Remingtom 870 Express 12GA

RevDevil

RevDevil

Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Messages
44,314
I've owned the 870 Express for about 3 years, put about 200 shells through it. I'ts a really nice shogun for the price, and the 'tactical' barrel is a nice feature for narrow areas. The time has come to possibly add some mods to this baby. I was considering adding a side saddle to hold some shells, a ghost ring and a trijicon site on the tip, and some kind of aftermarket stock, Knoxx Stock from BlackHawk. ANyone have any suggestions or comments on these mods? Maybe share your ideas, pics are always welcome.
 
I would add a magazine extension before I added a side saddle. http://www.brownells.com/magazines/...mington-870-magazine-extension-prod43001.aspx
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I like the factory wood stocks myself. The night sight will be good but you really don't need a ghost ring unless you plan to use slugs.
 
If you have 7+1 capacity the extender pictured won't work.

- Side saddles are neat looking but not very smart. They throw off the balance of the gun and catch on stuff. Mall ninja stuff.
- A big white bead is just as effective as tritium and a lot less expensive. If you can't see the bead you shouldn't be shooting. I like Ghost rings, but they stick up too high for me. I don't use anything but the front sight anyways.
- Wood stocks are tough and they work. Pistol grips and folding stocks are only useful if there's a space requirement. Me, I want a stock I can whack somebody with and watch them (not the stock) fold. But a steel butt plate on the wood stock and you have a serious weapon.

I suggest you take your shotgun and shoot it. On the skeet range; at moving targets. When you can score above 50% firing without mounting the gun first, then think about mods. Make sure you put all 7 rounds in, you'll find the swing is very much effected.

Shotgun weight and balance is much more important than on rifles. It must be balanced between the shooters hands to work best. Remember, KISS; keep it simple, stupid. Don't waste time on mods that are not going to help you in a combat situation.

Things you might want to consider-

- replacing the shell catch with one designed for faster reloads.
- replacing the bolt catch with a better design.
- having the forcing cone chamfered and the barrel overbored.
- having a trigger job done.
- putting a urethane finish on that nasty oiled stock.
- installing a recoil buffer.
 
I like sidesaddles. They allow you to load one-less in the tube so that you can do a tactical shell swap if necessary between shot & slug -but you need to be trained for shell-selection. It doesn't hurt to have additional rounds on-the-gun that you can load by feel from.

Second for me would be the addition of a white light mount, preferably with pressure switch. Shouldn't be shooting at anything that you can't identify.

For me, PGs are only good when used along with stock. This will allow you to maintain control of SG on-target if you ever need the other hand for other things like reloads or for dialing the cops.

Regarding sights, I like ghost ring sights, but they aren't needed. I have also noticed that the tritium front bead on my HD SG makes me want to look for the glowing dot instead of looking to identify my target first. Simple iron rifle sights or even bead works equally well though.

Optional items might include extended/wider slide release and a shortened fore-end.

I'd stay away from those extended rails and shrouds.
 
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I would take the money to be spent on glamorizing it and instead buy ammunition to shoot it.
 
Oh, I go shooting every opportunity I get, but I tend to take the Remington 1100. It has less recoil and a bit more enjoyable to shoot. We do clay shooting on occasion, and that is the majority of the shotty time spent. The 870 is a different animal, being shorter and having substantially more recoil.
The synthetic stock does nothing for me, and is a bit more awkward than the 1100. I do like the idea of having a light with a pressure switch. The photo I posted of the tacticool shotgun was a joke meant to be a bit of overkill. I wouldn't put all that junk on my shotgun. :D One thing I do need is a sling of some sort though.
 
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I just recently modded an 870 tactical with the Knoxx spec Ops II stock and also a side saddle ammo carrier. The stock is great and greatly reduces felt recoil as Blackhawk states. In regards to the side saddle, I have been training on speed reloads from it and can say that, with practice, it can be done very quickly. I would put one on your 870. It may throw off the balance somewhat, but to me it's negligible. +1 on the mag ext too.
 
Get the magazine extension, it'll work, 870's (express and wing masters have a 4+1 capacity).

Only issue you'll have is the express has the indents in the end of the magazine tube that holds the plastic end cap inside the magazine tube for the spring retention.

To put the magazine extension on and have it work you have to get rid of the indents, I drilled mine and then used a dremel to smooth the holes out.

Now for my opinion on mods, (modifications to the shotgun, not moderators), call Wilson combat, find out how thick the barrel has to be at the muzzle to have it threaded for choke tubes. last one I had done cost me 75. plus shipping, that was in 06, so not sure what it would be now.
Don't change the stock, put another 500 rounds through it and then take a class or two, or hit up a few 3 gun matches and watch what/how they do it.

A cylinder bore shotguns pattern sucks past 30 feet or so,(in my opinion).
 
I think a collapsable stock would kill my shoulder. The Knoxx Stock might be better suited as the claim is that there is a notable recoil reduction. Mine looks like this:
Rem-870.jpg
 

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About 14 years ago, I set up an 870 express as a patrol shotgun before my agency started issuing Benelli Novas. I bought a Speedfeed stock with pistol grip, Scattergun Technologies magazine extension with spring and follower, an oversized button safety, and a sidesaddle shell carrier. I also had a three point sling and my 870 already had rifle sights on it.

