20 gauge Rem 870 front sight

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oldscot3

New member
I have a 20 gauge Remington 870 compact that has a 21" barrel. I like it and it's potent with 3" 2 buck shells. The butt stock, unfortunately, doesn't fit me just right. When shouldered properly, and with my cheek comfortably on the comb, my eye is not properly aligned with the rib. The barrel is aiming high. To properly align my eye I have either press my cheek very hard against the comb or raise the butt pad on my shoulder, neither a good option.

I think the cheapest way to fix my problem is with a taller front sight, I'm looking at the Hi Viz Spark III. It appears to have a base perhaps 1/8" thick or so, with the light pipe on top of that.

My question is, does anyone know whether my factory white bead is threaded in, or simply pressed in ?

Also, feel free to weigh in if ya'll think my solution is not going to fix the problem.
 
rib

I wasn't aware their was a "compact" 870 but sounds to me like that stock is to short for you, that's a guess w/o seeing you shoulder it. You state in your post the butt does not fit.

I am far from a shotgun fit guru, but on the two short LOP shotguns I own, I have a tendency to look over the bead/rib/barrel, and not down them. As a result, I shoot high. I not so sure you can correct a short butt/fit problem with higher sights. I'd think you'd need to address the ill fitting stock.

Butt stocks for the 870 are plentiful and easy to swap. But before I went that route, I'd add a butt extension, a slip on or strap on model, and see if that helps. If it helps, you can obtain a stock with a longer LOP, or add a butt/recoil pad to lengthen the stock you have.
 
Remington make's a Compact/Youth model 870 and just as bamaranger
has said your stock is too short. It is cut for a younger person.
 
A taller front sight is not going to fix an alignment issue.
I'm not entirely sure it's an LOP issue(most likely), but that's easy and free thing to check and fix. Put the butt in your elbow and grasp the grip. Your finger in the right place on the trigger without any straining? Do the same thing using a yard stick. Where your finger comes to on the yard stick is your required LOP.
The Remington 870 Compact has a 13" LOP. A screw on recoil pad adds about an inch. So does a $30 Pachmayr slip on pad. Depending on the synthetic stock, you can cut the butt stock to fit with a recoil pad installed.
 
Remington make's a Compact/Youth model 870 and just as bamaranger
has said your stock is too short. It is cut for a younger person
Click to expand...

It is a compact model but not the youth. It came with extra spacers and longer screws to extend the butt pad. I put them all on and LOP is OK now, but the comb is still too high.

I have an 1100 with very similar ergonomics when compared side by side. It has a deer barrel with rifle sights; they line up very quickly and my cheek is comfortable on the comb. The front sight is probably 1/2" + higher than the top of the barrel.

I'm going to tape something on top of the existing bead to raise it the next time I go to the ranch. If that works I'll order the Hi Viz. Maybe their customer service can tell me if my bead is pressed or threaded.
 
Update: Nope, a taller front sight alone won't do it. It will take a much taller front and rear sight to do the trick...

So I looked at the tactical style, receiver mount rears. I like one Midway has by LPA although it's a little spendy for $100.00, plus I still have to buy a front.

Maybe a different stock; I looked at Magpuls; they don't list one for 20 gauge 870s.

I may take the butt stock off to see how complicated the inletting is where it mates to the receiver. If I could tweak the inletting to lower the butt that would solve my fit issue but I'm concerned I may not have the skill set to pull it off without ruining my butt stock. Not sure what I'm going to do, probably just shoot it poorly in the uncomfortable mode for awhile.
 
I'd love that; do you know of a source?

Magpul doesn't make one for 20 gauge apparently, and I don't want any brand with a pistol grip, not interested in folding, telescoping, skeletanized ar-15 looking "tactical" offerings either. I'd just like to have a conventional stock with a little more drop at the comb than my factory one.

I've seen Choate's stocks but I'm not sure how I can be sure they will have more drop at the comb than the factory stock I already have.

I may go with mounting a Mesa Tactical picatinny rail on the receiver. That would open up my options for peeps or red dots dramatically.
 
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yo

I put a limbsaver on my son's youth 870 as he got bigger and it fits him fine now... a little short for me but I can put some Uncle Bucks styrofoam pads under that if I need to.
 
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