rock jock
Member
I have a 870 Super Express that I converted to a competition scatter gun a few years back by changing out the barrel to a 18.5" police trade-in and adding a extension tube and Choate stock. However, the gun patterns very poorly because the barrel is not choked. I recently talked with a local 'smith who gave me a couple of choices on this gun:
1. He can ream out the 18.5" barrel and thread it to accept standard 870 chokes. However, he would have to remove the front sight since there are no ribs on the barrel. There is also a chance that the wall thickness will not be sufficient for this work.
2. He can cut the original barrel that came with the gun (28" ribbed) down to any length over 18" and re-ream and thread it to accept chokes. He would also re-install a front sight as part of this work.
I am inclined to have him do the latter since I could add several inches to the gun and thereby get a longer extension tube (thus more shells between reloads). My questions are: (1) which of these two options would you recommend? (2) If the 2nd, what length would you recommend he cut the barrel to?, and (3) What size tube extension should I get to match the new barrel length?
Thanks much,
rock
1. He can ream out the 18.5" barrel and thread it to accept standard 870 chokes. However, he would have to remove the front sight since there are no ribs on the barrel. There is also a chance that the wall thickness will not be sufficient for this work.
2. He can cut the original barrel that came with the gun (28" ribbed) down to any length over 18" and re-ream and thread it to accept chokes. He would also re-install a front sight as part of this work.
I am inclined to have him do the latter since I could add several inches to the gun and thereby get a longer extension tube (thus more shells between reloads). My questions are: (1) which of these two options would you recommend? (2) If the 2nd, what length would you recommend he cut the barrel to?, and (3) What size tube extension should I get to match the new barrel length?
Thanks much,
rock