Rem 870P combat/defense mods?

Shooting the heck out of it will make it more reliable, and make you more reliable too . 870s usually run right out of the box.

After that, shoot it some more.

For 3-gun, especially in limited/tactical class, the first thing you should do is learn how to reload the gun quickly under stress, and keep the magazine topped off continously during the stage. The shotgun stages at a 3-gun match are all about reloading. The fastest reloader will typically win the stage if he/she can hit anything . After that, about all you might need for a rifle sighted 870P would be a magazine extension, seven or eight round depending on if you have an 18 or 20 inch barrel (I think the rifle sighted versions are 20"), and maybe a sidesaddle. I tend to be on the minimalist side when it comes to gadgets. The best gadget for a shotgun is a buttload of ammunition. BA/UU/R

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

The good thing about the 870 is, they work very well as-is. Leoncarr gave good advice. You won't really need much for your gun.

I might suggest a particular brand of the magazine extension - the Wilson Combat versions work well and stay on well. They also come with the solid follower that I always use on my guns.

Best of luck with it.

Steve

Ditto what's been said.

Assuming good form, number one thing is to be sure the gun fits you, main problem usually is stock length, less often drop and cast. Pick out something several feet away as a target, close eyes, mount gun, open eyes. Make double triple quadruple sure the gun is not loaded if you do this inside. If the gun fits reasonably well you should be close to pointing the muzzle at what you were looking at. Then mount the gun with both eyes open facing a mirror with your reflected dominant eye as the target. The gun should mount so that you are looking down the muzzle of the gun in the mirror, if you see all of the top or bottom of the barrel the gun is not fitting properly. Again, make sure the gun is empty and do this test from far enough away not to strike the mirror or anything else with the muzzle.

The gun shouldn't need anything but some action polishing (shoot it!) to run smoother, should run 100% out of the box as long as you do your part. Your part would be:

1) loading it correctly (a shell will go into the magazine tube backwards as easily as frontwards, keep the brass toward the butt 100% of the time) and quickly (start slow with a system that works for you and speed up over time)

2) never short- stroking the action- pump briskly and bring the slide all the way to the rear _every time_

Hey, it's a riot gun, it ain't supposed to be pretty. And 870s are lots of things but an anchor? Not properly maintained, not much chance of it being an anchor if taken care of.

Mods are to help keep the gun fed, not to help reliability or smoothness. A good magazine extension (unless yours came with one, the factory one is fine) and a SideSaddle work for me as far as gun mods are concerned. Chances are you will need more ammo for any given stage than the mag and the SideSaddle will carry, figure out a way to carry that ammo so it is easily accessible- but that's gear, not gun mods. A solidly mounted sling should about do it for gun mods I would think. Good luck, stay careful.

lpl/nc

LeonCarr is correct:

The number one mod for any gun is AMMO

Good answers to a good question.

The more I shoot my 870 HD, the less I want to do anything to it. Every thing works fine and slick. The only time it has bobbled on me in over 1K rounds is when using questionably reloaded shot shells a buddy was shooting (he reloaded them). I would consider a shorter LOP stock however...

FWIW, I can generate 2 inch groups at 50 yards with smooth bore slugs once I "dialed in" my bead sight/orientation in. Thinking of mounting a scope and seeing what my 18" can do at 100 yards...We'll see. Mike

The best money spent will be on ammunition for practice. You have an EXCELLENT fighting gun and I prefer the rifle sights to ghost rings. You may want to consider a 4-shot side saddle. The shorter version allows for easy one-handed manipulation of the receiver where the 6-shot version can be a bit bulky and obtrusive. The 4-shot version just balances better for me, too. With practice, it can be loaded from the receiver quite quickly.

The gun will smooth up in short order with honest use.

Good luck and train hard.

For USPSA or IMG 3gun, you need a magazine extension that will let you carry eight rounds in the tube and one in the chamber. This is not an option - starting with fewer than nine rounds in the gun will cost you points. You'll also need a barrel of the appropriate length, threaded for choke tubes.

That's it. Get real good at reloading.

For a fighting shotgun, the only absolute necessity is a reliable weapon-mounted light.

For either weapon, have the trigger cleaned up (a clean 4# break should be the standard) and have the stock adjusted to fit you.

- Chris

meh92: where can I find the 4 shot sidesaddle? Almost bought the 6 shot yesterday, but that's more than I really want. Mine stays cruiser ready which is only 4? rds on board, so want a few extras handy. Don't plan on going to war. "make 'em count!"

Stay safe.
Bob