Rem 870, now ready for HD and Zombies

This 870 express was my first shotgun, I've owned it for about 7 years, and shot untold thousands of rounds through it, mostly trap loads being I originally bought it to get into trap and clay games. A few years ago, I bought an 18" PD barrel, and a hogue stock set, the better recoil pad on the hogue helped manage the slugs and buck shot out of the PD barrel. I took it to a HD shotgun class, and after 100 rounds my shoulder was black and blue for a week, so I bought the Knoxx stock to help, and it did. Then I got back int trap and sporting clays, reconfigured it with the target barrel, and hogue stock, and used the 870 again for trap and clays, and even after I bought a Beretta AL391 to use myself, the 870 ended up being a loaner gun for my dad or Brother.

Recently I have been looking into 3 gun, and getting back into tactical shotgun sports, and possibly replacing my Yugo AK for the bedside gun title. I have learned enough that now I have an idea of what I want in a defensive shotgun, so I gathered the parts I already had, and ordered a set of Trijicon ghost ring night sights, a choate 2 shell mag extender, and a surefire pic rail/flashlight mount for a tactical light/laser, and some gun paint. I can swap my GLOCK light laser between this, and my pistols, or might just get a seperate more compact light and/or laser unit for the shotgun in the future. Spent the last couple days stripping it, drilling and tapping the reciever, drilling and pinning on the front sight, and coming up with stencils for a flashy "urban tacticool" camo scheme. I did some trigger work, and a little bit of interior polishing to smooth up the well broken in action and trigger, and now that it is done, I'm happy with the results, next I gotta shoot it.


Originally a standard 870 express target model


and after a couple days worth of work, this is how it looks now. (gratuitous toe and dog pic included)

looks great!

how many shells can you carry in that?

my own HD shotgun is a 590 mossberg got the same kind of pistol grip on my too I can 8+1 2 3/4 shells into mine (00 buck) plus I have 5 more shells in a stock sleeve carrier ....

That is a damn fine looking dog Sir.

Which Triicons did you use?

jaywade said:

how many shells can you carry in that?

my own HD shotgun is a 590 mossberg got the same kind of pistol grip on my too I can 8+1 2 3/4 shells into mine (00 buck) plus I have 5 more shells in a stock sleeve carrier ....

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6+1, being it is only an 18.5" barrel, any more shells would require the mag tube to be longer than the barrel.

I wanted to keep it relatively light weight, so I opted aggainst a saddle shell carrier, or anything other than the basics. For competition I like the shell pouches on the belt, for HD, I have a box of shells on the night stand I can dump in my pocket quickly, although the likelyhood of going through 7 X 00 buck loads + 17 X 40S&W from my nightstand gun +13 X9mm from my CCW peice +7 X 9mm from my CCW BUG also on the nightstand + 5 X 20ga slugs from the wife's 870, and 15 X9mm from the Beretta M9 on her night stand, is slim, and that is before reloading, and only the defenses in 1 room of the house If 64 rounds of ammo doesn't do it, I guess it's my time to go

My 870 Tactical. Totally stock. Capacity: 25 2 3/4" shells. (1 in the tube, 6 in the magazine, 3 in the stock, 15 in the sling)

Nice setup, man!

joppaj said:

That is a damn fine looking dog Sir.

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Thanks Cosmo likes to check out anything new especially guns, and wouldn't leave the gun alone when I set it on the floor to take the pic. He kept smelling it, and wagging his tail, so I figured another pic of the little fella on MD shooters wouldn't hurt. It's kinda funny, I break out the guns for cleaning, or getting ready to go to the range, and he has to "inspect" every single one.

Drmsparks said:

Which Triicons did you use?

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http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productnumber=109166

On sale for $83.99. The rear sigt install is fairly strightforward, drill and tap the reciever for the pair of 6-40 screws that come with it. For the front sight, you file off the bead, and it is suppoed to be epoxied over the front sight base, but I drilled a hole through the sight and base from the side, and used a 1/16" X 1/2" roll pin, that way I can remove it if I need to, and it is more secure. The sights are stamped trijicon and roll marked scattergun technologies, but cost about 1/2 of what the "official" scattergun tech sights cost. The front blade has a single green tritium capsule, and the rear has 2 small ones on either side of the ring.

For extra shells, I much prefer a competition shell holder(or few of them) to sling loops or a reciever mounted carrier, gun mounted shells and carriers are just too heavy and cumbersome for me to like. They hold 6 shells a peice, and you simply pull all of them out at the same time, they are positioned in your had so you can palm them into the tube quickly and can reload faster than most any other way I have found.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=422576

alucard0822 said:

6+1, being it is only an 18.5" barrel, any more shells would require the mag tube to be longer than the barrel.

