Texas SOT

870 Police for general defensive duties, with or without extension?

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  • breakingcontact

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    Oct 16, 2012
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    What do you think? I know the big downfall of shotguns is their capacity so that makes me think "go with the extension". Then i think of that being another part to fail or fail to feed and i think "go with the 4+1".

    Edited to add: how is $550 for a used model that looks new?

    What say you?
    DK Firearms
     
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    txinvestigator

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    The 870 is a fine shotgun. I run a Mossberg 500 with extended tube, surefire forend and sidesaddle and a sling. I also have a knox recoil reducing stock on mine. Took it to a school and shot 00 buck and slugs all day and it was great.

    I would have no problem with an 870.
     

    Charlie

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    The 870 is a fine shotgun. I run a Mossberg 500 with extended tube, surefire forend and sidesaddle and a sling. I also have a knox recoil reducing stock on mine. Took it to a school and shot 00 buck and slugs all day and it was great.

    I would have no problem with an 870.
    Agreed! Can't beat an 870. $550 may or may not be a good price depending on exactly which model 870 and what it's got on it.
     

    shortround

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    My home defense 12 gauge 870 with factory extended magazine tube cost $259 out the door in '06. Since our .gov says we've had negligible inflation for the last ten years, I figure anything over $300 could be a tad high. Then again, I'm not a lawyer or an economist, nor have I ever stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.

    The owner's manual for that shotgun did not have a section how to disassemble it with the factory magazine extension affixed. Called Remington, and they told me to either send it to them (What? I wanted to disassemble it myself) or take it to their warranty shop in Austin. Got to Austin, and the 'smith sniffed, snorted, and grunted: "Sorry, I've never seen that setup before ... not covered under warranty."

    Should have consulted YouTube before I ever called Remington. The solution was there before I ever left home!
     

    breakingcontact

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    I appreciate the input. This is the police model and it does have some differences over the express/home defense models.

    I am considering going the cheaper route as i do not think the police model is $200 better. (thats a huge debate i know)
     

    bptactical

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    I picked up an older express magnum in great shape from a pawn shop for 175.00. I did a trade on a rifled barrel and I had an extension laying around.
    I don't have 250.00 in the thing.
    550.00 is no deal IMO.
    Hell my brand new 590A1 was only 400.00.
    Figure a HD shotty is going to lay under/by the bed, get dusty and dinged up under normal circumstances. Get the cheapest thing you can.
     

    ROGER4314

    Been Called "Flash" Since I Was A Kid!
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    Shotguns are my weakness and I confess that I've owned WAY too many of them! I like the Remington 870 and 1100 semiauto shotguns.

    I do NOT use extended magazines and choose, instead to put an elastic shell holder on the stock. It's nice to have extra rounds in a magazine but my experience suggests that they are NOT 100% reliable and they add weight. The extended tubes are very vulnerable to damage when the shotgun is used as a club. Why a club? At that close range, survival is impossible if you fire at a BG and I prefer to end a dispute with plain old brute force instead of deadly force.

    I have the old Wingmasters that are slick as glass in operation but the Express sand blast finish shotguns are very good, too. Our Wally World has the 870 Express brand new at $279. I've purchased several 18 1/2" barrels for as little as $108.

    Also take a look at the Mossberg Maverick 88 and the Mossberg 500 shotguns. Extra barrels (the 18 1/2" especially) can be purchased for as little as $75. Academy has the 88's on sale for about $170. The 500's are about $100 higher. I owned both and see little difference in them except for location of the safety. I've disassembled both models and don't see $100 difference in them. Barrels on both interchange.

    Flash
     
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    ROGER4314

    Been Called "Flash" Since I Was A Kid!
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    I forgot to add my pick for the SHTF shotgun.

    I use a Mossberg 88 with 18 1/2" barrel loaded with 00 buck hanging from a rack in my hallway. There is an elastic shell holder on the stock with more 00 Buck and a soft carrier with a dozen more ugly rounds.

    My "pick up and go" gun is a Remington 1100 semi automatic with sighted slug barrel and loaded with 00 buck. It has a camo Remington factory stock and an M1 Garand sling. I rebuilt the 1100, replaced all springs, extractor and bolt buffer. It has an elastic shell carrier on the stock with 00 Buck and slugs. That's my SHTF buddy.

    Flash
     
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    Andy

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    I happen to like extended tubes, but if I didn't have one, I would definitely have extra shells on the gun.

    In my case, I have both - I made velcro tear-offs for the side of the receiver:

    v3lst4.jpg
     

    Jakashh

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    I've been trying to clone my 870 express into an 870 Police style gun with the rifle sights... Do you know how hard it was a few months ago to find a factory remington extended mag tube? It was OOS everywhere, and where it was in stock, it was marked up to $130 on brownells when its MSRP is around $45-$50.

    Thankfully, the Remington booth at the NRA show had one in stock, and I paid $45 for it out the door.

    On my model, I had to ground the indents on the inside of the tube so the follower could slide through it. Once you get it on right it should be fine, but if you don't put it on right (seems easy enough), you will have hang ups when loading past 4 rounds.

    But yes, they do make a solid mag tube model now.
     

    AustinN4

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