14 Inch Barrel

[Joven]

I have the opportunity to purchase a Remington 870 12 gauge with a 14 inch barrel. It will cost me an extra $200 NFA tax. Do you think it's worth the extra cash?
I would use the gun primarly for home defense.

[rellascout]

Not IMHO. Unless you live in a home with very narrow hallways it is not worth the extra money and hassle.

[shaggy]

$200 to lose 4 inches?


Heck thats a bargain - only $50/inch!

Seriously though, if the gun is only for HD, I'd do it. Losing that extra 4" off the end will make the weapon more handy for getting around quickly in tighter spaces like hallways, small rooms, stairwells, etc.

[DPris]

14 inches does make a difference, mine gets around & through tight spaces a little easier than an 18-incher.
Up to you to decide if you want to spend the extra money.
Denis

[sendec]

Heck yeah. You'll be amazed at how much handier the gun will be compared to an 18 or 20. A couple inches may not sound like much, but there is a seemingly exponential effect.

I become more enamored of 14s the more I handle them.

[mathman]

the sound of the blast will be exponentially louder as well...

[The British Soldier]

If you are happy to operate at such close range then go for it, especially if the money isn't a bother.
Personnally the only thing that a 14" barrel is good for is taking doors off prior to making entry during room combat; be loaded up with Hatton rounds and take the hinges off - you're in. The guns we had were called 'Barclaycards' [because they got you in anywhere!] and were 870s with just a pistol grip and a sawn off barrel. We did them on a lathe until I saw a nice little facing tool in the Brownells catalogue; just hacksaw off the barrel and put the tool in your power drill. It has a phosphor bronze pilot to centre the milling head in the barrel - ten seconds of power action and the barrel is perfectly square with no burrs.
Maybe that might save you a couple of hundred dollars!

[DPris]

Disregard.
Denis

[XavierBreath]

I don't think the British Soldier understands US laws concerning short barreled shotguns. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and not lecture.......

Do you think it's worth the extra cash?

No, even if you did not have to pay the NFA tax. At 14 inches, what would your magazine capacity be?

[The British Soldier]

To be frank, if you can't handle the weapon in the first place; cutting the barrel short won't do you much good. The best equipment for inside a house is the pistol. If you know how to use one, it doesn't matter whether your opponent has an AK; a double tap is a universal language.

[The British Soldier]

Thank you for your courtesy Xavier; I figured the other bloke was being short but didn't grace it with a response.
I expect 14" shotguns are illegal anywhere and you would only get 5 rounds in the magazine [assuming it is a 2 3/4" chamber).

[DPris]

Brit,
I was going to say that there'd be no real savings there. The process here is you pay the government your $200 up front, get the paperwork necessary to convert or "manufacture" the short barreled shotgun/barrel, and then go ahead if you're doing it yourself. If buying an already legally made and registered 14-incher, you pay the same $200 as a transfer tax/registration.
Most gunsmiths would probably charge about $40-$50 dollars to cut back a simple non-ribbed barrel and leave it without chokes.
A 14-incher can hold five in the magazine with a one-round mag extension. Total of six onboard if fully loaded with one in the chamber.
Denis

[DPris]

On the "close" thing- with sights and the IC choke installed on mine it can keep a full charge of 00 Buck inside13-14 inches at 25 yards (did it last week in testing a number of shtogun loads in three 12-gauges), and it can easily put five slugs inside four inches and less, depending on the load, at 50 yards.
Not necessarily trying to sell anybody on the idea, just noting that I'm quite satisfied with mine.
Denis

[9mmMike]

Sorry for the thread-jack but does the barrel need to stay with the same receiver once the tax stamp is issued or can you move it from gun to gun?
Just wondering...
Mike

[shaggy]

The firearm (receiver) is the registered/controlled part. Thus if you remove the barrel and put it on another gun which is not registered as a SBS 9short barreled shotgun), you've committed a felony - it can only be installed on the registered weapon.

[PJR]

I expect 14" shotguns are illegal anywhere

Not so. 14" shotguns are treated the same in Canada as any other shotgun providing the gun was made at the factory with a short barrel (e.g. no hacksaw jobs). I own a 14" and 20" 870 and am underwhelmed with the supposed benefits of the shorter gun. It's very "tactical" but not all that practical particularly if you have to fire at night. Big flame with most rounds. Far less with the 20". I'll keep my 14" gun because I can but don't consider it vastly superior to the 20".

[Joven]

PJR-
What type of sights are those?

[DPris]

Once registered as such, that receiver remains legally a Class III gun forever, even if you swap barrels, stick an 18-incher on it, and throw the 14-incher away. If you put a regular barrel on it & sell it through normal channels as a "normal" gun, you risk federal jail time.
Denis

[shaggy]

An SBS or SBR can be removed from the registry and sold as a standard title I firearm, however, the short barrel cannot stay with the gun, and the NFA Branch should be notified in writing of the change of barrel length (back to 18"+ for a shotgun) and the intention to remove it from the registry.

[459]

pjr try Federal LE slugs or shot..very little flash. I like my 14 inch shotty alot. Like to shoot it at the range a few times a week now. If you can get one, and its not to much hassle try it out. BTW at my I find it very accurate with slugs at 25 feet. Dont use it much beyond that. Hard to measure groupings as the wad knocks a hole in target as well.

[DPris]

Shaggy,
I may stand corrected, I was told more than once that it was a permanent registry.
Denis

[shaggy]

Denis-

The only things that get permanently placed on the registry (at least until they are destroyed) are machineguns and suppressors. Even a destructive device can be put on the registry and later removed from the registry (or vice versa). For example you can buy an M203 or Lahti receiver as a title I firearm, but if you add the 40mm barrel (or 20mm in the case of the Lahti) it must be registered as a DD. However, if you convert the Lahti to .50 rather than 20mm, it can stay as a title I firearm, or be converted back from a DD to a title I. Things can get a little hinky taking it off the registry when its a SBR originally manufactured as a pistol, but it can be done.

[Dfariswheel]

Joven:

Those are standard Remington factory shotgun sights as used on all their slug guns, and many Police guns.

[DPris]

Shaggy,
Good to know. My information was "Once a Class III, always a Class III". Apparently they didn't break it down for me.
Thanks.
Denis

[PJR]

pjr try Federal LE slugs or shot..very little flash.

Tried them and while they weren't bad the best results in low light came from the Brenneke slugs. Remington Express slugs lit up the range like daylight.

dfariswheel beat me to the answer. They are indeed standard Remington factory sights.