Vang Comp or Wilson Magazine Extension

[Sam C]

I want to install a two round mag extension on my 870 police. I am considering either a Wilson Combat or a Vang Comp. Is there a big difference between them besides price? Also, I noticed that you can get a Wilson extension that has a side mount for the sling. If you install that one, do you need to add a swivel stud to the corresponding side of the stock?
Thanks
:confused:

[delzo]

I hope someone soon can give you the technical information you need,,,, but until then let me throw something out you should consider. Have you dealt with either company before? I bought some products and a VHS tape from Wilson so I could learn some specialized information from a "master". I gave too much money for it but thought it'd be worth it. It wasn't. Period. AND the tape turned out to be just an expensive advertisement for Wilson Combat. I was very disappointed.

On the other hand, I call Vang Comp Systems and Hans Vang himself answered the phone and visited for 10 minutes before even finding out if I was a serious customer. My barrel could not be reworked so Hans Vang GAVE me a barrel and performed his magic to it. It was in my hands and on my shotgun within 1 1/2 weeks!

Consider customer service first before doing business with any company.

I am not intending to bash Wilson Combat,,,, I just know I'm not the only guy here less than pleased with them.

[L-2]

https://www.vangcomp.com/images/mag_tube2.jpg
The VangComp extension is $75, and its sling mount is reversible for right or left-hand.
http://www.wilsoncombat.com/images/product/thumbs/SGET-VT-2.jpg
The Wilson Combat extensions are $45, and need to be ordered with the sling mount for left, right, or bottom mounting, so you'd need to decide which way you want your sling mount to go. Apparently, these mounts are non-removable or reversible, however, I've not seen one close-up.

A "swivel stud" need not be added to the side of your stock if you get something like this:
http://www.spectergear.com/048_assy_7_med_bw.jpg
http://www.spectergear.com/shotgun_bsh.htm
available from Spectergear.com
I don't think the sling adapter is available by itself, but is usually sold with either a 3-point sling or with the a buttstock ammo carrier.

Note: (deleted by author).

"Sam C", this was a good question and, as one can see, things could get complicated with incompatible purchases.

[444]

I won't help you either, but like delzo, let me say that Hans Vang is one of the nicest guys I ever met.
I have been to his shop several times including a few weeks ago. I bought two of his mag extensions while I was there. I never had the Wilson, so I dont' know anything about it.
One of the extensions I bought was a one shot extension to go with my Vang 14" barrel.

[DPris]

I have both, and two Spectre slings.
I'd go with Vang again in a heartbeat, and with that Spectre rear adaptor you don't need to put any rear sling stud on your stock.

[Sam C]

Thanks guys, I am leaning towards Hans, anyone else? :D

[AAshooter]

When Hans' shop was in California I spoke with him several times and then just decided to drive down to his shop to check him out. It a tiny shop with lots of good toys. He helped me personally, spending a generous amount of time. We walked through all the choices and I ended up purchasing a gun from him.

In the middle of all that, Hans treated myself and the guys in the shop to lunch in the Mexican restaurant next store. I call it my $1000 free lunch. I could not be happier with my shotgun. In fact I drove back down to pick it up on the way to a tactical shotgun class rather than going through a local FFL.

I did have a problem with my 2-round extension, I called up Vang Comp and they mail me out a brand new one with new spring and follower with no questions asked.

I have not dealt much with Wilson. I have heard great things about their products and less than great things about their service but I have no personal knowledge.

[last man standing]

I will add my $0.02 cents about WILSON COMBAT if I may.
You are right !!!

Anyone looking at any of Wilson's +1 or +2 shotgun extensions please note that you will ONLY get +1 and maybe +2 using 2 3/4 inch shells. Try it, or need it, or want it for 3" shells and you wasted your money.

Don't get me wrong, each piece is a finely made piece of machine work.

Trouble is, I found NOwhere on his website that even Suggested the "limitation" on shell length relative to the shotgun extensions.

I'd say that appears to be what is called a bit of deceptive advertising BS. I wrote Mr. Wilson a civil and respectful email about the matter regarding his Scattergun mag. extension limitations. To this day, I have not received a response......

[Dfariswheel]

The industry standard on describing magazine extensions is based on standard 2 3/4" shells.

