Remington 870 Express 12 gauge modifications question

PF Flyer · Dec 29, 2018

Greetings all.

I just picked up a Remington 870 Express 12 gauge, and it has been ages since I've handled a pump action shotgun. I intend to use it for trap shooting and waterfowl and upland game hunting. I'm interested in hearing about any modifications that you might have made to yours and how the modifications turned out. I also want to pick up an 18 - 18.5 inch barrel for HD and am interested in hearing about what your experiences have been like with the various manufacturers of these barrels.

Thanks!

PJDiesel · Dec 29, 2018

Welcome.

I'm not sure you'd be best suited to have something interchangeable for that many various activities. I'm not a fan of having my HD gun outside much, it needs to be ready to roll in an emergency.

Dedicated slug gun or dedicated HD gun, yes, much beyond that? You'd be better served to pony up a little more for a cheap auto loader for the rest.

RuralRifleGuy · Dec 29, 2018

PJDiesel said:
Welcome.

I'm not sure you'd be best suited to have something interchangeable for that many various activities. I'm not a fan of having my HD gun outside much, it needs to be ready to roll in an emergency.

Dedicated slug gun or dedicated HD gun, yes, much beyond that? You'd be better served to pony up a little more for a cheap auto loader for the rest.

Agreed. I bought a 870 express for hunting and even bought a shorter barrel for home defense. That barrel is still in its packaging because I went out and just bought an 870 express tactical for home defense. The tactical one gives me 7 rounds which in a home defense situation is more useful than the max 4 rounds the hunting one holds.

PF Flyer · Dec 29, 2018

Thanks!! I hadn't thought of it that way before. That makes much sense. If I just dedicate it to trap and hunting, are there any modifications that might make sense? For example I've read about the merits of of things like upgrading the magazine spring and the magazine follower with higher quality components, a new stock for recoil reduction, maybe ghost ring sights . . . . (The last time I handled a pump shotgun was when I went pheasant hunting with my Dad and Grandfather back in Michigan, and it was a 20 gauge.)

PJDiesel · Dec 29, 2018

What's the barrel length now? I'd leave everything alone and just shoot it.

swinokur · Dec 29, 2018

I bought an Express for HD only and added the Remington +2 round extension tube. I had to dremel down the small metal tabs inside the tube and then used cold blue to cover the bare metal.

Works like a champ and I now have 6 + 1.

There are better alternatives for extensions besides Remington however. I bought what I could find in stock at a LGS.

Vang Comp and Wilson come to mind.

I also installed a Knoxx recoil reducing stock an a Surefire Forend with 200 lumen light.

I have the 18 inch barrel.

PF Flyer · Dec 29, 2018

My barrel length is 28 inches.

tdt91 · Dec 29, 2018

I use an 870 Express for all the above except Home Defense. Mo mods are needed, just learn how it shoots so you shoot it better. Range time!!!

Biggfoot44 · Dec 29, 2018

Just shoot it. A lot . ( Presuming it fits you reasonably well .)

DZ · Dec 30, 2018

Length of pull and cast adjustment were the best changes I made to the shotgun. Patterning can be helpful to learn where your shot is going and what it looks like.

Check out Shotgunning: the Art and Science and the Orvis Wingshooting Handbook if you want to get into it.

fidelity · Dec 30, 2018

swinokur said:
I bought an Express for HD only and added the Remington +2 round extension tube. I had to dremel down the small metal tabs inside the tube and then used cold blue to cover the bare metal.

Works like a champ and I now have 6 + 1.

There are better alternatives for extensions besides Remington however. I bought what I could find in stock at a LGS.

Vang Comp and Wilson come to mind.

I also installed a Knoxx recoil reducing stock an a Surefire Forend with 200 lumen light.

I have the 18 inch barrel.

Looks sweet.

Also reminds me to get my Surefire G2X mounted on my HD 870.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

K-43 · Dec 30, 2018

I added a Wilson Combat large safety. Really good in the cold and wet waterfowl hunting.
The "Jumbo" extended, rounded end type interfere with my trigger finger. That might not bother others.

PF Flyer · Dec 30, 2018

All great advice, thanks!! I plan on leaving it as is for now and hitting the range ASAP to get to know her. I like the idea of adding a Wilson Combat large safety before heading out into the field. And the length of pull "feels" a little to long for me, bringing the butt to my shoulder has been more awkward than smooth, and the natural placement of my non-trigger hand ends up further back on the fore end than I would like, but I'm going to reserve final judgment until I've had a couple of visits to the range.

And in terms of a dedicated HD gun, with one kid in college and the second on the way, I need to be extremely budget conscious. Starting from the bottom of the price pile and from what I've read, the Winchester XPS Defender might be an option, but the fact that it's manufactured in Turkey gives me pause, for some reason. And then there is the Benelli Nova Tactical, which I like for the out-of-the-box sighting options and the general Benelli reputation (I think). And then of course there is the Remington Express HD, which I like because it's a Remington with an out-of-the-box 6+1 . . . .

Any advice?

cstone · Dec 30, 2018

Check out this site if you haven’t already. Look at the parts that are different between the Express and Police models. If you budget to swap a couple parts per year and lots of ammunition and range time, you will get much more use out of your shotgun.

Be safe.

https://www.rem870.com/2012/10/17/10-must-have-upgrades-for-your-remington-870-shotgun-2/

Markpixs · Dec 30, 2018

I had to polish the chamber on mine, steel head shells (Rem Gun Club, Rios) would stick in the chamber after firing. Real brass worked fine. Have a friend that replaced the extractor with a non-mim part to solve the same problem.

jimbobborg · Dec 30, 2018

When I got my 590 earlier this year, the length of pull was a little long for me, so I purchased a Magpul stock for it. They make the same stock for the 870. It's easy to change LOP with this system, and the grip is nicer than the stock stock.

Remington 870 Express 12 gauge modifications question

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