So I want sights on my vent rib 870

[swampcrawler]

Ok so a few of you know that my current budget defensive shotgun is my 870 express with 19 in cut down vent rib. When funds allow I do plan to pick up an 18.5 inch plain barrel and possibly send it to Hans Vang for his forcing cone/jug choke work. Or, actually I want an old wingmaster police gun or a police magnum when I can afford it.

But in the meantime I hate having no sights as it makes it very difficult to accurately use slugs. A of now it looks like my best option is the Williams Fire Sight Slugger set. It's a fiber optic rifle sight set that clamps (very securly from what I can see) to the vent rib. They are made of aluminum, fully Windage/elevation adjustable, and les than 40 bucks. The problem is they will give me a very short sight radius.

Perhaps I could use the fire sight front sight with a ghost rear? Or is there some way of getting a front sight for a ghost ring on a vent rib without it looking terrible that I've over looked?

I suppose I could remove the rib from the barrel, but I don't want to pay someone to re-park it, and I think a bunch of blotches of cold blue down the top of the barrel would look pretty rough. Any other ideas or opinions on the fire sights?

And I know that a bead is all I need for defensive buckshot but I want to be able to accurately place slugs at greater than buckshot ranges just for giggles mostly, and so I can use the gun to smoke piggies when hunting season opens up.

Thanks guys!!

 

[Fred Fuller]

I've never had any problem hitting with slugs out to a hundred yards or so using factory rifle sights on an 18 - 20" 870 barrel. But YMMV.

I do like GRs, and for a dedicated big game/defensive shotgun there's no reason not to use them. A good gunsmith can silver solder on a ramp type front sight and 'melt' it with your vent rib. Awerbuck had that done on the shotgun he used for pictures in his first book The Defensive Shotgun: Techniques and Tactics waaaay back in 1989. http://www.amazon.com/The-Defensive-Shotgun-Louis-Awerbuck/dp/0879474122/ref=pd_sim_b_4

 

[cat_IT_guy]

I just installed the Williams "clamp on" FireSights on my Beretta the other day. I too was a little wary of the short-ish sight radius (due to the geometry of the Beretta rail, on a 28" barrel, my site radius is probably only 16-18"). I had no problem hitting about a 2" circle at 20 yards off hand (surprisingly didnt even end up needing to adjust the sites). Im hoping I'll be able to try it at a longer range one of these days, but so far Im pretty happy with them.

 

[jmr40]

I have this on an 870 cut down to 21". I don't have a photo of the rear sight but it is simply 2 fiberoptic dots. It lines up like 3 dot sights. I can hold 4-5" groups at 100 yards with cheap slugs. There is no adjustment on mine, but it is pretty close to perfect at 100 yards. My groups are about 3" high at 50 yards.

 

[Deer_Freak]

This is not directed toward the OP. He has already cut down his field barrel. There is no need to cry over spilled milk. You can buy a slug/security barrel for an 870 or a 500 for around $100. By the time you whack down your field barrel and pay $40 for some poorly made sights you are well into the cost of a barrel made to do the job.

 

[jmr40]

A slug barrel with rifle sights is closer to $200. In my case I had an extra 28" barrel that was just collecting dust and not being used. Total cost for me was $15 for the sights.

I wouldn't go out and buy a barrel, even a used one for this. Unless I could get it for under about $50.

 

[Deer_Freak]

A slug barrel with rifle sights is closer to $200. In my case I had an extra 28" barrel that was just collecting dust and not being used. Total cost for me was $15 for the sights.

I wouldn't go out and buy a barrel, even a used one for this. Unless I could get it for under about $50.

The first try I found an 870 slug barrel for $75. That required less than 1 minute of research. I could find a security barrel for less. You could have just sold the vent rib barrel and essentially made a swap.