Middle Bead Installation Info

J

jtmckinney

New member
Me, my son and a friend of his shot a box of clays Saturday. Had a good time and plan to maybe do this more. My son's friend had a Mossburg with a middle bead on it. I shot it a couple of times and liked what the middle bead did to my shooting.

I have a Remington 870 Express that I shoot and am going to put a middle bead on it. I am not a gunsmith but I have a drill press, cross vice and feel I am competent enough to install it myself.

My 870 has a front bead probably described as matte silver .142 inches diameter.

The middle beads I am looking at are from Midway either:

Williams Product # 460680 .067" Diam Gold finish
Williams Product # 219956 .067" Diam Silver finish
Bradley Product # 583042 .063 Diam Silver finish
Bradley Product # 549074 .063 Diam Matt Silver finish

Any opinions as to which of these to start with?

Should I have a contrasting color to my front bead?

Instructions I could find said to mount the middle bead 12 to 16 inches from the front bead. Is there a method to calculating the correct distance or is this just a trial and error, what works for you kind of thing?

Thanks for any interest and your help.
James
 
IF your gun fits you, when you mount it, the small mid bead and main front bead will look like a figure "8". That is the only time you should be looking at them. After that, you should be concentrating on the target itself. Therefore some folks find the extra bead distracting, I have one on my gun, I use it to check my mount, then block it out. I believe the distances you mentioned would correspond to your barrel length - i.e., my gun has 32" barrels, so 16" from the front makes it a mid bead on MY gun.

One concern is making ABSOLUTELY sure you drill in the center. Some folks use a line from the front bead back to the center of the receiver and go from there, others have differing approaches

Good luck
 
Oneounceload, Thanks for the fast reply.

The barrel seems to measure a little over 27.5 inches from end of barrel to bolt face. So maybe 14 inches would be correct for my gun.

I already had the "got to be in the center" part figured out. It is my gun so if I screw it up I will move 1/8 inch and try again. Hope it doesn't wind up looking like swiss cheese:(.

Have a great day!
James
 
Don't get overly concerned about the actual bead. As 1-oz said, it's just a reference. Just about any size and color will work. Remember, when at the range, you're supposed to be looking at the target not the beads. Go to your wife's sewing kit and get a white glass-headed pin (the ones that come in new clothes), trim it and glue it to your rib.
 
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