New 870 Police Magnum

G

Georgian

New member
Well, I caved! I just purchased a NIB 870 Police Magnum, with walnut furniture and the +2 mag ext. I grew up shooting 870's and for some reason had shifted to Mossberg over the last few years. As much as I like the Mossy's, they never seemed to shoulder or shoot as comfortably as the Remington (to me). I still have my Mossberg 590 Mariner, and will probably hang onto it. I'm awaiting it's arrival to my FFL. In the meantime, anyone care to post some of their 870 glory for me?
 
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You asked! Here's my Police Magnum, bought new in 2012.







Added the 2-shot extension. Put on a rifle sight barrel with Ameriglo Tritium sights, S&J Hardware velcro side saddle, jumbo head safety, hi-vis delrin follower. Most recently, I swapped in a chrome Wingmaster bolt. This gun is my home defense weapon, and it sees a lot of use at the range in a steel plate competitions 3 or 4 times per year. Round count so far is in the neighborhood of 2,000. I have determined two brands of ammunition that it doesn't like, aside from the gun has just been excellent and I'd buy the same one again if I had to.

I have a 26" vent rib barrel which I'm planning on cutting down to 20", to pair up with a 3-shot Remington extension. Then I can move up a class for those steel plate matches.

Congrats on your new 870P, looking forward to some pictures.
-Steve
 
The cheap Winchester birdshot loads are very commonly known to jam, and they do in this gun. I even wrote to Winchester about it once and they sent me a check in exchange for the remainder of a case I had. The other brand is Estate. Both of these would just stop the gun cold. I only ran perhaps one 25-round box of Estates through it, but lots of Winchesters.

Federal, Rio, Fiocchi, and Remington - all good.
 
I never understood why Remington insists on selling these 870 Police guns with the short 4-shot magazine tubes. It's just dumb, and forces the end user to buy a +2 extension. Anyone who says "well the short tube version points better!" needs to get their head out of the clouds and understand the difference between a tactical/defense shotgun and a wing shooter. Magazine capacity is a big deal when you start off with so few rounds anyway. I'll take 6+1 vs 4+1 ANY DAY if I'm facing any threat. Heck, a Mossberg 590 has 8+1 with just 1.5" more barrel and OAL.

Rant off, nice shotgun OP.
 
I agree, the extended mag should be a no-brainer.
The new 870 Express Tacticals do have a one-piece 6-round tube - the downside to that is that there aren't any compatible replacement barrels.
 
Why exactly do the Winchester and Estate rounds jam or stick on ya? I've never had a problem with Estate Buckshot with my Mossberg 590 Mariner, or any other brand for that matter.
 
I never understood why Remington insists on selling these 870 Police guns with the short 4-shot magazine tubes. It's just dumb, and forces the end user to buy a +2 extension.
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So standard barrels will interchange. They sell a model with a one piece extended magazine and you should hear the buyers complaining on other forums because barrels will not interchange without making a spacer, and they did not do their homework. And then there are people like me who don't even want more than 4 rounds. You can screw on an extension, but sawing off the mag tube is a bit more complicated.
 
I've heard people say about the cheap Win shells that they expand too much in the chamber and can get stuck that way. I'd be in the middle of a match, racing the clock, and I'd have to put the butt stock on my hip and yank the forend back with both hands. I guess I can't get into fine detail about why those shells failed in my gun, but if you check around on other forums, the inexpensive Winchesters are widely known to jam.
 
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