870 express tactical questions

[jakk280rem]

a couple months ago i bought a rem 870 express tactical, the one with the powder coated barrel and reciever.

the front sight bead was installed prior to being coated and offers no contrast like a white or brass bead would. i want to replace it with a fiber optic sight. how do i remove the old sight? and wich sight should i use as a replacement?

also, i want to mount a light on it. i know nothing of weapon lights. i want to keep weight to a minimum, as its already very nose heavy with a full mag. any ideas?

 

[WVMountainBoy]

The beads are usually threaded, as are the replacement fiber optic pieces

as for the light, the best option I've found is the sure fire fore-grip but it didn't do much for the front heavy sensation. I took it back off and sold it. Theres a Tac star rig that mounts a light in a side saddle rig, it should shift the weight towards the middle of the gun, but I haven't used one.

 

[jakk280rem]

i dont like the looks of the fore grip lights. they look heavy, are expensive and add bulk under the gun right where i dont want it. i was looking for some thing that mounts to the side of the barrel or mag extension. i don't plan on using a side saddle so that's not not really an option.

i don't speak tacticalese. the only reason i bought the gun is my beretta auto isn't very handy. i liked the ability to use threaded chokes on the 870. seems like every thread people talk about putting lights on their 870, and i can't figure out how. it's aggrevating.

 

[CB900F]

Jakk;

I dunno, the thing's not for swingin' on birds, it's for house cleaning. I've got one; extended mag, light, & a collapsable pistol grip stock. Yeah, with a full mag it's nose heavy. So what? I'm not going to carry it all day in the field, just from one end of the house to the other. And, it's not all that heavy overall, just unbalanced as it were.

As it really is possible to miss with a shotgun, sights are good. OTOH, how likely are you to miss if the forend light has some intruder pinned in it's circle? What's the longest clear distance in your home? Set that up at the range & find out what your gun does with various loads at that distance.

900F

 

[jakk280rem]

I dunno, the thing's not for swingin' on birds,

it actualy does so quite well. this things not gonna sit in my house all the time. i bought it as utility shotgun. the only accesory iwant to put on it is a light that is as small and light as possible.

 

[dashadow]

I bought the 870 Express myself a few months ago, and added the Hi-Viz Front Sight for the 870. Makes a big difference looking down the barrel. I also picked up a light mount on Ebay for around 10 bucks, and put a flashlight in it. Works pretty good, I think.

 

[jakk280rem]

okay, i got the light mount figured out. mesa tactical makes a clamp that has a short section of rail on it.

still need a front sight. i tried unscrewing the bead but it just turns, does'nt appear to be threaded. how do i get that thing out?

 

[Fred Fuller]

I'd bet it's pressed in- far as I know, all the newer Remingtons are. You'll have to have a hole drilled and tapped for whatever bead you replace that one with. Might be time to find a 'smith, if you aren't set up to DIY.

lpl

 

[dashadow]

The Hi-Viz Sight I used just snaps over the existing bead.

 

[Geneseo1911]

If you get the old one out, Brownell's sells beads, taps & drill bits that all work together. It's pretty easy to do. I drilled mine on a drill press since I was already in the shop cutting the barrel, but I'm pretty sure I could've done it with a hand drill. The hard part is getting it centered right, but that shouldn't be a problem for your application.

 

[Badkharma]

Sorry to dig this up, I found it in a search so I thought I'd continue rather than post a new thread.

I have an 870 tactical, with the bead sight in front. It also does not appear to be threaded in. I am looking at options to replace the sight other than painting it with glow in the dark polish...

It sounds like Hi-Viz 's sight will work. Something like this. Will this work?

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/default.aspx?productNumber=952104

Sounds like it just snaps over the existing bead.

 

[Badkharma]

Here's a pic of the front bead on my 870 tactical, for reference.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Badk,

Take a look at http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=24532/Product/SHOTGUN_BIG_DOT_TRITIUM_FRONT_SIGHT .

Costs a bit more than the fiber optic approach, but it's tritium too, so it works at night. I have one of these on one of the 18.5" 870 house guns here that has the standard bead on a pedestal, and I really like it. Very easy on tired old eyes, very fast too.

In the pic below, the one you want for your 870 is on the left. It just epoxies over the existing bead, easy peasy.

fwiw,

lpl
====

 

[Marty183]

I have an XS Big Dot site for my 870P...The same one that Lee posted above me. I had no issue mounting it with JB Weld over the existing bead on my shotgun. Works and looks great.

 

[RMc]

Well...

...you could paint the bead white!