Questions about Remington 870 7-round barrel change

M

Mfinken

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I recently bought a Remington 870 Express synthetic 7-round 18.5" for home defense. I also wanted to shoot skeet and trap etc, so I bought a 28" vent rib barrel made by Remington from cabelas. When I talked to the guy from cabelas he said that it should fit all 870 models, but it seems to me that it should only fit the 5 round guns.

When I take off the old barrel and slide the new one on there's several inches between the thumb screw magazine cap and the barrel guide ring, whereas the original 18.5" barrel is held on only by that magazine cap meeting the guide ring flush without gaps.

Are there separate barrels for different sized magazines, or is this normal for a large gap to be there and the only thing holding the barrel on seems to me to be friction?
 
Recently Remington has started making an 870 with a longer magazine tube.
These new special guns require a special barrel with a support ring that's attached farther toward the muzzle.

I have no idea if Remington is offering longer barrels for these special models.
You can contact Remington and ask.
They also sell 870 barrels direct.
 
For trap and skeet I would just remove the extended magazine and replace it with the factory magazine cap and spring and your long barrel. Unless they've completely changed something. Call Remington and ask.
 
drail, Like Dfariswheel said, the newer 7 shot 870's are different. Where the old ones had a magzine that held 4 shells and required a 2 round magazine extension to make it hold 6, the new ones have a magazine tube that holds 6 by itself. If you check aound the internet, you will find instructions on how to make a spacer tube that will take up the space between the Vent Rib barrel's lug and the magazine nut. (You can use a piece of PVC pipe.) This was talked about here on TFL not long ago. That or see if Remington makes a 28" VR barrel to fit the 6 round magazine model.
 
Yeah I'll have to call Remington tomorrow and see if they have those available. I'm hoping to have it by this weekend so the timing just sucks.

I've looked for a while on google now but haven't seen anything about making spacers. Seems pretty straight forward, but I'd like some reassurance when it comes to at-home firearm tinkering.
 
Virginian-in-LA talked about making a spacer here. http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5141359

If they aren't on the market, they will be soon. Basically, you just need a length of pipe with an inner diameter that allow it to slide over the magazine tube. Cut it so that when you tighten the magazine cap down it holds the barrel in battery. I would use a wave washer that you can buy from Brownells to ensure that it is snug but not overly tight. You can make this our of pvc tubing or pipe. I think Virginian suggested electrical conduit.

(Barrel "seated", not in battery, is what I mean.)
 
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Just called Remington and they basically told me I'm SOL. The guy I talked to sounded like he'd never heard of that problem before and just told me everything I already knew about the old magazine extensions and how the barrel would fit that.

I guess I'm back to the drawing board on whether I want to risk a homemade piece of pipe malfunctioning or just giving up and renting a long gun at the range.
 
You have other options if you don't want to risk a home made adapter. Have a gunsmith or machinist make the adapter or, and this will be expensive, have your magazine replaced with the 4 shot shell tube and the 2 shell extension. The second alternative would be expensive. The first will be a lot less costly than renting.
 
I already sent an email to a local gunsmith (I'm in Columbus Ohio), so we'll see how that goes. I bought this gun about 3 weeks ago and ditched the box already, so there's a chance I might just get a gun with the setup you're talking about if they'll let me exchange it.

For a gun that's this popular and the reputation Remington has I'm very disappointed with how little they seem to give a crap about this.
 
For a gun that's this popular and the reputation Remington has I'm very disappointed with how little they seem to give a crap about this.
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As a rule, there is very little that Remington gives a crap about, other than their own behinds.
 
I would definitely give the gun store a piece of someting if it told me that I could use other barrels. Did you buy the gun and the barrel at the same time or from the same place?

