"Convertible" shotgun

Mike Barham · November 1, 1998, 06:46 PM

I'm in the process of "building" a double-duty shotgun. The primary purpose of the shotgun will be home defense; secondarily, it will be used for a hunting winged game (mainly pheasant, with some occasional ducks and geese). I'd like to be able to switch the gun back and forth between "sporting" and "defensive" configurations in less than a half-hour; the gun will mainly be in "defensive" mode, with "sporting" mode being used only occasionally.

I intend to use a Remington 870, probably a magnum, as my starting point. It's usable for the birds, albeit a little clunky for the pheasants. I'll use a 26" barrel with interchangable chokes. The gun will be used in basically unmodified form for hunting.

For defensive use, I will slap on a 20" barrel, SureFire forend light, magazine extension, Sidesaddle ammo carrier and probably a sling. I will probably also add a "jumbo"-sized safety button. I'll use the factory stock.

My question relates to sights. Ideally, I'd use a ghost-ring rear sight, but that would obviously interfere with using the gun on birds! Should I simply use a bead? Remington rifle sights (barrel-mounted)? Does anyone have any experience with Ashley Express sights (I think he makes them for shotguns...)? I'm well aware of the advantages of ghost-ring sights...but since the gun will only be used for defense in the house, where ranges won't exceed perhaps 25 feet, I don't think they are absolutely necessary.

Anyway, if anyone is interested, I'm open to comments/suggestions about this project. Anything info about what I can add/subtract that would increase the gun's utility would be most appreciated.

Mike

Rob Pincus · November 1, 1998, 07:53 PM

Mike, you seem to know what you want. I would recommend sticking with the bead. If you are open to suggestions, just use the 20" barrel for the birds to. I recently did a slam up job with a less than 20" Benelli against some 26-30" guns designed exclusively for birds and clays.

November 1, 1998, 06:46 PM	#1
Mike Barham Junior Member Join Date: October 23, 1998 Location: Preston, CT USA Posts: 1	I'm in the process of "building" a double-duty shotgun. The primary purpose of the shotgun will be home defense; secondarily, it will be used for a hunting winged game (mainly pheasant, with some occasional ducks and geese). I'd like to be able to switch the gun back and forth between "sporting" and "defensive" configurations in less than a half-hour; the gun will mainly be in "defensive" mode, with "sporting" mode being used only occasionally. I intend to use a Remington 870, probably a magnum, as my starting point. It's usable for the birds, albeit a little clunky for the pheasants. I'll use a 26" barrel with interchangable chokes. The gun will be used in basically unmodified form for hunting. For defensive use, I will slap on a 20" barrel, SureFire forend light, magazine extension, Sidesaddle ammo carrier and probably a sling. I will probably also add a "jumbo"-sized safety button. I'll use the factory stock. My question relates to sights. Ideally, I'd use a ghost-ring rear sight, but that would obviously interfere with using the gun on birds! Should I simply use a bead? Remington rifle sights (barrel-mounted)? Does anyone have any experience with Ashley Express sights (I think he makes them for shotguns...)? I'm well aware of the advantages of ghost-ring sights...but since the gun will only be used for defense in the house, where ranges won't exceed perhaps 25 feet, I don't think they are absolutely necessary. Anyway, if anyone is interested, I'm open to comments/suggestions about this project. Anything info about what I can add/subtract that would increase the gun's utility would be most appreciated. Mike

November 1, 1998, 07:53 PM	#2
Rob Pincus Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 1998 Location: Hotels Posts: 3,668	Mike, you seem to know what you want. I would recommend sticking with the bead. If you are open to suggestions, just use the 20" barrel for the birds to. I recently did a slam up job with a less than 20" Benelli against some 26-30" guns designed exclusively for birds and clays.