Rem 870 slug - add scope?

[Stein79]

Last season I bought a rifled barrel for my Remington 870 Express for deer.
Since adding an auto for birds, the 870 is going to become a dedicated deer gun and I have been considering adding a scope to it.

Got an email from Remington with a picatinny rail: https://www.remington.com/shop/870-1100-11-87-Saddle-Mount-with-Picatinny-Rail-for-12-%26-20GA/p/19489?utm_source=bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Image+-+Shotgun+Saddle+Mount+-+Save+$10&utm_content=Season+Starter+Special&utm_campaign=Season+Starter+Special&_bta_tid=00603379031054721914114673948135705718231450790857823422348024915428864

So, my question is: would this require gunsmithing? And/or is there a better option as far as rail to mount a small inexpensive scope?

And if you're feeling generous, what kind of magnification should I be considering, based on the ballistics of slugs? I don't want to spend a lot on a scope that only needs to hit out to 100-150 yards, right?

Thanks,

Stein

 

[iH8DemLibz]

Saddle mounts generally use the holes that are present in the lower portion of the receiver.

Keep in mind that the saddle mounts zero the receiver. They won't zero the barrel. Since the barrel is removable.

If you want a dedicated slug gun, buy a barrel with a cantilevered scope mount. More expensive, but a much better set-up.


Bonus Information: A 1-4 power scope would be sufficient for a Bambi whacking shotgun.

 

[Stein79]

Saddle mounts generally use the holes that are present in the lower portion of the receiver.

Keep in mind the saddle mounts zero the receiver. They won't zero the barrel.

If you want a dedicated slug gun, buy a barrel with a cantilevered scope mount. More expensive, but a much better set-up.


Bonus Information: A 1-4 power scope would be sufficient for a Bambi whacking shotgun.

Thanks for the quick response!
So you're saying the brand new slug barrel with 3 rounds through it is useless?

 

[campns]

make certain you put some purple lock tight on the extended screws, and get some good quality scope rings. I have a 4 power fixed scope on my cantilever scope and I'm good out to 200 with confidence.

 

[lx1x]

The existing trigger group pins comes out and replaced with screws that comes with the scope mount. Easy.. no more than couple min. Only need a punch to remove the existing pins.

 

[iH8DemLibz]

Thanks for the quick response!
So you're saying the brand new slug barrel with 3 rounds through it is useless?

Not useless by any means. Just watch your zero.

Fire a few rounds, remove the barrel, install the barrel, and fire a few more rounds.

If the zero stays intact, or acceptable for close range hunting, you're golden.

To maximize things a bit, use quality sabot slugs. Love me some Remington Copper Solids. But try different brands and see what your barrel likes.

 

[campns]

Thanks for the quick response!
So you're saying the brand new slug barrel with 3 rounds through it is useless?

no it's not useless, but there are better options, every time you take on and off the barrel you are going to need to sight it in.

with a cantilever barrel this is not the case, so hopefully once you get this set you never have to take the barrel off again.

in Upstate NY it was common for guys to have the barrels pinned after being setup with scopes to retain accuracy.

 

[molonlabe]

This is the one I use on my slug gun. I'm sure you can get it cheaper.

http://customshopinc.com/product/redfield-widefield-4x-rifle-scope/

 

[outrider58]

If I were you, I'd have the receiver tapped for a weaver or 1913 scope mount. Its the best way.

 

[Stein79]

no it's not useless, but there are better options, every time you take on and off the barrel you are going to need to sight it in.



with a cantilever barrel this is not the case, so hopefully once you get this set you never have to take the barrel off again.



in Upstate NY it was common for guys to have the barrels pinned after being setup with scopes to retain accuracy.

The only reason I'd remove the barrel would be for cleaning. Still a pain in the arse to have to re-zero after every time.

 

[outrider58]

For scopes, the oldsters always say fixed 4x because back in the day, the guns just didn't have decent range. Not so today. I have a medium priced 3x9x40 on my Savage.

 

[campns]

For scopes, the oldsters always say fixed 4x because back in the day, the guns just didn't have decent range. Not so today. I have a medium priced 3x9x40 on my Savage.

I agree with you, I just find that with the sabot drop that a 4x gives you better metering, the ability to have a wider field of view, and lead for moving shots. And it's less to think about .. if you have ever had a deer come in close but you were all the way on 9x I have fumbled to get it dialed down quick enough. I also carry binoculars for glassing anyway just so I can limit my movement and "Hot" points at other hunters.

besides I had an old Bushnell night and day laying around not being used

 

[campns]

The only reason I'd remove the barrel would be for cleaning. Still a pain in the arse to have to re-zero after every time.

a buddy of mine with the pinned barrel swears by the Otis cleaning system anymore for cleaning the barrel, clean the action really well, lube it with some good quality grease and you should be good to go for many years.

