Non-rifled improved cylinder barrel w/ rifle sights - 18" police or 20" deer?

[SoCal_Rem870]

Thanks for the perfect pic. Your youtube videos are great too - very informative!

[SoCal_Rem870]

Glad I took some more time on this: That Remington barrel from Cheaper than Dirt, #F226422 is apparently a blued barrel. Couldn't find it's part number on the Remington site, but BudsGunShop listed it as a blued barrel, which isn't what I want. So, going to the horse's mouth, I found this on Remington.com:

https://www.remington.com/shop/870-Expr ... /p/F242546

Seems to be the right color, and with the 20% off coupon code I just found today, I surely can't pass it up. $151.44 total w/tax+shipping. Too bad they don't sell barrel extension kits on the home site (they just sell the individual parts, which adds up when buying the whole kit that way), or I'd get that direct too.

[Synchronizor]

Yep, that seems to be just what you're looking for. A fixed IC choke will work great for HD, and should play nice with most common slugs as well. If you get into other hunting or want to fine-tune things for a specific load, you can always have the barrel threaded for interchangeable choke tubes later on.

A lot of folks find the factory sight elements on those barrels to be too fine for quick defensive use. Try it out, and if you have trouble getting the sights lined up quickly - especially in poor lighting - there are a lot of alternate sight elements available on the aftermarket that will drop onto that barrel.

Have fun!

[SoCal_Rem870]

Thanks for all of the feedback/info. As to the sights, I noticed there are a ton of them out there, among other things. I forget what sight it was, but when I went to look up parts for the 870, there was something like more than 1,400 entries. The 870 only has about They might as well call it the AR-870 (America's Remington 870), because anything and everything is available for it.

As for up-close shooting technique for the sights this barrel comes with, I will probably start off using something akin to the front sight focus handgun technique. With a shorter pull polymer stock and the shorter barrel, the end sight won't be too much farther away than pistol sights are with my arms fully extended. If I can put shot/slugs mostly within an 8" circle center mass from 7 yards away with a single quick presentation shot and with two or more rapid fire shots, I will be pretty happy. I think I will be able to manage that; especially with a shorter pull stock (just got one, perhaps I'll post a thread on that) and a shorter/lighter barrel than the 28" vent rib barrel it came with. I don't think the polymer stock and forend weigh much less than the wood versions, but the overall weight balance should at least be better with the 20" barrel. All I can do is run through it mentally for now, because it has been 105+ degrees out here lately, and the indoor range nearby is like an oven when it is not too hot outside to begin with (they need to upgrade their ventilation). And it will be about a week or so before the barrel arrives anyways. When it cools down just a bit I will be getting some range time in there, and at a couple of outdoor ranges not too far away. I also picked up an extended skeet Rem choke too, and that I will be more likely to make use of sooner, as from where I live it is only about a twenty minute drive to here: http://shootprado.com/.

Dove season is also underway here, but I won't be going out until next year when I will be better equipped/prepared. More importantly, I need to work on developing safe carry habits, as I am not used to hiking around with a longarm over my shoulder. There are a lot of barrel options and ammunition options to choose from, but I don' think I would hunt anything but turkeys and smaller game birds with the 870. Anything the size of a doe or bigger I would likely be more comfortable taking with our Remington 141, or something in .308 or similar. But who knows? I am just starting off on this journey, and if it takes me somewhere I didn't expect to go, well, there are options to be had for the 870 to handle it. Either way, I'm good.

[Synchronizor]

With the 870, simply opening the action makes the gun completely safe. Both the hammer & firing pin are blocked, the trigger's disconnected, and of course the chamber is open.

[SoCal_Rem870]

Of course. Just want to develop further good habits in a new shooting environment is all.

I received the barrel (870 Express Barrel, 12 Gauge, Rifle-Sight, Fixed Improved Cylinder, Matte, #F242546) today, and it is a perfect match finish-wise. For those wanting to know, with this barrel the shotgun measures 40.25" from top of the upper corner of the rear of the stock to the tip of the barrel. Also received an extended skeet choke, which I am hoping to get in a few rounds with at the nearby Olympic shooting range in a few weeks.

Remington is in the process of updating the SHOP portion of their website, but they are soon to be rolling out around a half dozen new shorter barrels, many of which are threaded for chokes and/or are equipped with rifle sights. And so I'll be holding off on getting any other barrel until I see what options there are.