Rem 870 aftermarket parts.

[Wolfwood]

what are some good aftermarket parts for my HD Rem 870?
i was thinkign of a collapsible m4 style side folding stock, in short, what do you guys use on your shotties, and how would you rate certain parts on a usefulness/effectiveness scale?

 

[BT1911]

Just hang a light on it. You don't need all that other junk; 6-way stock, EO Tech, side saddle, rocket launcher, food processor, etc. It might make it look cool (or cheesey depending on how much you load it up) but it won't add anything to the simple mechanics of chambering a shell at 3:00 am when some yellow-eyed cockroach is breaking in the back door.

 

[jtriron]

Just hang a light on it. You don't need all that other junk; 6-way stock, EO Tech, side saddle, rocket launcher, food processor, etc. It might make it look cool (or cheesey depending on how much you load it up) but it won't add anything to the simple mechanics of chambering a shell at 3:00 am when some yellow-eyed cockroach is breaking in the back door.

True this above.

And to add - A 12 gauge loaded with defensive ammo in a pistol grip mode will produce a ton of felt recoil

 

[fm2]

what are some good aftermarket parts for my HD Rem 870?
i was thinkign of a collapsible m4 style side folding stock, in short, what do you guys use on your shotties, and how would you rate certain parts on a usefulness/effectiveness scale?

A surefire forend would be something to consider. Another effective improvement is to add a tru-glo fat dot bead front sight.

 

[Buckles]

keep it simple. shortened forend, mag extension and light.

 

[jtriron]

Just an FYI : the single BEST improvement I have made on my HD shotgun (Mossy 500 but applies to Rem 870 as well) was adding Ghost ring sites. They make a huge improvement in target picture and accuracy, at least for me.

 

[Wolfwood]

keep it simple. shortened forend, mag extension and light.

now, how far past the barrel should i extend the mag tube?

 

[swsmailman]

Keep it a little bit behind the end of the barrel, just think of what it would look like if the mag tube was longer than the barrel.

Buckles shotgun is a great example, just the perfect amount of barrel longer than the mag tube.

And if you want some kind of pistol grip, look into a Knoxx stock from blackhawk, when I finally get my shotgun that is going to be one of the first things I am going to get.

 

[Wolfwood]

hmf, well mine came factory with a 5 round tube, flush with the barrel, maybe a tad shorter. less than a quarter in though.
i wonder if i could get more in there if i used a diffrent spring...

 

[Buckles]

hmf, well mine came factory with a 5 round tube, flush with the barrel, maybe a tad shorter. less than a quarter in though.
i wonder if i could get more in there if i used a diffrent spring...

what length barrel is on it? ive never seen one that came like that. is it one single tube or just a factory extension?

 

[codygjohnson]

hmf, well mine came factory with a 5 round tube, flush with the barrel, maybe a tad shorter. less than a quarter in though.
i wonder if i could get more in there if i used a diffrent spring...

My 18" 870 holds 7 rounds of 2 3/4" in the mag tube. Are you sure you don't have a plug in yours?

 

[codygjohnson]

Wait a minute, the new (unless they changed them again since 2003 was new) models have a dimple in the mag tube to hold the spring and detent in place when you screw off the end cap. If you just screw on an extension, you will still only have a 5 round mag unless you remove that dimple. If your mag tube is flush with the end of your barrel, you may want to check to make sure that dimple isn't keeping you from loading it fully.

 

[codygjohnson]

Found this on another site to show you what I was talking about:

View attachment 3764

If you have that dimple, that's your problem. We can get into removal of it if need be. It's pretty easy and there are several ways to do it.

 

[jtriron]

Wait a minute, the new (unless they changed them again since 2003 was new) models have a dimple in the mag tube to hold the spring and detent in place when you screw off the end cap. If you just screw on an extension, you will still only have a 5 round mag unless you remove that dimple. If your mag tube is flush with the end of your barrel, you may want to check to make sure that dimple isn't keeping you from loading it fully.

Just another reason to choose a Mossberg - OK just joking

 

[Buckles]

i used a dremel and ground down the dimple on mine.

 

[The Lox]

Here is mine, 870 Lasermax Laser/Light combo, factory mag extension, side saddle..

 

[M. Sage]

I'd suggest a light, a TruGlo or HiViz sight (HiViz has one that will just clip on to your barrel and is secure) and a Knoxx SpecOps stock. I put a Knoxx on an 870 clone recently and love it. I can really lay down some aimed fire with that thing thanks to the recoil reduction. I literally shoulder and fire it like it's a carbine like an M4 or AK. I'm not a big fan of ghost ring sights and IMO they're totally overkill for in your house range engagements. Practice at home-defense ranges and learn how to point-shoot or at least use a "snap" sight picture. With any long gun, precision isn't exactly hard to come by at under 20 feet.

Forget how it "looks", by the way. Worrying about how a tool like a defensive gun "looks" is pretty insecure. I'll run an ugly gun for home defense. It just has to work and fit the need.

One last thing on the Knoxx. I put over 30 rounds through that shotgun yesterday. 10 rounds #4B, three or four slugs and a bunch of 00B. It's the first time I've put that much lead through a shotgun and my shoulder doesn't even feel like I went shooting. There might be a little bit there, but it doesn't even feel like I shot something as low-recoil as my AK. Feels like I might has spent a day with an AR-15... For home defense, I'd leave it set at the shortest setting, which makes it harder to get a "proper" sight picture. But all you need to do to make an effective shot across most rooms is look across the top of the shotgun at the target.

The traditional stocks work fine, but IMO a pistol grip does give you a good deal more control over the shotgun. I did some informal testing after installing the Knoxx, and found it easier to keep that shotgun on target while moving through a room than I did with another 870 that had a hunting stock on it. Same barrel length on both guns. The pistol grip also came in very handy for reloading on the go. I could drop one in the chamber, close it and keep it more or less on target as I stuffed ammo into the magazine. Could you do that with a hunting stock? Yes, but not as easily. Also, and this could be important, a pistol grip stock gives you more leverage for weapon retention. I'd rather not ever get shot, but if I do I really don't want to get shot with my own gun.

Also, don't worry too much about a mag extension, side-saddle, etc. for HD. Anything that makes the shotgun heavier or could add to hanging up on corners, curtains, etc. is a bad thing. If 4 rounds of 00B won't handle a home defense situation, 4 more probably won't help a lot. At that close range, you put a round of 00B or 4B center of mass and the fight is ended right there, right now. Less gear, more practice.

One more thing: Don't use bird shot. It won't penetrate deep enough to be a decisive fight stopper. Use buckshot. Slugs would work great (awesome stopper!) but they don't like to stop once you get them moving... IMO slugs are for shots past 25 yards, or big critters that will eat you.

00B is just about the perfect home defense load. You've got 9 .32" balls of lead that are going to do damage similar to a little more than half a mag from a modern full-size 9mm pistol... all at once.