 

[Sampson]

I have the same setup that you are working towards with the saddle mount and a Nikon 3-7x32 scope. Been using my 870 setup like this since 1988, with Rem Copper Solid slugs. I remove the barrel after deer season is over for a good cleaning and just plan a sight-in day before the next gun season. Mine has never been more that an 1" or so off compared to the last sight-in.

 

[Mini14tac]

I have 2 870's, One is pretty much setup for upland game and the other is my all purpose shotgun. The all purpose is a 3 1/2 supermag that I swap barrels depending on what I am hunting weather it be goose, turkeys or deer. I use the cantilever scope barrel with a Leupold VXII 2X7 Shotgun scope. Never looses zero. Have an open sight rifled barrel for deer drives. As stated earlier I highly recommend the cantilever scope barrel for ease of changeability and confidence that it will hit where I aim. JMHO.

 

[d33rhunt3r]

I have fixed 4x on my cantilever 870. use it only for deer and I haven't zeroed it in about 5-6 years, haven't had the need to.

Cantilever is definitely the way to go

 

[outrider58]

a buddy of mine with the pinned barrel swears by the Otis cleaning system anymore for cleaning the barrel, clean the action really well, lube it with some good quality grease and you should be good to go for many years.

I am a big fan of pinning slug barrels.

I keep my scopes turned down to 4-5x unil I need more power, then just dial up as much as I need.

 

[DanJo]

Me and both of my sons now have dedicated 870 deer guns with cantilevered scope bases and 3-9x40 Leupold scopes on top. Mine is camo synthetic, my older son's is a Wingmaster wood finish and my younger son's is a black synthetic. It's a great set-up. Each year I take it to the range to site it in and it's usually dead on a 100 yards. One range shot and I'm done. I also keep the maginfication at a about a 4x or 5x for field of view until I have a deer sited in. We used to switch out the barrels trying to make the gun a multi-purpose gun, but leaving it as a dedicated slug guns really improves the consistency. Buying three guns set me back a bit, but they are rock solid set-ups that will last for years.

 

[Uncle Duke]

Last season I bought a rifled barrel for my Remington 870 Express for deer.
Since adding an auto for birds, the 870 is going to become a dedicated deer gun and I have been considering adding a scope to it.

Got an email from Remington with a picatinny rail: https://www.remington.com/shop/870-1100-11-87-Saddle-Mount-with-Picatinny-Rail-for-12-%26-20GA/p/19489?utm_source=bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Image+-+Shotgun+Saddle+Mount+-+Save+$10&utm_content=Season+Starter+Special&utm_campaign=Season+Starter+Special&_bta_tid=00603379031054721914114673948135705718231450790857823422348024915428864

So, my question is: would this require gunsmithing? And/or is there a better option as far as rail to mount a small inexpensive scope?

And if you're feeling generous, what kind of magnification should I be considering, based on the ballistics of slugs? I don't want to spend a lot on a scope that only needs to hit out to 100-150 yards, right?

Thanks,

Stein

No gun smithing required with that saddle mount. You may indeed however want to keep from removing that barrel once sighted in, unless between seasons. It's a really good idea to sight a gun every year prior to a season anyway. A bore snake or an Otis kit for in season cleaning will keep you from having to introduce variables you really don't have need to introduce associated with removing the barrel.

Scopes.....I think your most important starting point is that you start by understanding that you're going to make some compromises any way you go.

Your end game is to kill deer. I'd suggest to you that your overriding concern given the compromises inherent to scopes isn't as likely to be so much matching your scope to the extreme ballistics capability of your slug, so much as it is understanding the most likely ways and distances where you'll encounter opportunities to kill deer. From there you're playing percentages, and the opportunities you'd be most likely to be presented with in the area you'll most typically hunt.

Folks tend to want to focus on the maximum range part of the equation in choosing scopes, with the idea that as range increases, more magnification is better. But while one can certainly make that argument, if the terrain they most typically hunt doesn't typically warrant it or present 150 yard shots with any real frequency? That matters and it matters a lot because it's also true that when you increase magnification, you do so at the expense of field of view. There's simply no getting around it.

How many 150 yard shots are you going to have? Well sir, I have no idea. That's for you to think about snd decide. But give that question a lot of thought, because your answer is going to determine at least in part what compromises you'll want to make. I'm going to bet that unless you're typically hunting fields or timbered clear cuts, you'll encounter 95% of your opportunities here in Maryland slug gun required counties at inside of 100 yards. And of those, a good 90% will be inside of 80 yards, with most of those being well inside of that range when all is said and done.

If what I mention proves to be your typical deer hunting reality in most cases and most of the time? Then field of view is going to be your friend for your more typical and far more numerous close quarters and thick woods opportunities.

Good luck with your choices!

 

[Stein79]

Thanks for all the good info and advice!

I expect most shots - given limited past experience are in the sub 60 yard range.