I wanted to keep it relatively light weight, so I opted aggainst a saddle shell carrier, or anything other than the basics. For competition I like the shell pouches on the belt, for HD, I have a box of shells on the night stand I can dump in my pocket quickly, although the likelyhood of going through 7 X 00 buck loads + 17 X 40S&W from my nightstand gun +13 X9mm from my CCW peice +7 X 9mm from my CCW BUG also on the nightstand + 5 X 20ga slugs from the wife's 870, and 15 X9mm from the Beretta M9 on her night stand, is slim, and that is before reloading, and only the defenses in 1 room of the house If 64 rounds of ammo doesn't do it, I guess it's my time to go

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yeah my dad said sorta teh same thing "do you think you are going to need 12 shells (I don't have a shell in the chamber ) + the 3 mags you got for your 9?????"

my only answer is I hope not but you never know..if we do have a SHTF momment I feel like we're be prepared ....helps me sleep a little

jaywade said:

yeah my dad said sorta teh same thing "do you think you are going to need 12 shells (I don't have a shell in the chamber ) + the 3 mags you got for your 9?????"

my only answer is I hope not but you never know..if we do have a SHTF momment I feel like we're be prepared ....helps me sleep a little

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If SHTF is the case, then I would be better off grabbing the AR and 4 loaded 30 rd mags in my competition holster

I was reluctant to replace the AK in the "nightstand gun" role, it is hard to beat 30 rounds of 7.62X39 that are almost guaranteed to go bang, but from that end of the house, there are a couple spots where that much penetration could be an issue, so 7 rounds of 00 buck + the handguns should more than get the job done at night, and have less chance to go through the 3-4 walls between me and the neighbors. I figured the 870 in the bedroom would be better, and moving the AK to the office to pair with my USP45 I keep there. Most shots from the office would send any errant rounds into the big hill out back so more powerful, but harder to operate weapons are OK ther. Also, the 870 is now better equipped for night time use than the AK, and being about 80% of the time I am either sleeping in the bedroom(at night), or working in the office at the other end of the house(during the day), this works out well.

Also the way these 2 are stored makes more sense in their respective locations. The AK safety is tough to manipulate in a hurry, so it is basically "condition 3", full mag, empty chamber, safety off. To get it ready, all I have to do is rack the bolt, which can be a little difficult to find in the dark, where I store the 870 with a full tube, and 1 on the ramp with the action open, safety off. This way, to get the 870 into action, all I have to do is grab it by the forearm, and in lifting it up to shoulder it, the action closes, and it is ready to go with 7 rounds, much easier and faster in the dark, while reamining safe it it were to fall over. I don't don't trust thumb safeties, especially the crappy crossbolt safety on the 870, so this way there is less chance of it going off if it falls over, and I am not down 1 shell.

Just got to get it to the range, sight it in, and fire a few boxes of ammo to verify function and patterning, then I can make the switch

once my daughter was born I was lot more concerned about home defense there has been a number of breakin's here in the waldorf area ...let's face the neigborhood's not what it once was...

did a lot of research brought a book or 2 (Gun Digest has a good one Personal Protection & home Defense by Robert k. Campbell) the shotgun is almost always suggested for close quarters comabt or defense " the shotgun is all-encompassing rather than a precision instrument. There is no other firearm as effective at close range and no other firearm more likey to strike and incapacitate the adversary at moderate range"

I read once that getting hit by 00 buck at 15 yrd away was the same as being hit by a 9 round sub manchine gun burst

so I think the shotgun is a better choice too

VERY NICELY DONE!!!

my mossberg 590 8 rounds iof 00 buck in t e tube (chamber empty) 5 more on the stock sock



led light w/ red dot center


the wifey's stage gun

here's some pic's of mine

the handgun case


the 8000 cougar 9mm 15 rounds



walther p-22 10 rounds fun shooter

nice jer! now we definately gotta take that to the trap range up there to shoot with the fancy guns. camo looks pretty nice. lemme know if u wanna try to shoot some trap with dad sometime soon....oh and with turkey day coming up we gotta decide on fried or smoker....i think he wants to do some random food that isnt turkey or something. oh, and with xmas on the way u may wanna hold off on another light/laser...

