modifying 870 SP

[Daniel501]

I have a Remington 870 "Special Purpose." This is the turkey gun with bead sights, vent rib, and a 20 or 21" barrel. I'd like to modify it for defensive purposes -- my objective being a shorter, handier shotgun with ghost ring rifle sights. I want to keep the existing barrel as is, so I'll buy a second barrel.

What I need:
1) buttstock with shorter length of pull (13"?)
2) 18" barrel with post front sight
3) ghost ring rear sight
4) mag extension

How can I do this without breaking the bank?

Thanks for suggestions!
Dan

[Al Thompson]

Frankly, due to the reciver modifications you need for ghost rings, I'd get a police trade-in 870 and put the sights on that. Cheaper in the long run.

I went down that road a time or two and find that when the range gets long enough for ghost rings, I'd rather have a rifle. Both my house guns have beads.

I do have GR sights (Ashley Outdoors) on my 1894 Marlin and love them.

Giz

[Daniel501]

Actually I might be able to live without a ghostring. A bigger concern is the availability of of replacement barrels. Perusal of Cabelas.com makes it appear that the "Special Purpose" requires a special barrel. Is that correct? Just any 870 barrel won't fit? What's the difference? Anyone know?

[Dfariswheel]

The Remington "Special Purpose" is just a Wingmaster with a parkerized finish. Most barrels will fit.

Other than picking up a used barrel and cutting it off, Mossberg sells Remington-type 18" Parkerized barrels at a very good price. A little comparative shopping will get you one at a very good price.

Mag extensions savings could be had by using one of the new plastic ones. However, this could be a bad idea, as I've no experience with these, and I don't know if they will stand up to use. I'd recommend getting a Choate or Tac-star WITH a barrel clamp. Choate make a parkerized unit that will match your gun.

Shortening the stock is no huge job. Getting it done shouldn't cost much, and you can do it yourself. If nothing else, most woodworking shops can do it, cheap.

Ghost sights, (or any rifle-type sight) makes hitting that much easier, no matter the range. I usually use a "flash" sight picture, as I look over/through the sights. Since most Remingtons don't fit me, I tend to shoot quite high without sights.

Look at www.brownells.com Brownell's carry just about all decent shotgun accessories including sights.

Shotgun sights CAN be attached quite well with soft solder, as a do-it-yourself project. While not as sturdy as a factory brased-on job, I've had customers using soldered on sights for many years without problems.

Bottom line: If you have any hobby skills you can have the gun you want without a huge outlay. Since you can do the job one item at a time, you don't have to cough up the cash all at once.

Go for it.

[Dave McC]

You've a superb HD shotgun right there, as is.

My HD 870 has an 18"+ bbl. My deer 870 has a 20" bbl. My home built parts 870 has a 21" bbl. Other than the fact that the longest bbled 870 has no mag extension, there's no real difference in handling to me.

Here's the list of requirements for a "Serious" shotgun:

At least two shot capacity.

A stock that fits.

Reliability.

Sights YOU can see.

A trigger of less than 6 and more than 2 lbs.

That's it, no bellsnwhistles.

Also, "Special Purpose" 870s use standard parts. There was a "Special Field" model that has a few non interchangeable parts.

As far as mag extensions go, I'd go for a two shot extension under that 21" bbl. IMO, it handles a bit faster than the longer one. 6+1 capacity will handle most anything more will.

A couple of extra choke tubes, a few cases of ammo,and you're set for everything from revolution to clay games.