870 w/Mag Extension: How Do You Remove The Barrel?

S

Sam C

New member
My buddy bought a Remington 870, 18"bb with an OEM mag extension. We wanted to remove the barrel for cleaning but couldn't. On a non-extended mag tube, removing the barrel is done by unscrewing the mag cap and pulling the barrel out for cleaning. On this one there is what looks like a threaded sleeve, then the extension, followed by a clamp, which clamps the extension to the barrel. Do I remove the clamp, unscrew the sleeve and remove the mag extension, spring and follower? If so, any thing to be careful about doing? Seems like a lot of work just to remove a barrel for cleaning. Help, I'm not sure what I should do. Sam

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I don't have an 870 but I do have a Mossberg 9200 with a mag tube extension and the clamp which provides extra support to the extension. For field stripping you unscrew the clamp and slide it off, then unscrew the mag tube extension, then pull the bbl off. For the 870 I would imagine, even though it is a pump and not a semi-auto, that you do the same thing.
 
Sam. On the OEM extension, there is a nut which attaches the magazine extension and the barrel on the gun. If you loosen this nut enough, you can then just slide the barrel w/ mag extension still attached off the gun. On Choate and Tac-Star extensions, I believe the nut is an integral part of the extension. In that case, you must remove the clamp each time you wish to break the gun down. This is what I have to do with mine. I believe the Wilson Combat extension is strong enough that you don't need the clamp. That would be the way to go if you were starting from scratch. I have the 3 round extension on my 21" turkey barrel... must use a clamp with this one.
 
Both of my 870's have factory extensions. You will need to pull the clamp off (one large flat head screw) and unscrew the extension. On mine, I find it easier to actually unscrew the extension a bit before unscrewing the threaded collar.
It really is not a big deal. I clean mine every week, after shooting.
It you are concerned about looks, be forewarned that removing the clamp will, sooner or later, scratch your barrel and mag tube. I consider it "character".
Have fun,
Mike
 
question, i have 2 870s and at the range the other day, one of my buddies told me the little silver ball that makes the clicking noise when you screw on/off the magazine cap or extended mag was there so you could tell how much to tighten the cap or extended magazine tube onto the threads. i never heard this before. are you supposed to only tighten them down a certain number of clicks? thanks.
 
Holy old threads batman! LOL.

That silver ball is the detent ball. It has been discontinued on the modern 870's. At least on the Express models.
The newer guns accomplish the same thing with that new spring-retainer. It has ratchet-like teeth to help hold the mag cap.
On my guns that have the detent, I do often tighten the collar one "click" passed hand tight.
The detent's real purpose is to help hold the mag cap/collar by keeping some small amount of pressure against it.
It is important that the cap/collar be the type with the indentations to match the barrel's detent ball.
Most after-market caps have both the indentatiosn on the outside edge and the serrations on the inside so they can be used with any barrel or spring retainer.
Hope that helps,
Mike
 
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