Drill and Tapping Remington 870 Express

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Homerboy

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I have an 870 Express from 2006, before Freedom Group bought Remington. Always been reliable. I remember installing a non MIM extractor. It has a side saddle and a Blackhawk Compstock.

But I prefer a ghost ring site and a front sight other than a bead. I read somewhere that the Express receivers are too thin to be drilled and tapped, but that makes no sense to me since the receivers are all the same, other than the finishing of them.

I wouldn’t do this myself. Off to a gunsmith it would go, but anybody have experience drilling and tapping an 870 Express?
 
Sure, did that on mine. Drilled and tapped with a #6-48 tap if memory serves, but it's been a couple of years so that may not be right. Installed a nice Picatinny rail which was made for the purpose, a perfect fit, and to be extra-sure I applied a thin coat of steel-filled JB Weld between them after careful solvent cleaning and wiped away the excess after tightening the bolts. There was a trace of a couple of the bolt ends sticking out inside. They didn't interfere with the bolt itself moving, but I ground them down flush anyway just to make it easier to clean in there without the cloth getting caught. The tap was pretty small so I used some white lithium grease and went slowly but it went smoothly, never seemed to get anywhere near risking breaking the tap.
 
It would be no different on an Express or a Wingmaster. Both are the same receiver; the only difference is in the finish. I don't know for sure why, but Remington has never wanted to have them drilled and tapped. They even came up with the cantilever scope mounting barrels which seemed to me a much more complex method to mount a scope than just drilling and tapping the receiver.

I suspect that the engineers at Remington don't think the steel is thick enough to do so safely. But don't know for sure. All of the shotguns that I'm aware of that are drilled and tapped have alumimum receivers. Since aluminum isn't as strong they have to a thicker receiver which means more metal for the screws to get a bite on.

Obviously, it can, and has been done. But I believe I'd call the folks at Remington to get their opinion before doing it.
 
jmr40 said:
It would be no different on an Express or a Wingmaster. Both are the same receiver; the only difference is in the finish. I don't know for sure why, but Remington has never wanted to have them drilled and tapped. They even came up with the cantilever scope mounting barrels which seemed to me a much more complex method to mount a scope than just drilling and tapping the receiver.

I suspect that the engineers at Remington don't think the steel is thick enough to do so safely. But don't know for sure. All of the shotguns that I'm aware of that are drilled and tapped have alumimum receivers. Since aluminum isn't as strong they have to a thicker receiver which means more metal for the screws to get a bite on.

Obviously, it can, and has been done. But I believe I'd call the folks at Remington to get their opinion before doing it.
Click to expand...

I've seen many Remington 870's that come from the factory with a ghost ring sight. I believe the newer Express Tactical even comes with them on there. My friend is a cop and they still have 870 Police Magnum's in their armory. Ghost ring sight and front ramp. I'm not sure Remington, or ANY gun company, would advise a consumer to make any modifications into their product.

That being said, I think I'd like a Ghost ring with a fiber optic up front. Any ideas or suggestions?
 
https://shopwilsoncombat.com/Trak-Lock-Sights/products/166/
WilsonCombat is one place with sights to consider.

Then there's VangComp.com which will even install its kit for a mere $575.
https://www.vangcomp.com/product/vang-comp-ghost-ring-sights/

I don't think the new "Remarms" company will want to discuss things or even give advice as the Remington company under "Freedom Group" is gone, which is when & where the subject 870 was built, although there may be somebody there who might give advice, but I somehow doubt anybody there would do that over the phone.
 
L-2 said:
https://shopwilsoncombat.com/Trak-Lock-Sights/products/166/
WilsonCombat is one place with sights to consider.

Then there's VangComp.com which will even install its kit for a mere $575.
https://www.vangcomp.com/product/vang-comp-ghost-ring-sights/

I don't think the new "Remarms" company will want to discuss things or even give advice as the Remington company under "Freedom Group" is gone, which is when & where the subject 870 was built, although there may be somebody there who might give advice, but I somehow doubt anybody there would do that over the phone.
Click to expand...

I ordered a Scattergun Technologies ghost ring and Trijicon front sight from Midway. Lots of videos with them on 870’s. I’ll have a gunsmith install it.

and I’m not sure it matters, but my 870 predates Freedom Group. I bought the shotgun in March of 2006. Freedom Group didn’t buy Remington until 2007.
 
Have one of those saddle mounts. Scratched up the outside of the Express 870 pretty good, though that doesn't really worry me, just saying, in case it is a concern for some - consider sanding and polishing the inside faces and rounding the edges very well before mounting. The through-bolts (not 'pins' as they thread into the far side of the saddle) weren't an exact fit, with one being a bit short, so I replaced it with a bolt offering full thread engagement instead of just 2 turns. The other was a bit long and not threaded deeply enough, so it both stuck out too far with a sharp edge, and lifted the saddle slightly away from the receiver, when fully tightened.

Using a die on the bolt threads to go another 1/2 turn resolved one problem, grinding and polishing the tip resolved the other. This was apparently from the same manufacturer as the one to which you linked, Laphroaig, as it is identical in appearance. Nothing fatal, just rather shoddy workmanship. In the end I decided to ditch it and drill & tap for a cleaner rail mount on my cut-down Express - I was going for a minimal, sleek setup, and the bulky saddle kind of went against that.

Oh, and why not have the two bolts use matching Allen sockets? Two different keys to install two bolts on the same accessory seems a bit cludgy.
 
Not sure if mine is the excact make as the one I linked to for a reference, but the fit on my 1100 was good, as intended. But now I'm worried that it may have left marks on the receiver. I won't know until I take it off :scrutiny:
 
I erred in mentioning Freedom Group earlier and didn't remember the OP saying it was pre-Freedom Group.

I've got the Scattergun Tech rear sight on my older Remington "870 P-Max" (Remington appears to have done its own front sight on my particular model) and I think the OP will be happy with the sight set once installed by a good gunsmith.
Whether prior Remington company (whatever its corporate name was) or Freedom Group, my issue is the current Remarms company doesn't seem to have any interest in supporting these older pre-Remarms products.

I'd only hope the new company gets healthy enough to open up some type of custom shop someday &/or repair the older stuff, but that's just really a dream right now. First, I'd think they'd need to supply spare parts to any authorized repair shops and the many parts supply companies out there. So far, Remarms appears incapable of doing that.:(
 
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