I loved that shotgun. I had no problems scoring perfect scores with buck and slugs on our course. Slug quals were five shots into a Q target at the 50 yard mark. One had to connect with four out of five to carry slugs. I could routinely put all five into a group that you could cover with your palm.

I never found any issues with the sidesaddle as far as weight or getting in the way. I still own the 870 and use it for home defense. It was a faithful companion on many a hairy call and got a heck of a lot of attention when deploying it and racking a round in the chamber as pump scatterguns are known to do.

Regards.
 
The thing about Sidesaddles throwing off the balance is an non-issue. As this is pretty centrally-mounted, the balance isn't that bad for anyone who has the strength to carry and handle a shotgun.

How come nobody gripes about a white-light system for the SG? That sits all the way at the front of the gun and pulls the barrel downwards, but is definitely worth it in the weight-v-value.

Anyone gets into advanced shotgun tactics (from professional training) will see the value of a sidesaddle. Hell, even a butt-cuff comes in useful for shell-selection drills.
 
lwt210 said:
About 14 years ago, I set up an 870 express as a patrol shotgun before my agency started issuing Benelli Novas. I bought a Speedfeed stock with pistol grip, Scattergun Technologies magazine extension with spring and follower, an oversized button safety, and a sidesaddle shell carrier. I also had a three point sling and my 870 already had rifle sights on it.
Click to expand...

Off topic but do you have a sling on your issued Benelli, and if so how is it attached in front?

Wilson Combat, GG&G, etc. all make a sling attachment for 870s that goes on under the magazine cap but I can't find anyone that makes one for the Nova. I modified an 870 GG&G sling attachment to fit on my SuperNova, it fits, sort of, but the detent ball doesn't line up with it's hole. It seems like a simple enough part to make but nobody seems to have one.
 
eisman said:
If you have 7+1 capacity the extender pictured won't work.

- Side saddles are neat looking but not very smart. They throw off the balance of the gun and catch on stuff. Mall ninja stuff.
- A big white bead is just as effective as tritium and a lot less expensive. If you can't see the bead you shouldn't be shooting. I like Ghost rings, but they stick up too high for me. I don't use anything but the front sight anyways.
- Wood stocks are tough and they work. Pistol grips and folding stocks are only useful if there's a space requirement. Me, I want a stock I can whack somebody with and watch them (not the stock) fold. But a steel butt plate on the wood stock and you have a serious weapon.

I suggest you take your shotgun and shoot it. On the skeet range; at moving targets. When you can score above 50% firing without mounting the gun first, then think about mods. Make sure you put all 7 rounds in, you'll find the swing is very much effected.

Shotgun weight and balance is much more important than on rifles. It must be balanced between the shooters hands to work best. Remember, KISS; keep it simple, stupid. Don't waste time on mods that are not going to help you in a combat situation.

Things you might want to consider-

- replacing the shell catch with one designed for faster reloads.
- replacing the bolt catch with a better design.
- having the forcing cone chamfered and the barrel overbored.
- having a trigger job done.
- putting a urethane finish on that nasty oiled stock.
- installing a recoil buffer.
Click to expand...

Good advice here especially on the barrel and shell catch mods. Really, it's the only thing I would do. Like said above you want good balance on the gun. I went as far replacing the mag extension for the regular cap on mine. It made a world of difference for the balance. It made the gun much more "lively" if that makes sense. I would never go for an extension again. If it's a home defense gun, I see no point in the extra rounds anyway.

I had the knoxx stock on mine for a while and eventually went back to the standard stock. A regular rifle style stock really is the best for shotguns.
 
RevDevil said:
Oh, I go shooting every opportunity I get, but I tend to take the Remington 1100. It has less recoil and a bit more enjoyable to shoot. We do clay shooting on occasion, and that is the majority of the shotty time spent. The 870 is a different animal, being shorter and having substantially more recoil.
The synthetic stock does nothing for me, and is a bit more awkward than the 1100. I do like the idea of having a light with a pressure switch. The photo I posted of the tacticool shotgun was a joke meant to be a bit of overkill. I wouldn't put all that junk on my shotgun. :D One thing I do need is a sling of some sort though.
Click to expand...

tiogatires said:
I just recently modded an 870 tactical with the Knoxx spec Ops II stock and also a side saddle ammo carrier. The stock is great and greatly reduces felt recoil as Blackhawk states. In regards to the side saddle, I have been training on speed reloads from it and can say that, with practice, it can be done very quickly. I would put one on your 870. It may throw off the balance somewhat, but to me it's negligible. +1 on the mag ext too.
Click to expand...

A stock fitted to the shooter can greatly increase comfort. The stock may need to be shortened or lengthened to fit you if you're having trouble with recoil. An older shooter at a skeet club could probably sort that out for you.
 
Thanks for the tips guys, it's helpful. Now, can someone please identify a quality sling or strap for said shotgun? That is a key component that I am missing. As it sits, a pistol grip would greatly improve my handling and overall comfort with the 870. The synthetic stock is nice, but it's a bit long and creates an uncorrectable "odd" stance when firing. I almost feel like I'm not standing right.
 
Get the magazine extension, it'll work, 870's (express and wing masters have a 4+1 capacity).
Click to expand...

Could have saved a whole lot of typing if you read the post first. He already has 7+ cap.
 
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