Making an 870 lighter

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XDShooter07

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I just recently picked up an 870 express 12 ga for the upcoming hunting season. I was just wondering if anyone knew of anything I could do to lighten it up a little. I like the 28" barrel so I don't want to shorten it up any, I also like the wood stocks so I don't want anything synthetic. Is there a lighter barrel or receiver out there anywhere that you guys know of? I just want it to be a little quicker to swing and point. Thanks.
 
The receiver is technically the firearm, so a new one would need to go through a FFL.

You could lighten the stock by hollowing some of it out - but then the gun will become very muzzle heavy
 
If the 870 is too heavy for your taste, buy a Mossberg because it has an aluminum receiver instead of the steel used in an 870.
 
Express barrels have lots more metal than needed. The one I had shortened to 21" weighs more than the 26 Light Contour barrel on hand. I suggest one of these in appropriate length for you.

You can also Redneck Engineer the mag cap by beltsanding the dome flat and cold bluing it after. Takes off most of an oz, but it's where it counts for handling.

You can make it quicker to point by ADDING a bit of weight to the rear. A roll of nickels inside the stock bolt hole packed to keep it from shifting will help. So will a trash hull filled with shot, crimped and glued.

HTH...
 
Thanks for the tips. Not gonna pick up a new gun as this one is new. Thanks for the tip on the receiver, hadn't thought of that. I'll take a look at those barrels and see what I think. A lighter barrel is probably the route to go. The gun isn't too heavy as is, I just wanna make it a little quicker. Thanks again.
 
This kind of reminds me of a Glock thread where a new Glock owner wanted to tune his Glock to make it a match gun. He wanted to know how to do a lot of expensive things to it to end up with a pistol he could win matches with. Everybody kept telling him to buy another gun suited to that purpose. The Glock he bought was a duty gun meant to use for self defense, not a highly tuned target pistol for matches.
 
I looked into those barrels. They're a little much so I think I'll be leaving it as is. Thanks for the useful responses though.

This kind of reminds me of a Glock thread where a new Glock owner wanted to tune his Glock to make it a match gun. He wanted to know how to do a lot of expensive things to it to end up with a pistol he could win matches with. Everybody kept telling him to buy another gun suited to that purpose. The Glock he bought was a duty gun meant to use for self defense, not a highly tuned target pistol for matches.
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Doesn't sound anything like that to me at all. Sounds to me like someone who is in grad school and has slightly limited means at the moment bought a budget minded gun and was hoping to make it a little more enjoyable to swing around at skeet all day. I don't want to drop $300 on a barrel so I'm leaving it as is. If the price had been right, I don't see anything I wanted to do that was wrong or unreasonable. If you wanna eat the cost I just paid on a new gun to pick up a mossberg or you wanna go buy me a new Benelli supersport go right ahead. As for me, I'll stick to trying to save a little cash since I have $70,000 in anesthesia school debt right now. Anything else?
 
The alternative is to go to the gym and toss some iron.

You won't do much to reduce the weight of an 870. Bit consider that it is light enough for millions of other shooters.
 
The alternative is to go to the gym and toss some iron.

You won't do much to reduce the weight of an 870. Bit consider that it is light enough for millions of other shooters.
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The 870 is plenty light enough for me ok. I can handle it just fine. And I do go to the gym, every day.

Once again. Thanks for the constructive posts at the beginning of the thread. It seems to have turned into the little kid play area though, so I think I'm done with this thread. This is not The High Road I remember. That must be the reason the shotgun section of this forum is so light on conversation.
 
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Sorry to have hurt anyone's feelings.

Bottom Line: The 870 weighs what it weighs. It will not get any lighter.

The shooter needs to bulk up if he wants to handle it, or get a lighter shotgun.
 
As mentioned in this very thread, LC barrels will shave weight and it's probably possible to have a regular Express barrel lathe-turned to produce the same effect, though I wouldn't personally go that route. Wingmasters definitely don't feel nearly as heavy as Express guns do.

Not like there's nothing you can do to shave a few ounces off here and there. Why make such absolute statements?
 
