870 express 3 inch 18 inch barrel recommendations

stonewall50 · April 17, 2018, 05:22 PM

So a friend has talked me into just upgrading my gun to a home defense gun. I currently have a 26 inch barrel for hunting. Too long got home defense really. So can anyone point me to the good brands of barrels? Good experiences? What should I be looking for?

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FITASC · April 17, 2018, 06:10 PM

Should be lots of used ones; try your local pawn shops and gun shops; OEM to several aftermarket makers...

jmr40 · April 17, 2018, 08:27 PM

I'd stick to a factory Remington barrel. Any more it is not really cost effective to buy additional barrels. For just a few dollars more you can buy a 2nd gun.

You could always look for a cheap beater in a pawn shop and cut the barrel down. It ain't rocket science and I've done several with very good results. If it has a vent rib you cut on the rib post. You have the option of cutting at 21" or 19". I cut at 21" in case I mess up. If I do I have one more cut and still be legal. I ended up liking 21" better anyway. Then I added a fiber optic sight that clamps to the rib.

I've used these before with excellent results with both slugs and buckshot.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/31...nd-green-front

Would be a lot cheaper than buying another barrel.

Rifletom · April 20, 2018, 08:36 AM

What jmr40 said. Go to your LGS and look for a Maverick[Moss. 500, really] HD type shotgun. about the price of a barrel. Now, you'll have two shotguns. Win-win.

bamaranger · April 21, 2018, 12:38 PM

I dunno, Midway is selling the 18-1/2" barrel for the Rem 870, made by Mossberg, now, at $122 bucks, plus shipping and handling. You'd come in about fifty bucks or more below the cost of a Maverick, that would buy a good bit of buckshot. Besides, maybe the OP does not want another gun? (heresy I know).

Another source of barrels is ebay.....I see them all the time, you might get one really cheap. You won't need a 3" chamber for SD, but I think most of them come that way these days. You also might want to research "some" 870 barrels on your Express receiver, there may by a mismatch there......I dunno.

I would not cut a longer sporting tube and then intend it for SD. In today's liberal society, in the legal fallout after a shooting, I would not want to create toehold for some lawyer in civil court that you used a "sawed off" shotgun on his poor client. This is not just me, Mas Ayoob thinks the same way and has put in in print. A factory SD barrel intended for the purpose, or better yet a slug barrel, intended for hunting, cannot be so easily twisted into murderous intent.

T. O'Heir · April 21, 2018, 12:56 PM

A 3 inch, 18 inch barrel doubles as a flame thrower.
Midway is listing parkerized, 18.5", 3", Rem M870P rifled sighted, IC, barrels at $169.99. Same barrel with a bead is $139.99. Either one is just the thing for local rioting.
Be advised that an 870 slug barrel is considerably heavier than your 26" bird barrel. They're less expensive to buy if the thing is not in a blister pack too.

2damnold4this · April 21, 2018, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Midway is selling the 18-1/2" barrel for the Rem 870, made by Mossberg, now, at $122 bucks

I have that barrel on my 870 and it works just fine. I imagine that the two barrels mentioned by T O'Heir would also work well and the one with rifle sights might be nice if one wanted to hunt deer or pigs with slugs.

dontcatchmany · April 21, 2018, 07:40 PM

I purchased an 18 1/2" barrel on Ebay about a year and a half ago. With a totally replaced left shoulder I never shot it much and was looking for the barrel to be only for hoe defense.

Dummy me, I have a left handed version of the 870 express Magnum.

Got the barrel and realized that it was for a right handed version......as I said, DUMMY Me. Never have been able to find a left handed barrel.

April 17, 2018, 05:22 PM	#1
stonewall50 Senior Member Join Date: April 14, 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 668	870 express 3 inch 18 inch barrel recommendations So a friend has talked me into just upgrading my gun to a home defense gun. I currently have a 26 inch barrel for hunting. Too long got home defense really. So can anyone point me to the good brands of barrels? Good experiences? What should I be looking for? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

April 17, 2018, 06:10 PM	#2
FITASC Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 2014 Posts: 6,446	Should be lots of used ones; try your local pawn shops and gun shops; OEM to several aftermarket makers... __________________ "I believe that people have a right to decide their own destinies; people own themselves. I also believe that, in a democracy, government exists because (and only so long as) individual citizens give it a 'temporary license to exist'—in exchange for a promise that it will behave itself. In a democracy, you own the government—it doesn't own you."- Frank Zappa

April 17, 2018, 08:27 PM	#3
jmr40 Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2008 Location: Georgia Posts: 10,808	I'd stick to a factory Remington barrel. Any more it is not really cost effective to buy additional barrels. For just a few dollars more you can buy a 2nd gun. You could always look for a cheap beater in a pawn shop and cut the barrel down. It ain't rocket science and I've done several with very good results. If it has a vent rib you cut on the rib post. You have the option of cutting at 21" or 19". I cut at 21" in case I mess up. If I do I have one more cut and still be legal. I ended up liking 21" better anyway. Then I added a fiber optic sight that clamps to the rib. I've used these before with excellent results with both slugs and buckshot. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/31...nd-green-front Would be a lot cheaper than buying another barrel. __________________ "If you're still doing things the same way you were doing them 10 years ago, you're doing it wrong" Winston Churchill

April 21, 2018, 12:38 PM	#5
bamaranger Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 2009 Location: North Alabama Posts: 8,308	barrels I dunno, Midway is selling the 18-1/2" barrel for the Rem 870, made by Mossberg, now, at $122 bucks, plus shipping and handling. You'd come in about fifty bucks or more below the cost of a Maverick, that would buy a good bit of buckshot. Besides, maybe the OP does not want another gun? (heresy I know). Another source of barrels is ebay.....I see them all the time, you might get one really cheap. You won't need a 3" chamber for SD, but I think most of them come that way these days. You also might want to research "some" 870 barrels on your Express receiver, there may by a mismatch there......I dunno. I would not cut a longer sporting tube and then intend it for SD. In today's liberal society, in the legal fallout after a shooting, I would not want to create toehold for some lawyer in civil court that you used a "sawed off" shotgun on his poor client. This is not just me, Mas Ayoob thinks the same way and has put in in print. A factory SD barrel intended for the purpose, or better yet a slug barrel, intended for hunting, cannot be so easily twisted into murderous intent.

April 21, 2018, 12:56 PM	#6
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	A 3 inch, 18 inch barrel doubles as a flame thrower. Midway is listing parkerized, 18.5", 3", Rem M870P rifled sighted, IC, barrels at $169.99. Same barrel with a bead is $139.99. Either one is just the thing for local rioting. Be advised that an 870 slug barrel is considerably heavier than your 26" bird barrel. They're less expensive to buy if the thing is not in a blister pack too. __________________ Spelling and grammar count!

April 20, 2018, 08:36 AM	#4
Rifletom Senior Member Join Date: February 11, 2011 Location: So-Cal Posts: 789	What jmr40 said. Go to your LGS and look for a Maverick[Moss. 500, really] HD type shotgun. about the price of a barrel. Now, you'll have two shotguns. Win-win.

April 21, 2018, 07:40 PM	#8
dontcatchmany Senior Member Join Date: July 19, 2010 Posts: 460	I purchased an 18 1/2" barrel on Ebay about a year and a half ago. With a totally replaced left shoulder I never shot it much and was looking for the barrel to be only for hoe defense. Dummy me, I have a left handed version of the 870 express Magnum. Got the barrel and realized that it was for a right handed version......as I said, DUMMY Me. Never have been able to find a left handed barrel.