Rifle sights on 18 inch 870 barrel

[finnwolf]

Any advice on adding rifle sights to a Remington 18 inch riot barrel? These would be similar to the 20 inch deer slug barrel sights.

Should the rear sight be in the same position as on the 20 inch or moved back so it would have the same sight radius? Or does it matter that much?

Who makes the best sights and how hard is it to add them on the riot barrel? I do not want a receiver sight since I will be changing barrels from time to time.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Either shop long and hard for a factory 18" barrel with rifle sights (Remington makes them for some Police gun models), or learn to live with a 20" factory RS barrel. It's cheaper that way, and an extra 2" of barrel (until you get lucky with the 18"er) is not that big a deal.

Buying good sights and getting them silver soldered on plus getting your barrel refinished afterward is almost certain to cost more than either factory alternative, and 20" smoothbore RS barrels are pretty plentiful and not terribly expensive.

Your sight radious on an 18" barrel is going to be pretty short, which is one of the reasons I like GRs on 'working' guns. But that does mess up your chances of using the gun for other purposes by changing barrels. Sight radius on one of the house guns here with an 18" 870P barrel is 12". Where you put the rear sight will depend on the sight/base you get, and your gunsmith.

The further back on the barrel you try to put the rear sight, the higher it will be due to the swell of the barrel for the chamber area. That means you have to work out a compromise between how high your rear sight is and how high the front sight has to be to make it work.

All in all I'd rather leave it to the factory, YMMV of course. See http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=260196 if you want some history on the above comments.

lpl/nc

 

[Jeff F]

My self I love those 20 or 21 inch Rem choke barrels with the rifle sights. The extra two or three inches is no big deal and with the right choke tube and right load buckshot patterns can be amazing. One of the loads I have found in one of my 870's will keep 9 OO buck pellets on a paper plate at 35 yards.

 

[finnwolf]

Here are some Remington 18.5 barrels with the RS

http://www.aiptactical.com/Sale_Items.html

Would adding rifle sights to a regular 18 riot barrel be more expensive than these?

How useful are the tritium inserts?

 

[Fred Fuller]

Would adding rifle sights to a regular 18 riot barrel be more expensive than these?

Almost certainly, yes it would. Sights plus installation plus refinishing the barrel would cost... almost certainly more than you're looking at on your list.

How useful are the tritium inserts?

I like 'em a lot, and they cost about $90 per set in the aftermarket. For $30 difference, it's IMHO a no-brainer. I have a couple of those 18.5" MOD RS barrels with factory tritium, they cost about $145 each plus S&H when I got them from Remington a while back (after a couple of years calling to ask about them). That whole setup (factory 18.5" barrel, sights with tritium, fixed MOD choke) for $200 delivered is a real deal IMHO. YMMV of course.

And that was some impressive Google-fu in finding that list, too. I bookmarked it.

lpl/nc

 

[Regolith]

Finnwolf...did you chose your name after the rifle made by Sako? Just wondering....my father has one in .308. Neat gun.

 

[Snarlingiron]

I bought a 20" rifle sighted barrel, because I could buy the barrel with sights for less than I could find the sights alone. I was going to install them myself, so, for me it was a no brainer. I love the 20" rifle sighted barrel. For shot loads, I just ignore the rear sight, and for slugs, I can shoot it more accurately than I can a bead alone.

 

[Dave McCracken]

The 20" RS barrels are one fine setup. Especially those with Remchokes. The one on my "Deer" 870 has done for lots of venison, serves for HD with a Skeet choke in and will take an XF choke should I want to go turkey hunting with it.

 

[MAX100]

Just buy this 18.5" rifle sight bbl from Havlin Sales, $90. If they still have them in stock.

Here is the link: Click on REMINGTON® 870 ACCESSORIES to the left

http://www.havlinsales.com/




GC

 

[357wheelgunner]

I'm pretty sure that that barrel is not made by remington, the sights definately are different from any I've seen. I wouldn't trust it.

 

[MAX100]

Havlin Sales has a great reputation.


GC

 

[Titus]

They are made by Mossberg.

 

[Heywood Case]

I got one of those. Havlin Sales deserves their reputation, but unfortunately I didn't have great results using the 18" barrel with slugs. I had to move the front sight pretty far over, but it still wasn't enough, and then it got loose, so I haven't used it for a while. On the other hand the 28" barrel I got from them (same price) has been great, and I can shoot slugs better with the bead sight from that barrel than with the 18" rifle sighted barrel.

it's quite possible that I just got a bad one, or that the problem was the shooter rather than the equipment.

 

[357wheelgunner]

I wasn't attacking Havlin, just the rear sight that didn't look adjustable....

 

[Heywood Case]

I just dug my barrel out of the closet.. The rear sight can only be adjusted vertically. For horizontal adjustment you have to drift the front sight. I think my earlier comment was not entirely fair, as I had not noticed that there is a small allen screw to loosen or tighten the front sight. I think I realized this right around the time I decided to just get a rifle, so I haven't used it since figuring out how to tighten the sight. But now I'm curious so I'll have to try again.

One other thing worth noting about these Havlin (Mossberg) barrels is that they have the old-style ball detent.

 

[slustan83]

Just an FYI, i purchased some items from AIP tactical, real stand up guy, doesn't mind going over other options with ya and does not try and push sales, just whats right for the customer. Take it with a grain of salt but I was very happy with his services.

 

[357phase]

I'll add another grain of salt about AIP tactical.Bought my 18" RS barrel from him and was very pleased.He also sells on Gun Broker,which is where I bought mine from.I believe he'll talk 870's all day long if you have the time.

 

[finnwolf]

I went ahead and got the AIP 18.5 barrel with the rifle sights. Excellent service and quick responses to my questions. It fit well on my 870 and matches perfectly. Now I have a combination HD and deer gun!!!!!

Regolith ...Being of Finnish descent, I chose Finnwolf in honor of the late Finnbear, a Finnish militaria collector who passed away.

 

[Mannlicher]

I have no problems at all with the 20 inch rifle sight barrel on my old Wingmaster.

 

[finnwolf]

Nice shotgun. It looks kind of like mine. I put a one shot Wilson extension on it after I drilled out the dimples. I did switch out the forearm to a wooden police one. The long civilian forearm tangled up with the sleeve of my coat one time!!!