10 things you would do to improve an 870

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horsemen61

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Ok guys I have a friend who just bought a used 870 with 18 1/2 inch barrel and he asked me for some advice now I said just go shoot it till its second nature to you but he wants to make some minor modifications so as the title says if you could do 10 things to an 870 what would they be
 
I agree with tuj - ammo, lessons, and practice would occupy numbers 1-10

Why does he feel the need for modifications? I would agree with doing that ONLY if he is sized/shaped in such a way that the gun does not fit him at all
 
Ten things a mall ninja could do to an 870:

1. Heat shield
2. A pistol grip only
3. Two pistols grips (front and rear)
4. Ghost rings/lasers/IR illuminators
5. Sling with lots of shell loops
6. Bipod
7. Breacher device on muzzle
8. Verticle foregrip
9.More than one sidesaddle
10. Magpul stickers
 
#1 An oversized safety button.
#2 Ammo
#3 Ammo
#4 Ammo
#5 Ammo
#6 Ammo
#7 Ammo
#8 Ammo
#9 Ammo
#10 Ammo
 
They work just fine out of the box with a good cleaning, but since the OP asked, these things IME can make a good 870 great.

1. Clean it well, removing as much of the factory preservative as possible, especially from the bore and chamber.

2. I have polished the barrels and chambers on all of mine using a worn out 12 Gauge Bore Brush, green scotchbrite, and some spray lubricant. Lots of videos and directions online on how to do this. It makes a big difference in reliability IME, especially when shooting the inexpensive promotional type ammo with steel base hulls.

3. If you have an 870 Express, replace the MIM Extractor with a Forged Non-MIM Extractor. Not completely necessary as I have never seen a broken MIM Extractor, but I do it to eliminate one more variable. About 11 bucks. Youtube has videos on how to do this, the best one is from THR Member AI&P Tactical.

4. Replace the carrier dog follower spring with a heavy duty carrier dog follower spring. This is a heavier spring designed to keep the lifter up longer while the shell makes the trip up the lifter into the chamber. This spring is also the standard spring in the 1100/11-87 lifter. About 4 bucks, and THR Member AI&P Tactical also has a video on Youtube on how to do this. The standard spring is bronze colored or silver, the heavy duty spring is black.

5. Replace the factory magazine spring and plastic follower with a heavy duty magazine spring and heavy duty follower. Brownells offers a kit with the HD spring and their Aluminum follower. Inexpensive, and increases reliability.

6. While you are replacing the magazine follower and spring, take the above Scotchbrite and bore brush and clean and polish the inside of the magazine tube. You can feel the difference when loading shells into a polished magazine tube versus an unpolished tube.

7. If it has wood furniture, replace it with polymer, I like the Davis Speedfeed and the new Magpul stuff the best. Much more durable than wood, you can fill the hollow area in the stock with baggies full of lead shot to add weight if you like, and if you have to "mortar" the shotgun to clear a malfunction, your shotgun is less likely to end up in two pieces. A good recoil pad from Limbsaver or KICK-EEZ makes it great.

8. Take a Training Class from a reputable instructor, who will teach you how to use your fancy new shotgun.

9. Shoot it and practice what you learned in the class.

10. Shoot it some more until it becomes part of you.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr
 
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The only thing I would do to improve the 870 is to redesign it so that the magazine tube is owner replaceable.

Beyond that I can't think of a thing that really needs improving.

As far as accessories are concerned I can pretty much take or leave them, a plain jane riot gun version of the 870 is just fine, but:

-my aging eyes prefer sights over a bead these days but I can get by with a bead.
-I prefer a shorter stock and a good recoil pad (12.5" LOP and a KickEeze will do fine).
-I like Sidesaddles on mine.
-QD sling swivels come in handy.
-provisions for a detachable rail-mounted weapon light are good.
-don't mind a 2-round magazine extension, but only with a barrel clamp.
-three days with Louis Awerbuck is worth more than all the accessories on the planet.
 
I have an unmodified 870 Wingmaster with a 20" barrel (rifle sights) that has had to patiently abide by my attempts to improve it over the years. Not surprisingly, after much experimentation, it ended up back in its original configuration except for a +2 extension.

