JCooperfan1911
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- Oct 8, 2020
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Disclaimer: The following are my thoughts and opinions only. I do not try to force them on anyone else, I just like to share my reasoning behind them. This is just to start a discussion and put some stuff out there, that's all.
I have a Remington 870 Police with 20” barrel that I keep for home and property defense. I played around with extended magazines but have since gone back to the standard 4-round factory tube magazine. I personally believe it’s got a few advantages that might not be apparent at first glance. Here is my shotgun:
First off, is 4+1 rounds of 12 gauge buckshot or slugs enough for personal defense? In my opinion, yes. Civilian defensive shotgun fights that require more than 1-3 shells are incredibly rare. Tom Givens posted an article on something to this affect a while back IIRC. Paul Harrell and others have echoed this over the years.
Numerous police departments issue and have issued 870s with 4-round factory magazines. With proper tactics such as shoot one/load one exercises, and single loading through the ejection port off a sidesaddle, they serve well.
The advantages of a stock 870 (4 round) tube:
1) It's as reliable and simple as it gets. No multi-junction extensions to ensure are fitted together properly, no barrel clamps or braces to change point of impact with slugs, just a straight tube to cleanly feed shells into the action. Also simplifies field stripping and cleaning.
2) Increased durability over extensions. I have read of extended mag tubes, especially those without a brace, breaking off at the threads. One alarming report regarded a police officer who responded to a bank robbery. He grabbed his 870 out of his cruiser, smacked the extension in the process, and his magazine tube came apart spraying shells everywhere. Not good. Also almost the entire magazine tube is protected from dents that can impede feeding vs the much greater exposed surface area of an extension.
3) Maneuverability is enhanced. For me, the difference in a stock tube vs an extended tube is dramatic when transitioning from targets and when holding up the shotgun for extended periods of time. A person may need to hold the shotgun unsupported on a door or live subject for quite a while. The standard 4 round tube keeps the balance of the gun between the hands, reducing fatigue. Those extensions put weight at the worst possible point on the gun, the end of the barrel.
4) One handed operation and reloading. Tying in with maneuverability benefits, ditching the extension can make it easier to manipulate objects such as cell phones or medical supplies with the off hand while still holding the gun with the strong hand. It also better allows the gun to be trained downrange during reloading from a sidesaddle or magazine pouch.
In the end, it doesn't matter how big and strong you are, the standard 4 shot tube makes it easier to handle the gun and you might not be the only person in the household who might need to use it at any given time. Research and past experience tell us the capacity is statistically more than enough for the vast majority of defensive scenarios. A backup gun, often in the form of a pistol or revolver, is always a good idea no matter what you weapon's magazine capacity. Also learning to reload from a sidesaddle or other on-gun ammunition storage system is very important. Keeping the gun topped off is a great skill with the tube-fed shotgun, no matter how many shells it will accept.
In addition to all of this, I have a shoulder injury in my support arm and by reducing the weight it has to manage I’m better off for it while I recover.
So that's my reasoning for keeping my house gun extension free. Just thought I'd point out some reasons for doing this that I think are often overlooked. Try it sometime, you might really like it!
-JCF
I have a Remington 870 Police with 20” barrel that I keep for home and property defense. I played around with extended magazines but have since gone back to the standard 4-round factory tube magazine. I personally believe it’s got a few advantages that might not be apparent at first glance. Here is my shotgun:
First off, is 4+1 rounds of 12 gauge buckshot or slugs enough for personal defense? In my opinion, yes. Civilian defensive shotgun fights that require more than 1-3 shells are incredibly rare. Tom Givens posted an article on something to this affect a while back IIRC. Paul Harrell and others have echoed this over the years.
Numerous police departments issue and have issued 870s with 4-round factory magazines. With proper tactics such as shoot one/load one exercises, and single loading through the ejection port off a sidesaddle, they serve well.
The advantages of a stock 870 (4 round) tube:
1) It's as reliable and simple as it gets. No multi-junction extensions to ensure are fitted together properly, no barrel clamps or braces to change point of impact with slugs, just a straight tube to cleanly feed shells into the action. Also simplifies field stripping and cleaning.
2) Increased durability over extensions. I have read of extended mag tubes, especially those without a brace, breaking off at the threads. One alarming report regarded a police officer who responded to a bank robbery. He grabbed his 870 out of his cruiser, smacked the extension in the process, and his magazine tube came apart spraying shells everywhere. Not good. Also almost the entire magazine tube is protected from dents that can impede feeding vs the much greater exposed surface area of an extension.
3) Maneuverability is enhanced. For me, the difference in a stock tube vs an extended tube is dramatic when transitioning from targets and when holding up the shotgun for extended periods of time. A person may need to hold the shotgun unsupported on a door or live subject for quite a while. The standard 4 round tube keeps the balance of the gun between the hands, reducing fatigue. Those extensions put weight at the worst possible point on the gun, the end of the barrel.
4) One handed operation and reloading. Tying in with maneuverability benefits, ditching the extension can make it easier to manipulate objects such as cell phones or medical supplies with the off hand while still holding the gun with the strong hand. It also better allows the gun to be trained downrange during reloading from a sidesaddle or magazine pouch.
In the end, it doesn't matter how big and strong you are, the standard 4 shot tube makes it easier to handle the gun and you might not be the only person in the household who might need to use it at any given time. Research and past experience tell us the capacity is statistically more than enough for the vast majority of defensive scenarios. A backup gun, often in the form of a pistol or revolver, is always a good idea no matter what you weapon's magazine capacity. Also learning to reload from a sidesaddle or other on-gun ammunition storage system is very important. Keeping the gun topped off is a great skill with the tube-fed shotgun, no matter how many shells it will accept.
In addition to all of this, I have a shoulder injury in my support arm and by reducing the weight it has to manage I’m better off for it while I recover.
So that's my reasoning for keeping my house gun extension free. Just thought I'd point out some reasons for doing this that I think are often overlooked. Try it sometime, you might really like it!
-JCF
