Which home defense barrel for Remington 870?

G

Guyon

New member
I scoured the gun shops around town but didn't find any smoothbore barrels that would work for home defense. Everyone can order, but all the prices quoted to me were pretty high.

Cabela's offers two possibilities for the Remington 870 Express (12 gauge):

1. The Remington Express 20 inch improved-cylinder with deer rifle sights.

2. The Mossberg replacement barrel for the Remington 870. It's 18.5 inches long and is in cylinder bore.

The Remington is 105 whereas the Mossberg is 80. Is the Remington barrel worth the extra 25 bucks? I assume the sight on the Mossberg is just a beaded sight. Also, would the improved cylinder (Remington) be more accurate than the cylinder bore (Mossberg)?

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Guyon
NRA, GOA, & TFA Member
Vote for your rights!!!

[This message has been edited by Guyon (edited October 11, 2000).]
 
I doubt anyone could measure a difference in your effectiveness based on bbl choice here. Choke is practically meaningless at HD ranges. However,I'd lean towards the rifle sighted version simply because most folks do better with them.
 
Another factor you may want to consider is whether you plan to shoot rifled slugs. I prefer the Remington rifle sights over a bead for slugs. Also, the improved cylinder choke may (but not certainly will) give better performance with slugs and better patterning with buckshot.

Both of the above are not really concerns for indoor home defense distances, but could be factors out past 20 yards or so.
 
At typical home defense distances (< 20 feet across a room), it doesn't matter which you choose. But the rifle sighted barrel is more versatile. I use mine for deer hunting with slugs. Whether that's worth $25 to you is something you'll have to decide.

M1911
 
The Remington bbl has Rem-choke, and comes with both IC and rifled chokes. If you planned on using the shotgun at any time for something other than HD, this is a good feature.

Also, you can also upgrade the rifled sights with a Williams no-gunsmithing apeture or ghost ring sights, which some people prefer to open sights.

I dunno whether the Mossberg bbl has these features.
 
Bruegger,
A small correction- the Express 20" IC barrel does not come w/ RemChoke.

Guyon,
IMHO, you're better off getting the 18" Mossberg-made barrel for your 870 and having a gunsmith tap your receiver for ghost rings and install a set of ghost ring sights. I like the MMCs, personally, although the Scattergun Tech. Trak-Loks look pretty good. If LPA makes sights for the 870, I'd look into them as well- they are OEM on the ghost-ring Benellis. Very nice and quick to acquire.

I hate the rifle sights on the Remington 870- they are slow to acquire compared to ghost rings, and IMHO that is very important with a HD shotgun. That is why my 870 is relegated to second-line duty w/ my Nova as my HD gun or soon to be.
 
Oh, I see the one you're looking at -- the Express bbl (order code 002). For $30 more you can get the 20" bbl with RemChoke and the IC and rifled chokes (order code 001). Either way, you get the rifled sights. If HD is your only anticipated use, you maybe won't need the screw-in chokes.
 
I'd go with the 20" deer barrel. HD and deer hunting out of one barrel. Versatile to me. For HD purposes, its point and pull from the hip anyway!

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The Seattle SharpShooter - TFL/GT/UGW/PCT/KTOG
 
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