A much more efficient method would have been to actually pay attention to my experiences with it on the range, and ask myself if any of those doo-dads would have improved my speed or accuracy. They did not, and are now collecting dust in my closet.
 
dogtown tom said:
Ten things a mall ninja could do to an 870:

1. Heat shield
2. A pistol grip only
3. Two pistols grips (front and rear)
4. Ghost rings/lasers/IR illuminators
5. Sling with lots of shell loops
6. Bipod
7. Breacher device on muzzle
8. Verticle foregrip
9.More than one sidesaddle
10. Magpul stickers
Click to expand...
Hahahaha bipod! :)
 
Thank you for the respones guys no there is nothing wrong with the 870 but some of the ideas listed such as changing a follower and safety plus polishing are the kind of ideas I was looking for thanks
 
As some have noted there's not much the really needs changing on an 870... As a guy who carried one on the street for quite a few years the only accessories I ever felt it really needed was a good quality sling (there are times you need your hands free and it's nice not to ground your gun...) and a means of carrying extra shells... no, not mounted on your gun anywhere.... since it changes the balance and just slows it down, period.

Along with lots of range time there are a few things that every one can do to sharpen up their abilities with a street gun. The very first is patterning your gun and with the ammo you'll be using. This isn't going to be the same as you'd normally do since you're going to want to know precisely what the spread is from close quarters (three meters) all the way out to 25 meters.... The way I was taught we placed identical targets in a row at 3, 7, 10, 15, and 20 meters then got down to the exact same level an fired a few shots.... This will clearly show not only how much the pattern spreads over distance but also if it rises a bit (and it will... from the horizontal...). Just about every one we checked at the range dispersed the pattern at roughly one inch per meter (standard police shotguns with 18" improved cylinder bores -both Remington and Mossberg).

Once you have a good idea of what your shot pattern is at a given distance you need to work hard be as smooth as possible while hitting the mark every time. If you have any means the last item needed is a trained guy (or gal) that can teach the finer points of skip shooting since that technique will make anyone a very dangerous shotgun user in a real shooting situation.
 
I would probably replace the recoil pad, add a used field length barrel and go shoot some skeet or something with moving targets to get used to it. Punching holes in paper gets really boring quickly.
 
First which model 870 does he have? Second what "minor" modifications does he want to make. The reason I ask is if it is an 870 Express it may need different modifications than an 870 P or even an 870 Wingmaster. Also what does he want to do with the 870? One thing I might change is the barrel. I would go for a 20 inch barrel instead of of the 18 1/2 inch barrel but that is just me. If it is a tactical type of home defense gun I might add a Surefire fore end for a Surefire flashlight.
 
#1 An oversized safety button.
#1A If it's a recent 870 Express, polish the chamber with a chamber hone.


#2 Ammo
#3 Shoot Skeet.
#4 Ammo
#5 Shoot hand thrown blue-rock.
#6 Ammo
#7 Shoot more Skeet.
#8 Ammo
#9 Shoot steel plates, after you learn how to hit moving targets shooting Skeet & hand-thrown blue-rock.
#10 Ammo

rc
 
I had an 870 with a pistol-grip buttstock, 18.5" barrel, bead sight and an extended mag. It was fun and I really liked the PG/BS setup; it was much easier on my wrists and I felt I could handle and shoot the gun much better than with a plain stock.

The only thing I would have changed would be the sights. A bead works but I always wanted a ghost ring for shooting slugs.
 
My wife and I just assembled a barn critter gun using a Remington 870. Since my wife is only 5'-2", we put a collapsable stock on the shotgun so that we can quickly adapt it between her size and mine. i also installed an 18-1/2 Remchoke barrel to make it easier for my wife to handle. Finally, I will load some 7/8 oz loads for her to shoot at the various varmints that will occupy our barn. My wife is deadly with her 20 gauge 26" barrel Citori with a shortened stock, but the Citori is too valuable to leave in the barn.

I will keep 1 oz or 1-1/8 oz loads for myself.

The flexibility of the Rem 870 is nice. i will keep the 28" barrel and may play some clay target games with the shot gun. I guess other brands would have worked as well but the 870 has a good reputation and lots are around.
 
I personally have a bunch of different 870's, and in various gauges, each with it's own purpose, some for shooting clay's, wing shooting, deer hunting, self defense, one I keep in the truck, and so on. You might say I'm a big fan of the 870. And a couple of the things that make the 870 such a great SG, is you'll likely never break one, or wear it out, and many modifications can be easily performed with very little difficulty.

Your friend has purchased one of, if not the best all around SG ever made. But only he can decide which configuration will best suit his needs. The first thing I think he should do though, is learn how to properly break it down and clean it, and then either load, or buy a bunch of ammo, and then shoot it until it's and good and dirty. Then after that, start his modification plan.

The complete take down for cleaning purposes on an 870 is so easy, that my 5 Son's would have contests doing it blind folded. If memory serves me correctly, my youngest son at age 10 could completely take his 20 ga. down, and reassemble it in under 2 minutes.

"This is my 870, there are many like it, but this one is mine"

GS
 
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