Converting an older 870 to home defense platform

Many shotgun barrels are still tapering at 18-20 inches.
Try using your tubing cutter on that!
Tubing and pipe cutters do constrict the barrel. How do you know for sure you have actually removed all of the constriction?
 
Just buy a new short barrel. A new 26” with Rem choke, is a good way to go. You don’t need a slug barrel for home defense! A slug will go through your wall and a few of your neighbors…I just went through this last year with an old Wingmaster, kept the original 30” full barrel for bird/duck hunting.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Many shotgun barrels are still tapering at 18-20 inches.
Try using your tubing cutter on that!
Tubing and pipe cutters do constrict the barrel. How do you know for sure you have actually removed all of the constriction?
Click to expand...
That's all? Because before you wrote, "never use a tubing cutter." So it looks like all I need to do is be sure the barrel is not tapered before using a tubing cutter and to be sure I remove any roll afterward. That's different than "never."
 
It is a Wingmaster. A 1974 model as far as I can tell.
I have definitely decided not to chop the barrel and thinking I will do a complete “Refurbish” of what I can. I have already pulled the firing mechanism, it was pretty dirty but some denatured alcohol and scrubbing it looks much better. Sprayed it down with Remington dry lube and it seems to work as it should. The stock is pretty dinged up, going to strip it and the forearm and re-stain/varnish them. I will look into having the receiver and barrel professionally reblued.
Thanks to all who posted, it is much appreciated!!
 
That's all? Because before you wrote, "never use a tubing cutter." So it looks like all I need to do is be sure the barrel is not tapered before using a tubing cutter and to be sure I remove any roll afterward. That's different than "never."
Click to expand...

So, again, how do you cut a barrel with rib with your tubing cutter?

Much better results by buying a short barrel.
 
I found a vendor on Ebay named ht who cut down a 28" Mossberg barrel to 22" for me and rethreaded for choke tubes. Nice job. I used it for turkeys, could have used it for deer, now just HD. I believe he also does Remington. FWIW YMMV
 
The reason I said, "Never use a tubing or pipe cutter" is that it's the wrong way to cut a barrel. You can scrape it on a sidewalk to get to the length you need, or cut it with a torch, but those aren't the correct way.

Do it the right way.
 
Mossberg - makes a very nice blued 18.5" CYL 870 barrel.

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Red
 
I'd cut that 30" barrel at home. And if I EVER wanted another barrel for that shotgun, then and only then would I go buy one.
 
Not a Wingmaster

Our OP has an old Wingmaster, let's not cut it at home.
My barrel man is Mike Orlen in Massachusetts. He is excellent and is also very fast and reasonable. I had Mike cut my old Remington 31 down to 27" and threaded it for tubes. The grand total was about 200 bucks with 3 choke tubes. Easy to ship only the shotgun barrel, it is a part and ships standard. His typical turnaround is a day or two. Yes I could buy a cheap shotgun with about the same money, it would not be a Remington 31 the ball bearing pump gun, if you think a Win model 12 is smooth, the field grade 31 was at least as smooth as my trap model 12 both about the same vintage, the 31 was a field gun. Takedown design too.
 
I have 2x 20" 870 slug barrels that I sometimes swap out with my turkey barrel--I use them for what the OP has in mind (one is rifled slug and the other smoothbore slug). They are remmie aftermarket barrels and used to be widely available and cheap--don't know if they still are. They are blued from the manufacturer--I did the Picassoflage.

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