Remington 870 barrel

[USN-PO2]

So a while back my wife bought me a Remington 870 with a 28" barrel. Can't say I'm ever actually use it as I have 5-6 Beretta Over Under shotguns that are my "Sporting" guns.
Been thinking of buying a new barrel but not sure of what length I want, I'm wanting to turn it into more of a self defense gun. Saw a Carlson 18.5" that uses the Remchoke tubes. Have seen 20" and 24" as well.
So I guess, recommendations for length and sights since bead, rifled and scope mounts are available.

[Greg Nichols]

IMG_20200808_150610_135.jpg

I dig 10.5" ghost rings, and an RMR.

[BobM]

Some years ago had a similar vent rib 870 barrel cut to about 19” and rethreaded for the Rem Chokes. I had a large fiber optic bead installed as well. I’d planned on it being my “do-all” shotgun: hunting, home defense etc.

[BigEd63]

Some years ago had a similar vent rib 870 barrel cut to about 19” and rethreaded for the Rem Chokes. I had a large fiber optic bead installed as well. I’d planned on it being my “do-all” shotgun: hunting, home defense etc.

Sounds close to what I did on my 870 Express Super Magnum only I didn't thread it for chokes yet. It's improved cylinder and a little under 21" iirc.

[LawDog]

Self-defense shotguns should be short. The 18" guns make up 95% of the "home defense" shotgun market, but only because of the NFA. If that piece of stupid legislation were removed, the sale of hacksaws would go up 400% overnight and tomorrow everyone would have a <14" barrel. My sole SBS is a 12.5" 870. It's lithe and nimble. If you are willing to paper it, then I'd say to do so. File the forms, get the stamp, and send the barrel out to have it shortened. An 18-20" shotgun is very much a compromise piece of kit, and not what anyone truly wants for a defensive gun. If you don't want the paper, then skip this gun and get a PGO that you can then affix a brace to.

[mudgunner49]

I have a couple of 14" 870's as well as a 14" 590, however I just sent a 28" VR barrel off to Casey at Tac Ord and had him chop it to 18.5 and ream it for RemChoke. It now has a orange/tritium Big Dot front sight on it and a 1-shot mag tube extension. It looks enough like a sporting shotgun that it doesn't upset the Presbyterians and at 6'3" and 270, the extra 4" or so of barrel means nothing to me (aside from the cool factor).

Nice thing about most pump guns is that multiple barrels are easy...

[USN-PO2]

Picked up a 18.5" with Remchoke tubes.

[Michael Biggs]

Get an 18 inch barrel and add a Ashley Express big dot front sight! Simple and easy.

[chad newton]

Send it into shop monkey, he will dial it in for you...

[LawDog]

Picked up a 18.5" with Remchoke tubes.

That'll do. For defense, you'll probably run IC all of the time, but it can be fun to play around with a Mod choke just to see the difference.

Sights are very much a personal preference. I really like rifle sights on a shotgun, but I don't currently have one set up that way, and I'm not convinced that it's really the best idea--it's just what I like. You'll hear lots of votes for something like an express dot or for a ghost ring. And these days an RMR or Holosun might be the choice. (I wonder how the ring in a 508T lines up with the pattern. Hmmm.)

You might like an oversized safety. Alternatively, you might hate it.

But the first thing to do is buy a smorgasbord of shells and a long roll of butcher paper, and find a place to shoot where you don't have to call a cease-fire in order to change targets. To pattern a shotgun, I take a roll of 18" wide paper and cut it into 54" lengths, and then mark it out as three targets, each with a 1" aiming dot. Even with it tripled up, it still feels like all of the work is in changing targets, with very little shooting. But take notes on everything. See which ammo groups evenly and consistently, without fliyers. And figure out how much spread you want at a given distance. Personally, I tend to use #1 buck, with a couple of slugs set aside. I experimented with everything from #4 buck up to 000, and decided #1 gives me what I want. But that will change based on the ranges you are working with and the cover you've got to contend with.

That's about everything I know about shotguns, summed up in a paragraph, but there are several people here who have spent a lot more time than me with a "boomstick."