Remington 870 Express

loadmaster8991 · January 7, 2009, 08:43 PM

Hey guys, I've got a question about my 870: I use it for hunting and HD, and I recently decided to get an 18.5" barrel, and a magazine extender. Obviously, I want the biggest extender possible (The biggest one I've seen is +5 rds), but that would make the tube stick out about 8" past the barrel... Would that be a problem? I've heard 2 or 3" isn't a big deal, but 8" might be a problem. (Don't judge me for my lack of knowledge!

)

rantingredneck · January 7, 2009, 08:55 PM

Personally, with an 18.5" barrel I would stick with a +2 extension. It will be roughly even with the barrel and won't be so much that it will make the gun overly muzzle heavy.

No magazine will ever be big enough if you NEED the gun. But they can be so big that they make the gun less wieldy.

Go with the +2 or the standard 4 round capacity and learn to feed it and keep it fed.

Of the various shotguns around here only 2 have extensions. One of my 20" 870's has a +2 and it works well on it. My 21" 11-87 has a +3. That +3 is about all I'd ever want to hump around and I'm sorta large......

Scattergun Bob · January 7, 2009, 11:26 PM

Of-course you can put whatever you want on your scattergun. I do have a couple of fine points concerning mag extensions.

1st - because of the mandatory minimum size restrictions forced upon us by ATF, our house scatterguns already are long too long in the barrel assembly, wouldn't placing a additional 6+ inches on your gun make doorways, corners and hallways near impossible to travel without giving your position away? It's called flagging, and it gives your adversary a great advantage!!

2nd - your scattergun pattern most likely will not damage or strike the mag extension, BUT having that long of a piece of thin-wall sheet metal hanging off your scattergun is an invite to bending, denting and other Murphy-like damage.

3rd - I have seen many 10 rd mags on scatterguns for 3-gun games, I have never seen anything bigger than a +3 on a real Fighting Scattergun.

Good Luck & Be Safe

Smallgame2100 · January 8, 2009, 02:39 AM

In my opinion, 18.5" barrel for hunting wouldnt be very effective unless you do all upclose and short range hunts.

Why do you need a mag extender?

loadmaster8991 · January 8, 2009, 03:09 AM

Smallgame, I wouldn't use the 18.5" barrel for hunting, it would be for HD. Most likely, I'll just keep the 18.5" on there until I want to go hunting, then I would put on the 24" barrel. Reason why I want the mag extender is simple: I don't have the "Wound 'em" or "Tie 'em up", policy, I have the "You broke into my house, you will no longer see the outside world", policy. If I'm 3/4 asleep, I'm sure the first shot will wake me, but if it doesn't, I'll have the ability to go through 9 more shots, and hopefully, the bad guy(s) will take all 9 to the COM

Smallgame2100 · January 8, 2009, 03:12 AM

Oh. Gotcha. I just wasnt sure why you wanted it.
Makes sense now.

Yeah 24" barrel would be better for hunting.

loadmaster8991 · January 8, 2009, 03:16 AM

I'm thinking there might even be a 20" minimum barrel law for hunting in my area.

Lee Lapin · January 8, 2009, 07:38 AM

Find out for sure what the minimums are for your jurisdiction (hunting or otherwise) and stick to them. A 20" rifle sighted smoothbore barrel might be just the ticket for your HD gun- and will likely be more widely available and cheaper in your area too.

And do yourself a favor- only change one thing at a time on your shotgun, and get used to it after you change it ("get used to it" is code talk for SHOOT IT A LOT). As rr said earlier- no magazine is ever big enough- learn to load the gun as it runs, aka "shoot one load one." You might decide that maneuvering the gun is easier without the weight equivalent of a brick taped to the muzzle.

lpl

rantingredneck · January 8, 2009, 08:38 AM

Quote:

A 20" rifle sighted smoothbore barrel might be just the ticket for your HD gun- and will likely be more widely available and cheaper in your area too.

^ indeed.

And if you get the Remchoke version instead of the fixed IC version you get even more versatility.

