870 w/ 20" bbl, 7+1 shell capacity and Surefire forend; anyone have this setup?

[F1ST0]

870 w/ 20" bbl, 7+1 shell capacity and Surefire forend; anyone have this setup?

This is the setup I want on the front end of my 870, but I think this might be, i dunno... way too heavy? I've heard that the surefire in itself made the shotgun really nose heavy.

But on my shotgun, I want a light and sufficient shell capacity on board. (plus the rifle sights, which will be upgraded to trijicons eventually)

IMO, the trade off is more weight for more ammo + a light, and worth mentioning, more recoil compensation.
But I'm also worried that it will be too heavy for an SHTF weapon, and will decrease pointability.

What do you guys think?

 

[LeonCarr]

Sounds about perfect...everything you need, nothing you don't.

I consider a light to be the only thing you really need to add to a Defensive Shotgun.

Please resist the temptation of trying to turn your shotgun into an AR by hanging a bunch of useless junk on it .

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[F1ST0]

lol thanks. by "useless junk" i hope you don't mean sidesaddles. I want to throw a Vang Comp DSAC on there, and I also have a mesa urbino, which I want to throw a shell carrier on as well. but that's about it. no optics or anything.

 

[oneounceload]

The more "stuff" you add, the heavier it becomes, the harder it becomes to move the gun and swing properly to your intended target.

Before you going spending all that money, run the gun as it comes from the factory for about 6 months and take a class or three or do the 3-gun scene. That way, you'll have time to think which gizmos and gadgets are TRULY needed and which are more for show.

Personally, if you need 15 rounds on a shotgun for HD, you need an AR

 

[F1ST0]

Ha! funny you said that! I'm in New York; no ar's here! I could have as many rounds legally in my 870 than I could on an AR! lol

... but thanks for your advice, i'll consider it.

 

[Jenrick]

We use that exact setup at work, they are HEAVY. The Surefire does nothing that a $60 light and a clamp on mount wont do better. Back in the day, the Surefire was a great option, not so much anymore. The weight does help with recoil, but a good recoil pad will do more for you, and weights a lot less.

-Jenrick

 

[Loc n Load]

Sure fire forend

Have a couple of 870's set up with the surefire light/forend combo.....I like them and have used surefire products since the 6p came out back in the 80's.
I like having the integral switching right there on the forend....I also use the same set up's on MP-5's and they work great on that app also....I never worried to much about the shotgun being any heavier with the surefire rig....usually use the gun when I am "dressed for success" meaning body armor, full tactical gear and Kevlar helmet....so more weight on the end of my shotgun is not something I am going to worry about....the sure fire lights are very durable....I have seen a lot of them that were exposed to a lot of muzzleblast and had the finish completely scorched off from them and they were still working just fine.

 

[LeonCarr]

Sidesaddles are a useful addition, but the larger ones IME make the shotgun unbalanced when mounting and shooting. I would rather have a shotgun with less weight and a balanced, faster gun mount than have a 1/2 pound of shotshells mounted on the left side of the receiver trying to flip the shotgun to the left while handling and shooting.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[F1ST0]

Thank you guys for your help, I'm assuming that jenrick and loc n load are LEO's (if not, my apologies, I usually think when people say "I use that at work", it means they have it in their squad car). I'll take all of your advice into consideration and think about it, which I have plenty of time to do since I don't even have any $ for any upgrades yet...

take care all. and thanks for your service, be careful out there, people seem to be getting crazier by the week..

P.S. to jenrick: I have a Mesa Tactical Urbino stock on my 870, which is pre installed with a limbsaver butt pad, so if I go through with my upgrades, I can imagine my 870 will have substantially less kick than when I first got it...

 

[Jenrick]

We actually were testing out a bunch off different recoil reduction stocks this last qual cycle (and yes I am a full time LEO ) and Mesa Tactical's stocks were one of the ones we tested.

No dispute with Loc n Load on the Surefire forends being durable, so long as they've got batteries you've got light. I just find them heavy and bulky for what they are. You specifically mention pointability, and IMO they unbalance the gun some what. However an 870 is never going to match a good trap gun for pointability no matter what you have on it.

-Jenrick

 

[Fred Fuller]

Got a couple like that in the back of the safe. I think they are too muzzle heavy, but I've left them alone because people occasionally need to handle one to understand what 'muzzle heavy' really means.

Currently I prefer 18.5" barrels with rifle sights, 2-round extensions (Remington factory), TLR-1 lights (or an equivalent LED weaponlight) on Streamlight rails on the mag extensions, 6-round Sidesaddles and wood furniture with the stock cut to 12.5" LOP.