Is that the one I fired at last year's Fall Shoot, Jer? Very nicely done, sir! And I see Cosmo approves as well.

smokey0118 said:

nice jer! now we definately gotta take that to the trap range up there to shoot with the fancy guns. camo looks pretty nice. lemme know if u wanna try to shoot some trap with dad sometime soon....oh and with turkey day coming up we gotta decide on fried or smoker....i think he wants to do some random food that isnt turkey or something. oh, and with xmas on the way u may wanna hold off on another light/laser...

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I was thinking chicken and ribs on the smoker for turkey day, not sure what dad had in mind. I ended up pulling the GLOCK light off, and sticking the Hellfighter X8 on it, and it works better and easier to operate with my hand on the forend, I can toggle it on and off to better manage the light. The sights are good enough that I really don't need a laser on it, the only thing I might do is change around the sling attatchments, and go with a Vickers style 2pt.

Rattlesnake46319 said:

Is that the one I fired at last year's Fall Shoot, Jer? Very nicely done, sir! And I see Cosmo approves as well.

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Yup, same one, shot about 150 slugs and buck loads that day including a couple boxes of 3" slugs, made me a beliver in the Knoxx

That's some sexaaay shotgun ya got there alucard!!

Just got back from the range, and I am happy with the results. Set up like it is, the 870 weighs in at 7lbs, 14oz unloaded, about the same as the standard 28" wood stocked express model, and is quite manageable, and easy handling. I ran 75 bird shot shells, 15 slugs, and 10 buck shot loads, and as always, it gobbled them up without issue. The sights make a huge difference, and help me get on target much faster, but also are precise enough from prone to keep slug groups in 1 really big hole at 50 yards, and under 8" at 100, plenty accurate for a smooth bore, and more than adequate for it's purpose. The shot patterns were uniform, and put about 50% of the shot in a 12" circle at 25 yards, about what I expected from the fixed IC barrel. The Rem 9 pellet 00 buck loads put every pellet in a 12"X12" target at the same range, and grouped all but 4 pellets within about 8" after firing 5 shells, so the pattern is acceptably tight with these, and would probably tighten up a bit more with Federal tactical loads. One of the things I was worried about, where the buckshot and slugs would hit different places with the same point of aim proved to be somewhat unfounded. The slugs hit in the center at 25 and 50 yards, and about 4" low at 100, buck hit in the center out to about 25 yards, and may have been a few inches low at 50, but it was hard to tell being the pattern opened up to about 2 feet at 50 yards. As always the knoxx stock helped manage recoil well, but slaps the cheek pretty good with slugs, so as soon as I can, I will get the "power pack" that includes a battery holder to keep some spare 123s for the flash light, and a decent looking cheek peice that should make it more comfortable to keep a good cheek weld on it.

I ran a couple drills at 25 feet with bird shot, I set up with 4 blank peices of paper spread out about 3 feet apart, basically load 7 shells, double tap the first 3, load 2 more, then double tap the last target, and leaving me with 1 shell left. Then I tried the same starting with 3, double tapping the first, then loading 6, and double tapping the other 3. I also tried it loading 4, putting 1 load in each target, loading 4 more, and putting an additional round in each. The only problem was when loading a full 6 in the tube, after 4 rounds, they were a little slow and tough to push in due to the new mag spring that comes with the kit. I have left the tube loaded full for the last few days to break in this spring, and it has helped, hopefully after a few more outings, it will settle a little more. I also realized I need to practice loading a lot more than I have, IMO the slow reloading is the biggest drawback to a defensive shotgun compared to revolvers, pistols, and detachable mag carbines, and I intend to practice a lot more to get quicker at it. Basically I was taught to load as many shells as the gun will hold, as often as possible, even if it is only 1 more shell than you have, and to maintain a firing grip, and load with the left hand only at high ready, so you never need to run out, or take the sights off of the threat.

Finally I tried firing 5 slugs and 5 buck shot loads as fast as I could, while remaining within a pair of 8" targets as 30 feet. The buck loads were much easier to keep on target, and I shot them about a second faster than the slugs, about 4 seconds for the buck and 5 seconds with the slugs, the additional recoil rom the slugs being the biggest difference. For this reason, the distances inside my house, and the less chance for over penetration, I think I will stick to buck shot for my defensive loads. 9 X .33 cal, 54gr pellets going about 1300fps is still no slouch, and should be plenty. I am also now confident in staking my life on this gun, and starting tonight it will take it's place next to the bed.

This is the target from the final test, 5 X 1oz foster slugs on the left, and 5 X 9 pellet 00 buck on the right, and a couple wad strikes (top hole on the left is a wad strike).