A light contour barrel would take close to 1/2 lb off the gun, but would cost more than he paid for the entire Express shotgun.

Selling and buying a 20 gauge is another possibility. As is trading for a Winchester 1300. They are considerably lighter. The Mossberg is a touch lighter, 3-4oz at most.

Actually the gun you have is just about the lightest pump action shotgun currently in production.

Changing to a plastic stock would make no difference. People are conditioned to think all synthetic stocks are lighter than wood. If you put them on some scales and actually weigh them you will find that in most cases they weigh about the same, with the cheap synthetic stocks often weighing more than wood.
 
This kind of reminds me of a Glock thread where a new Glock owner wanted to tune his Glock to make it a match gun.
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I disagree. A shooter asked a simple question and our role is to help him understand both the question that he asked and the possible answers to it.

There is absolutely no need for all the snark from the peanut gallery. Frankly, the bottom half of this thread is not the best representation of THR that I've seen, and some of those that participated in it may want to ask themselves why that is so.

A light contour barrel would take close to 1/2 lb off the gun, but would cost more than he paid for the entire Express shotgun.
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Indeed. On the other hand, there are plenty of older fixed-choke Wingmaster barrels on the gun auction sites, and the weight difference between a modern express barrel and an older fixed-choke plain barrel is very noticable. I've bought several MOD choked plain Wingmaster barrels for less than $100 each, and I think that such a barrel would go a long way towards achieving the desired goal.
 
What is the actual difference?

"Indeed. On the other hand, there are plenty of older fixed-choke Wingmaster barrels on the gun auction sites, and the weight difference between a modern express barrel and an older fixed-choke plain barrel is very noticable."

Weights please.

I have an 870 Wingmaster that I have been shooting for 30 years. I have a newer Express but I cannot tell any difference in the handling of the two guns.

Please provide the numbers. What is the difference in weight?
 
I do not have a scale capable of measuring differences in ounces accurately. I might be able to go up to the USPS scales after they close and get an accurate number.
 
Bottom Line: The 870 weighs what it weighs. It will not get any lighter.
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This is true on a scale, but remember the original poster mentioned he thought it too heavy due to the "swing and point" not to the weight while he carried it, no?

Sometimes that feeling is due to the weight of the barrel as some have pointed out, and a counter balance in the stock might help, but might also then make it an issue of the carry weight in the field.

Might I suggest that trying a shorter barrel of say 26" might help one to swing and point more quickly? 2" doesn't seem like much but sometimes for some people's ergonomics it does make a big difference (at least in perception), while it really won't do much to the overall weight.

LD
 
Weights please.

I have an 870 Wingmaster that I have been shooting for 30 years. I have a newer Express but I cannot tell any difference in the handling of the two guns.
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I just took a couple of 870 12ga barrels to the PO to use their calibrated mail scale. Both barrels were weighed five (5) times each with the intention of averaging the weight, but the scale proved quite repeatable with no deviation between weighings.

28" Express VR barrel with MOD RemChoke @ 2lb 9 oz
28" Wingmaster Plain Barrel with MOD fixed choke @ 2lb 1oz

That's a solid half pound difference.
 
I think that Mr. McCracken may have this one. The point is to quicken the pointing, therefore to achieve the results, adding weight to the stock is the trick. Think of it like a wheel. Adding weight is like lightening the front.
 
Thanks rberie! It is good to see some numbers here rather than feeling and opinions.

A half pound off the muzzle-swing would make a world of difference in trap shooting.
 
Switch to that Wingmaster barrel AND put a half pound of weight in the butt stock hole would effectively feel like shortening the barrel by a pound. It should swing like a riot gun after that. You could also use a pump fore-end wood from an early wingmaster rather than the chunk of 2x4 they install on the express. I am referring to the early 50's vintage pump with the rings turned in it.

Cheers
Mac.
 
Have you thought about the fit of thr gun to you? It's possible you might need to get stock cut or added to for you. LOP {length of pull} does make a lot of difference in the handling of weapon. I have to have all mine cut to fit, makes a world of difference in scores at clays and skeet. Have a good day
 
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