I found that Surefire fore-ends tend to crowd my support hand and are not as comfortable to shoot as a standard forearm. And it's easy to take the TLR-1 off the rail for daylight practice - even Surefire used to suggest removing the light and batteries for daytime practice, they used to sell a 'practice plug' to fill the hole when the light/batteries were removed.

Streamlight 69901 magazine tube rail - http://www.amazon.com/Streamlight-Tactical-Flashlight-Mount-69901/dp/B0028LXG5A/ref=pd_sim_sg_4

BTW, not a LEO - just like 870s.

 

[DBR]

After many iterations my 870 Wingmaster is setup as follows:
20" rifle sight Rem Choke barrel with XS big Dot sights (no Tritium).
Extended forcing cone.
Magpul stock and Magpul forend
Limbsaver recoil pad on Magpul adapter
Streamlight TLR-1 C4 light on left side of forend
Carlson +2 extension with clamp and sling stud
Velcro mount six shell holder on right side of butt stock

I have tried Vang barrels and 18.5 barrels and receiver shell holders. I can just rip off the Velcro holder if it is in the way and I didn't find the Vang barrel to justify its cost for my use after testing many loads (it works - I just find the interchangeable chokes to be more versatile)

With my current setup I can use a Pattern-Master choke for VERY tight buckshot patterns (6-8") at 25 yds using standard buckshot. I can use a IC choke to shoot just about any load or slugs.

 

[F1ST0]

Awesome info I'm getting here.

 

[F1ST0]

Got a couple like that in the back of the safe. I think they are too muzzle heavy, but I've left them alone because people occasionally need to handle one to understand what 'muzzle heavy' really means.

Currently I prefer 18.5" barrels with rifle sights, 2-round extensions (Remington factory), TLR-1 lights (or an equivalent LED weaponlight) on Streamlight rails on the mag extensions, 6-round Sidesaddles and wood furniture with the stock cut to 12.5" LOP.

I found that Surefire fore-ends tend to crowd my support hand and are not as comfortable to shoot as a standard forearm. And it's easy to take the TLR-1 off the rail for daylight practice - even Surefire used to suggest removing the light and batteries for daytime practice, they used to sell a 'practice plug' to fill the hole when the light/batteries were removed.

Streamlight 69901 magazine tube rail - http://www.amazon.com/Streamlight-Tactical-Flashlight-Mount-69901/dp/B0028LXG5A/ref=pd_sim_sg_4

BTW, not a LEO - just like 870s.

Thanks for the helpful advice, much obliged. I didn't even know the light could come out of the forend. but the extra weight on the end does reduce muzzle flip/kickback, right? but also decreases pointabilty and makes the gun unbalanced?

I'm not necessarily scrawny, so I can't imagine 3+ extra pounds on the front end will be a huge deal.

How do the two guns you have handle for you?

 

[Sgt_R]

I have a similar setup on my 590; it is definitely nose heavy. I am in no hurry to upgrade, because I prefer an AR anyway, but my next pump gun will be an 18.5", and I may experiment with a clamp-on solution for my light.

R

 

[Fred Fuller]

The only 'movers' we shoot with shotguns here are home-made string-pull charging targets, in 'get off the X' exercises. Since they're coming more or less straight at the shooter, it doesn't require much in the way of swinging the gun to stay on target.

Thing is, weight in front of the support hand on a shotgun seems to feel disproportionately heavy. And an unbalanced shotgun just doesn't feel ... right, somehow. Set up as described above and loaded with 4 rounds in the magazine, the 18.5"/+2 shotguns balance at the front of the receiver and feel just fine, to me anyway. The 20"/+3 guns with 5 rounds in the mag are a little more muzzle heavy and feel 'loggier' to carry/mount/swing. It's picky, I know, but I like the slightly shorter setup better. I'm no lightweight either, and it isn't a matter of sheer muscle or strength. I'm a big brute, and shotgun recoil isn't that much of a bother to me no matter what, with any of the guns I have and loads I use anyway. Technically more weight should cut down on apparent recoil, as long as it's delivered straight back. And a bit more muzzle weight should help hold down muzzle flip, on a theoretical basis if not a practical one. But the shorter slightly lighter guns seem fine to me.

The shotgun closest at hand right now has a 13" LOP Speedfeed youth stock and comes in at 37 3/4" in overall length. It's the same gun I shot my last class with (Awerbuck's Shotgun Refresher, last summer). I don't have a scale, so I can't compare weight, but this gun and others like it just feel right to me somehow. I know that's a subjective thing, and don't offer it as anything but subjective...