I recently bought a Remington 870 Express synthetic 7-round 18.5" for home defense. I also wanted to shoot skeet and trap etc, so I bought a 28" vent rib barrel made by Remington from cabelas. When I talked to the guy from cabelas he said that it should fit all 870 models, but it seems to me that it should only fit the 5 round guns.
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You are learning the way most of us have, which is to buy your first gun. Many, if not the majority of people working in gun stores don't know as much as they think they do. That is probably true about most of us and myself, but they hold themselves out as being knowledgeable.
 
Don't worry about it. It is no big thing for a smith to make you a spacer. It is nothing buy a piece of pipe. He can even finish it to match your 870's finish pretty well.
 
Here's the official statement from Remington:

"Thank you for contacting Remington. Some of the new tactical models such as yours has the new one-piece magazine tube that does not accept the standard 870 barrel. The one piece design increases reliability in feeding and loading. There is no adapter to change to the standard barrel. I would recommend that you contact the Cabela's store in regard to incorrect information that you were given."
 
Remington 870 Tactical Extended Magazine Barrel Adaptor

A Remington 870 Express Tactical with 7 round magazine properly and safely modified to accept generic Remington 870 barrels. I did it with a piece of aluminum tube stock with a 1" ID and 1 1/4" OD purchased from metalsdepot.com. Cut to 4 7/8", with a bit of sanding on the inside using a drill extension and 1" paddle sander both purchased from Northern equipment. For the coating... some Rustoleum primer and a some Rustoleum Matte black finish... three coats of each. I used a 450 grit sand paper to get the inside very smooth so as not to scratch the magazine.

I have a picture but am new to this forum and couldn't get it to load. Anyway, if you'd like a picture, shoot me an email... It's a perfect match.

By the way, I emailed Remington and they said that they do have an adaptor in the works but do not know when it'll be available.
 
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To the OP, I wouldn't get too upset with Remington. I don't think that they ever intended for a tactical gun to be used in the field or on the range. But the 870 is a "swiss army knife" of guns so with an adapter you will be good to go. I have already seen one locally with a used gun on the rack in a LGS.

Enjoy your 870, its a fine weapon :)
 
For as much as they want for those barrels, it would probably be cheaper just to buy a whole nother gun that meets your needs.

I would look into getting a refund on the barrel.
 
They came out with the newer extended one piece magazine because thousands of people have had issues with the add on magazine extensions. Shells, springs, and followers hang up on that joint if it isn't right, and apparently a lot of people are not 1% mechanically inclined and the barrel supports either get loose or overtightened - some even crushing the magazine, and the joint gets loose.
Remington catalogs over 60 - that's SIXTY - extra 12 gauge 870 barrels, but only one for the model with the one piece extended magazine. Sorry to throw rocks, but maybe the buyers should do a little more homework. ALL the info is available.
A piece of 1" Schedule 40 PVC pipe from Home Depot or Lowes will fit, is even lighter than conduit, can be cut with anything from a hacksaw to a table saw with either a wood or metal blade, and will take primer and paint just fine, and is plenty strong. Put a lockwasher or an O ring under the mag cap and have at it. It's only purpose is to hold the barrel flush to the receiver. The bolt locks into the barrel so there is no safety issue.
 
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I wouldn't be too hard on Remington. I have the old 7 shot model 870 with the two round magazine extension and now and then when loading shell 5 the nose of shell 1 will catch on the lip of the extension. If the extension is carefully assembled, this usually isn't a problem unless the nose of shell 1 is ever so slightly misshaped. Perhaps mine is more of a problem than some, since it was dropped on a garage floor soon after I got the gun and I had to carefully remove a dent in the lip of the extension.

For me that is not a big deal, since it rarely happens and the chances of me ever needing the gun for hd purposes are very thin and, even then, it sits loaded with 6. Should more ever be needed, I imagine I may have to rely on keeping it stoked with no more than 4 in the tube should it hang up. I don't see that as being much of a problem.

However, were I more likely to need it for tactical purposes, I wouldn't find the 2+ extension model to be acceptable and would want the solid 6 round tube. I definitely would want the solid 6 round tube were I a cop.
 
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