NO ONE mentions anything about 3" shells or 3 1/2" shells, probably figuring common sense would tell most people that longer shells will reduce the magazine capacity.

The top of the line magazine extensions are:
The Remington factory model
Vang.
Tank's Rifle Shop, which is a close copy of the Remington.
Wilson.
Choate.

Lesser versions are the Tac-Star, and bottom of the barrel is the plastic ATI.

[RsqVet]

I think I'm already in awe of anyone who dares to be more pricey than Wilson!!!

Seriously though I have seen the wilson and have the remmington LE with extenshon --- both seem good, I mean it's a flipping tube how much can ya screw up?

[liliysdad]

Im gonna differ here, and say neither. The best extension for the 870 is the Factory Rem yube, or the Tank;s version, which is identical.

[webbee]

liliysdad have you got a link on the Tanks?

[Dfariswheel]

Here's the link to Tank's Rifle Shop's extension.

http://www.tanksrifleshop.com/remshotgun.htm

[444]

When I was at Vang's shop, he gave me a brief lecture on why his extension was better than the factory Remington.
I don't know the answer but I bet if you called him, he would tell you. Of course he has a vested interest in the matter, but his answer probably has a whole lot more information than asking us. Most of the responses to your question offer no reason why they recommend that product.

[HK_P7]

Go with the Vang. I own a Wilson/Scattergun modified 870 and the quality is not as good as the Vang.

[Shawn Dodson]

The Remington factory magazine extension is just a little bit longer than the barrel and there's something about that that I find visually appealing.

[Dfariswheel]

The reason the Remington factory extension was longer than the barrel, was so the end cap could be used as a bayonet mount.

Remington developed the extension as part of a military project, and the original extension clamp had a bayonet latch on the bottom, with the extended cap fitting the mounting ring of a bayonet.

Recently Remington has changed their barrel lengths on the 18" and 20" barrels to be 1/2" longer.
The new gun barrel length is now about even with a factory extension.
Aftermarket extensions will now be about 1/2" SHORTER than the new length barrels.

Vang claims his extension is better because it's machined from a solid steel bar, while others are made from steel tubing with brazed-on couplings.

In fact, how strong the extension is really isn't a factor.
The extension could be a piece of solid bar stock.

The determining factor is the GUN'S magazine tube.
The gun's magazine tube is relatively thin steel with deep, wide, square threads which weaken the thin steel even further.

Any bump or knock that might damage the extension will almost always knock the extension off the gun's magazine tube.
This usually damages the gun's magazine tube threads, which requires a trip back to the factory to have a new tube brazed in the receiver.

For this reason, NO MATTER HOW STRONG the extension is, you should use a barrel clamp to support the extension and help prevent damaging the gun from bumps and knocks.

[9mmMike]

Im gonna differ here, and say neither. The best extension for the 870 is the Factory Rem yube, or the Tank;s version, which is identical.

Concur.

[444]

"Im gonna differ here, and say neither. The best extension for the 870 is the Factory Rem yube, or the Tank;s version, which is identical."

Please explain why you think this is the case ? And before anyone takes offense, I am just asking. This is an exchange of information and just saying something is the best is minimal information.

"For this reason, NO MATTER HOW STRONG the extension is, you should use a barrel clamp to support the extension and help prevent damaging the gun from bumps and knocks."

This is something else that Hans Vang disagrees with.
Again, take it for what it is worth. Call and talk to him if you want to discuss it with him. He has mucho experience with this stuff. He is also located within a very short drive of Gunsite. I know when I was taking Gunsite's 260, they called Vang twice during the course to discuss shotgun problems with him. Point being, he makes these guns for a living and has made them for years. He is one of the best known names in the business. He has built guns for pretty much every major law enforcement agency throughout the world as well as the military. He gets a lot of feedback on what works and what doesn't. I certainly have no problem with people taking a different position, but it would be nice to know how they came to that conclusion so we can evaluate our own opinion with some kind of basis.

[Dfariswheel]

I have personally seen at least three cases of a bump knocking a magazine extension off a shotgun and damaging the gun's magazine tube.

One case I personally saw happen at a police training course.

One case I saw the results of, happened to a local police chief during a silent alarm call from a local bank.
He wound up in the situation of possibly facing heavily armed bank robbers with nothing but a six shot revolver because he didn't have a clamp on the extension.