Sam06 · January 8, 2009, 09:01 AM

My HD 870 wears the 20" rifle sighted barrel and a +3 extender. The Barrel has the screw in chokes and when I Deer hunt in Shotgun only areas its my go to gun(Minus the extender). The barrel comes with 4 tubes: IC, Mod, Full and rifled. The rifled tube does good with Sabot slugs and the sights allow precision shooting with the slugs. I have a 28" screw in choke barrel also and I used the gun for birds, so it is a 3 way gun; Birds, HD, Deer.

My 3 gun Shotty is a REM 1100 mock up of a Comp master and I would not use it for HD. Its too long and heavy but it rocks in 3 gun comp

9 rounds as fast as you can pull the trigger and aim

zippy13 · January 9, 2009, 12:21 PM

Scattergun Bob

Quote:

Of-course you can put whatever you want on your scattergun. I do have a couple of fine points concerning mag extensions.

1st - because of the mandatory minimum size restrictions forced upon us by ATF, our house scatterguns already are long too long in the barrel assembly, wouldn't placing a additional 6+ inches on your gun make doorways, corners and hallways near impossible to travel without giving your position away? It's called flagging, and it gives your adversary a great advantage!!

2nd - your scattergun pattern most likely will not damage or strike the mag extension, BUT having that long of a piece of thin-wall sheet metal hanging off your scattergun is an invite to bending, denting and other Murphy-like damage.

3rd - I have seen many 10 rd mags on scatterguns for 3-gun games, I have never seen anything bigger than a +3 on a real Fighting Scattergun.

Good Luck & Be Safe

+1

Sage advice, as always. Thanks Bob.

loadmaster8991 · January 12, 2009, 04:00 PM

Thanks to all for your input. As of right now, I'm leaning to a +3 extension, unless I go with the 20" barrel (Looking into that), then I'll go with a +4 extension. Again, thanks

rantingredneck · January 12, 2009, 04:06 PM

FWIW, here is what a +2 looks like with a 20" barrel:

The one on the left obviously.

A +3 factory remington extension sticks out just a bit past the end of the barrel on a 20".

A +4 will stick out quite a bit as will a +3 on an 18.5"..........

January 7, 2009, 08:43 PM	#1
loadmaster8991 Member Join Date: January 4, 2009 Posts: 15	Remington 870 Express Hey guys, I've got a question about my 870: I use it for hunting and HD, and I recently decided to get an 18.5" barrel, and a magazine extender. Obviously, I want the biggest extender possible (The biggest one I've seen is +5 rds), but that would make the tube stick out about 8" past the barrel... Would that be a problem? I've heard 2 or 3" isn't a big deal, but 8" might be a problem. (Don't judge me for my lack of knowledge! )

January 7, 2009, 08:55 PM	#2
rantingredneck Senior Member Join Date: January 12, 2007 Location: North Carolina Posts: 4,728	Personally, with an 18.5" barrel I would stick with a +2 extension. It will be roughly even with the barrel and won't be so much that it will make the gun overly muzzle heavy. No magazine will ever be big enough if you NEED the gun. But they can be so big that they make the gun less wieldy. Go with the +2 or the standard 4 round capacity and learn to feed it and keep it fed. Of the various shotguns around here only 2 have extensions. One of my 20" 870's has a +2 and it works well on it. My 21" 11-87 has a +3. That +3 is about all I'd ever want to hump around and I'm sorta large...... __________________ NRA Member NC Hunter's Education Instructor PCCA Member (What's PCCA you ask? <- Check the link)

January 7, 2009, 11:26 PM	#3
Scattergun Bob Senior Member Join Date: February 29, 2008 Location: Nine Mile Falls, Washington Posts: 1,186	loadmaster8991 Of-course you can put whatever you want on your scattergun. I do have a couple of fine points concerning mag extensions. 1st - because of the mandatory minimum size restrictions forced upon us by ATF, our house scatterguns already are long too long in the barrel assembly, wouldn't placing a additional 6+ inches on your gun make doorways, corners and hallways near impossible to travel without giving your position away? It's called flagging, and it gives your adversary a great advantage!! 2nd - your scattergun pattern most likely will not damage or strike the mag extension, BUT having that long of a piece of thin-wall sheet metal hanging off your scattergun is an invite to bending, denting and other Murphy-like damage. 3rd - I have seen many 10 rd mags on scatterguns for 3-gun games, I have never seen anything bigger than a +3 on a real Fighting Scattergun. Good Luck & Be Safe __________________ First, with the most, WINS! Regards, Scattergun Bob

