: 157	Can you suggest a 870 model that would be in comparison to that 590.

May 7, 2008, 09:26 AM	#5
J.Smith Senior Member Join Date: May 7, 2008 Location: Hampton Roads,VA / Wise Co. VA Posts: 157	Money is not an issue. I am just wanting to move to a 12 gauge, and having a 20 gauge 870 already I just liked the mossberg better. However I have searched through many of the past threads here and the 870 seems to be the prefered choice. I am willing to pay whatever it takes to get the weapon up to my liking. I wanted to stay with a tried and true pump platform which is why I looked at the 870, 500, and 590. Thanks for your help.

May 7, 2008, 02:35 PM	#6
TxGun Senior Member Join Date: April 14, 2008 Location: Family ranch - Central TX. Posts: 467	Your not going to go wrong with either the 870 or the 590. Both are fine shotguns. Both are used by many police agencies, though the 870 has the majority there, while the 590 is used by the military. I have both, I love both.

May 7, 2008, 05:13 PM	#7
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	I'm not really qualified to help you on the models, accessories question you asked. But you might want to check out the Wilson Combat website and look their offering over on their 870's . They have 3 or 4 configurations - and guys that I know that have them seem to like them. http://www.wilsoncombat.com/index_sgt.htm I'm not really into tactical weapons - but I do have a Benelli M4 - just for the heck of it - and I like it. You should at least check out their site and see how they configure their weapon as well. Its a different beast - since its a semi-auto - but in my opinion, its a good gun. http://www.benelliusa.com/firearms/m4.tpl Regardless of what you buy / train with or shoot now - you'll probably have to adapt to any dept's issue weapons down the road but the transition isn't that big a deal in my experience especially among the variety of pump guns. Once you get to a dept / or to a branch of the service - you'll have more time to spend with that specific weapon. Good luck in your adventures and goals down the road - and be safe.

May 10, 2008, 07:54 AM	#9
J.Smith Senior Member Join Date: May 7, 2008 Location: Hampton Roads,VA / Wise Co. VA Posts: 157	Thanks for the welcome everyone I ended up transfering my 20 gauge to a friend who is deploying soon and needed a gun for his wife at home. She comes from a shooting family and was happy to have some protection while hes gone. I also found a 590 mariner that had some work done to it that I purchased last night. It has the mesa saddle carrier and the pistol girp and pump installed which I took off and switched back to the factory stock and pump. I'll be taking it out to the range the beginning of next month. My only concern is the trigger lock is one of the cheap universal key ones. Seeing as how I have cousins and friends with kids who frequent my house and my longuns are kept in a wooden cabinet does anyone have a favorite lock. This may seem like a simple go and pick one up type of question, but keeping things safe is my number one goal.

May 10, 2008, 04:26 PM	#11
Teuthis Senior Member Join Date: April 9, 2008 Location: Southern Arizona Posts: 537	If you intend to prepare yourself for law enforcement, any good, 12 gauge, pump action shotgun would allow you to hone your skills. That is more important than having a specific brand or style. You never know what you might be issued eventually, so just learn the 12 gauge, pump and you are ahead of the game. __________________ Oderint dum Metuant

May 11, 2008, 06:53 AM	#12
J.Smith Senior Member Join Date: May 7, 2008 Location: Hampton Roads,VA / Wise Co. VA Posts: 157	Thanks guys. For right now I bough a 590 mariner as it was the right price at the time. I'm going to start saving for a 870 magnum or a 870 express and custom build it. All of your help was greatly appreciated and for the primary purpose of home defense I'm glad to report I have not had to use it which makes a good start to any day in my opinion.