Bottom line is this: There are very good reasons to use a barrel clamp with an extension.
There are NO good reasons NOT to.

Don't get too wrapped up in which extension is "the best".
The top brands are all excellent and rarely give any trouble.
Just pick the brand you like the looks of and you'll have no problems.

[444]

What is your opinion of not using an extension at all ?

[Dfariswheel]

The big advantage of the shotgun is it's adaptability.

Over the last 3 years, I lived in 3 different places.
As I moved, HOW my 870P Police gun was set up changed.

#1 was a house in a small town, with plenty of light, a police station literally 1 block away, and no heavy-duty crime. I figured there would be ONE Bad Guy who would arrive on foot, and who wouldn't stay to fight.

The gun at that time had NO extension, NO light, and was loaded with #1 buckshot.

We moved in to a mobile home while we waited for an apartment to be readied, so the gun changed.
Now we were 10 miles out of town, law enforcement was the Sheriff who was 20 minutes away, there was NO light, and NO neighbors.

The gun was changed to a magazine extension "Dutch loaded" with a mix of slugs, 00 buckshot and #1 buckshot.
I had a butt cuff with spare ammo, and a spare ammo bag with a strong light in it.
I figured Bad Guys would arrive in a car, there would be at least two, a fight would start off close and then open up to everyone behind cover, and there would be no help for some time.

After a couple of months, the new apartment was ready, and we moved.
Again the gun changed.

Now we're in another, larger town.
There is a nearby crime problem, but police are CLOSE by and VERY active.
There's PLENTY of light, and very close neighbors, including a school for handicapped children.

I figure there will be at most 2 Bad Guys and these types don't stay to fight.
Police can actually hear shooting and respond in seconds.

Now the gun has a standard magazine, no light, and is loaded with reduced recoil #4 buckshot.
In this case, due to the tighter quarters, speed with the gun is more important than magazine capacity.

So, even though a magazine extension is nice to have, and can be very important in some circumstances, it's NOT essential.

The key to having a good setup on a defense shotgun is to do a "Real World"evaluation of your particular situation, then do a "cost-benefit" analysis of just what accessories are really needed, or even advisable.

We'd all like to have a Remington 870 Super Magnum loaded with 10 rounds of 3 1/2" #00 buckshot and an electronic dot sight, but this may not be what's needed, and may actually be a hazard to the actual threat situation.

If you're likely to be facing an enraged biker gang with no help available, maybe you need an extension, but don't set your gun up for something that's unlikely to happen, when the actual threat may be a single burglar who's surprised to find the owner home.

Sit down and give some thought to what's the MOST likely problem you might face, then set your gun up to meet that threat.

Too many people way overload the gun and slow it down to meet fantasy situations they're very unlikely to see, and wind up with a gun so overloaded and tricked out, it's too slow to meet the real threat.

[Sam C]

I talked to Hans the other day (great guy) and had him send me his two shot extension, big head safety and a "Mesa Tactical Shell Carrier". It took about ten minutes to install everything. I'll have him install sights and do the barrel when I get a few bucks ahead.

[444]

I resisted putting a magazine extension on my shotgun for a long time. I think it makes the gun horribly muzzle heavy and sluggish (no pun intended). But, the limited ammo supply seriously handicaps you in most defensive type shotgun venues like matches and classes. So, I gave in.
I am right there with you on the idea of tailoring the gun to your present needs. I probably ought to take the extension off for home defense use and training and only add the extension when training or shooting a match.
However, now that I have the second gun with a 14" barrel, I get a nice short, lightweight, and quick gun that still has a one shot advantage over the non-extended tube. So, I could also just have both guns outfitted differently instead of changing out the accessories.

[JNewell]

One of my 870s has both a 2-shot (Vang, fwiw) extension and a SF forend. Take a 2-day shotgun class and talk to me about muzzle heavy. :(

[444]

I hear ya.
That is what made me punch in on the weight issue.
I have taken a four day defensive shotgun class at Frontsight, and a five day defensive shotgun class at Gunsite.
I didn't have a mag extension at either one. And the gun still got heavy. By the afternoon of the first day I was taking Tylonol for back pain.

[webbee]

Dfariswheel thanks for the Tank link!
I agree they do make it front heavy but you don't have to load them all and what about the cool factor.