January 8, 2009, 09:01 AM	#10
Sam06 Senior Member Join Date: May 19, 2008 Location: Fayettenam Posts: 1,086	My HD 870 wears the 20" rifle sighted barrel and a +3 extender. The Barrel has the screw in chokes and when I Deer hunt in Shotgun only areas its my go to gun(Minus the extender). The barrel comes with 4 tubes: IC, Mod, Full and rifled. The rifled tube does good with Sabot slugs and the sights allow precision shooting with the slugs. I have a 28" screw in choke barrel also and I used the gun for birds, so it is a 3 way gun; Birds, HD, Deer. My 3 gun Shotty is a REM 1100 mock up of a Comp master and I would not use it for HD. Its too long and heavy but it rocks in 3 gun comp 9 rounds as fast as you can pull the trigger and aim __________________ The two most abundant elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity.

January 12, 2009, 04:00 PM	#12
loadmaster8991 Member Join Date: January 4, 2009 Posts: 15	Thanks Thanks to all for your input. As of right now, I'm leaning to a +3 extension, unless I go with the 20" barrel (Looking into that), then I'll go with a +4 extension. Again, thanks

January 8, 2009, 02:39 AM	#4
Smallgame2100 Junior member Join Date: January 8, 2009 Location: New York Posts: 164	In my opinion, 18.5" barrel for hunting wouldnt be very effective unless you do all upclose and short range hunts. Why do you need a mag extender?

January 8, 2009, 03:09 AM	#5
loadmaster8991 Member Join Date: January 4, 2009 Posts: 15	Smallgame, I wouldn't use the 18.5" barrel for hunting, it would be for HD. Most likely, I'll just keep the 18.5" on there until I want to go hunting, then I would put on the 24" barrel. Reason why I want the mag extender is simple: I don't have the "Wound 'em" or "Tie 'em up", policy, I have the "You broke into my house, you will no longer see the outside world", policy. If I'm 3/4 asleep, I'm sure the first shot will wake me, but if it doesn't, I'll have the ability to go through 9 more shots, and hopefully, the bad guy(s) will take all 9 to the COM

January 8, 2009, 03:12 AM	#6
Smallgame2100 Junior member Join Date: January 8, 2009 Location: New York Posts: 164	Oh. Gotcha. I just wasnt sure why you wanted it. Makes sense now. Yeah 24" barrel would be better for hunting.

January 8, 2009, 03:16 AM	#7
loadmaster8991 Member Join Date: January 4, 2009 Posts: 15	I'm thinking there might even be a 20" minimum barrel law for hunting in my area.

January 8, 2009, 07:38 AM	#8
Lee Lapin Senior Member Join Date: September 7, 2004 Location: SE NC Posts: 1,239	Find out for sure what the minimums are for your jurisdiction (hunting or otherwise) and stick to them. A 20" rifle sighted smoothbore barrel might be just the ticket for your HD gun- and will likely be more widely available and cheaper in your area too. And do yourself a favor- only change one thing at a time on your shotgun, and get used to it after you change it ("get used to it" is code talk for SHOOT IT A LOT). As rr said earlier- no magazine is ever big enough- learn to load the gun as it runs, aka "shoot one load one." You might decide that maneuvering the gun is easier without the weight equivalent of a brick taped to the muzzle. lpl

January 12, 2009, 04:06 PM	#13
rantingredneck Senior Member Join Date: January 12, 2007 Location: North Carolina Posts: 4,728	FWIW, here is what a +2 looks like with a 20" barrel: The one on the left obviously. A +3 factory remington extension sticks out just a bit past the end of the barrel on a 20". A +4 will stick out quite a bit as will a +3 on an 18.5".......... __________________ NRA Member NC Hunter's Education Instructor PCCA Member (What's PCCA you ask? <- Check the link)