XS/AO 870 Ghost Ring sights vs. Tritium Express

[357wheelgunner]

I am looking at either the ghost ring or express sights from XS/Ashley Outdoors for my 20" 870P. I'd prefer the ghost ring, but I don't know what to do about the rear sight base currently brazed to my barrel.

Anyone here install GR sights on a rifle sight equipped 870? What did you do with the rear sight base?

 

[Fred Fuller]

The down side to ghost rings is that they pretty much limit the gun to big game hunting or HD use- you lose the versatility of having both of the sights on the barrel and therefore can't remove all the sights when you swap barrels. If you plan on using the gun as a single-purpose shotgun then obviously it's no problem.

I have seen different folks have the rear sight base removed when GRs were installed, it's a matter of personal preference. If you remove the rear sight off the base then the base itself is almost certainly going to be out of the line of sight.

I don't really have any preference for GRs vs. open sights, my wife definitely likes the 24/7 Big Dot best because she can see it easily. Good luck with whatever you decide,

lpl/nc

 

[9mmMike]

I have the 24/7 Big Dots on a couple rifle-sighted 870's here and I like them a ton. I never liked the Big Dot concept for handguns but these sights seem to be made for SG's IMHO.
Mike

 

[Preacherman]

I've used several models of GR sights (Scattergun Technologies' Trak-Lock, Mossberg's GR set, the MMC sights, etc.), and find myself coming back to plain ol' rifle sights on a barrel as the most versatile all-round option. This is partly because all of my shotguns are dual-purpose: I may have a short defensive barrel on them one day, and a longer bird or clay barrel the next. If I had a GR rear sight on my receiver, I'd have to take it off every time I switched barrels, which is a no-no. On my 870's, the 20" IC RS barrel from Remington is my chosen short barrel.

I'm about to fit the XS Tritium Express sights to both my short barrels, having looked into them and other options (e.g. fiber-optic, etc.). I think I'll go for the small dot rather than the big dot, because at longer ranges, the big dot can obscure the target. At night, of course, the tritium dots are the same size in both, so there's no noticeable difference.

 

[Striker]

I purchased a used PD 870 that had Scattergun Tech GR rear and 20" rifle sighted Rem barrel. The PD armorer removed the stock rear sight from the base as Lee suggested and used the GR with the stock Rem front sight.. no problem.

I left it like that for a year or so, then had the base removed when the gun was reparkerized. Kept the front sight base but replaced the stock bead with an X/S tritium small dot as part of the refinish. Very happy with the result.

 

[357wheelgunner]

My Police 870 is HD/slug use only. I have a nice pretty wingmaster that I could slap a 28" bird barrel onto if I wanted to bust some clays.

I like the idea of the express sights, they just look exposed and fragile, moreso than the ghostrings with the protective wings around them.

Any durability issue with express sights?

 

[Dave McCracken]

Two if nt 870s have receiver mounted peep sights. One uses the 20" R/S barrel with the rear sight removed. No probs in the last couple decades.

GR or peep sights are pretty much for dedicated weapons. On a switch barrel pump or auto, I'd stick to open sights so no complications when switching barrels.