Load Switching Technique

[#4Buck]

The 870 lacks a magazine cut-off. If you want to switch say from from a birdshot load in the chamber to a slug to take out a hog that's coming into range, for example; what in your opinion is the simplest way to do it without emptying the magazine.

[DaveC]

Typically, for a bird hunt, you'd have a fairly long barrel and possibly a choke, say IC or modified or what-have-you. For waterfowl, you'd have non-toxic shot and the types of chokes for that. Also, you'd have your three-shot limiter installed in the tube magazine, leaving you with a capacity of 2.

Upland birds make it easier, certainly. So let's say you've got a slug type that you've fired good groups with out of your particular bird-hunting barrel, regardless of type.

You'll have to get some snap caps/inert shells for practice. You'll have to always remember to bring along the slug cartridge.

1) Shotgun oriented toward new target, in this case, the hog. Dominant hand maintains hold on grip of the stock. Support hand reaches down to belt, indexes forefinger along shell, grasps shell, brings it up underneath to the loading port, and inserts it into the loading port.
2) Dominant hand reaches under receiver to depress action release, while support hand actuates the fore-end, ejecting the chambered round, and chambering the slug.

Slowest, "worst case" scenario: Your gun has a full magazine and a chambered round. In such case, you'd have to do 2), then 1), then 2) again.

If you don't practice and keep your slug in the same place every time, it will take so long that you'd probably not be able to pull it off.

[faustus]

What about leaving room in the mag tube for one more round ....?

When you want to switch to a slug ... just insert the round into the mag tube as you would normally ... cycle the action ... and you are good to go ...
Yes, you might have a "live" bird shot round laying somewhere on the ground .... but that would be the least of my concerns if a boar gets to close and shows aggressive behavior ...

[DaveC]

Right. That's it, basically. To open the action on the Rem 870, however, you'd have to depress the action release or "action bar lock," which entails moving the dominant/firing hand. That's why Mossberg 500/590 aficionados tout their preference in the placement of it on that shotgun.

And if you've "topped up" the shotgun's tube magazine with an extra shell after loading one in the chamber... Or having popped one into the chamber on an entirely empty gun, and then fully loaded the magazine, then you'd have to a) clear the one out of the chamber--easy! and then free it up again so the slug cartridge or what-have-you could go from the magazine into the chamber. A matter of seconds, but no practice guarantees fumbling...

[Synchronizor]

Here's my method:

Starting with the gun in a normal shooting hold against the shoulder, either keep the butt against your shoulder or tuck it in your armpit, then let go with your shooting hand. Hit the slide release if needed, then stick your thumb or finger up into the loading port and push forward against the next shell in the magazine while bringing the fore-end back, opening the action all the way. This will eject anything in the chamber while setting the next shell in the magazine on the forward shell latch, where it'll stay until the next time the action is cycled. Then, use your primary hand to drop the desired shell (which you either grabbed before or after opening the action) into the ejection port. Close the action and shoot.

This works no matter what's in the chamber and no matter how full the magazine is, and doesn't drop any shells on the ground unless you had an unfired one in the chamber (and even that can be caught and saved with a little practice). It is easiest to do with a short fore-end, but it's possible with longer fore-ends as well, though it may take a bit more time and attention. If you like having a long fore-end, you can add a cut-out to the bottom rear to help facilitate this change-over technique.

[DaveC]

Ah so desu ka!

Thanks sensei/sifu of the way of the no-shadow-kick Remington 870! (Uh, well, yu and Vitaly obsviously! )


OP: "Your load switching technique will be unstoppable!!" [pushes fist into open palm, bows deeply...]

[#4Buck]

BINGO Synchronizor! I have given up on my search for an 870 magazine cutoff because there is one built into the gun using the procedure you described. I just found a step by step procedure that mirrors yours on another site. I believe it addresses the long forearm issue.

To empty chamber or the chamber and magazine without repeatedly racking the slide (and picking your shotshells out of the water or mud.)

1. Pull the forearm half-way back.
2. Reach inside the magazine loading port and reseat the next magazine round by
pushing it into the magazine past the latch until you hear the click, so it doesn’t
chamber with the next step
3. Pull the forearm all the way back to fully open the action, remove the round extracted
from the chamber, if any. Insert a different round, if desired, or leave chamber empty.
4. To completely empty the gun, at this point push the forearm up to the halfway position
and turn the gun upside down so you can see into the magazine loading port.
5. Push the lifter/carrier to the normal full up position toward the breech, easing the
forearm back only as far until the lifter/carrier stays up .
6. Press the first locking latch with a thumb, releasing one round into the loading port for
removal, repeat pressing the first then the second latch as necessary until magazine tube
is empty.

I like this method because the first 3 steps are the same when I want to insert a slug or a different round into the rotation,
 

[Synchronizor]

1. Pull the forearm half-way back.
2. Reach inside the magazine loading port and reseat the next magazine round by
pushing it into the magazine past the latch until you hear the click, so it doesn’t
chamber with the next step
3. Pull the forearm all the way back to fully open the action, remove the round extracted
from the chamber, if any. Insert a different round, if desired, or leave chamber empty.

Yes, this is a slightly different version of the technique that you can do with either hand. It's slower in my opinion since you're breaking up the procedure, but it works fine if you're not in a huge hurry, and it lets you use your support hand for all the magazine stuff and keep your firing hand on the gun's grip if you prefer. It is also easier to pull off with an unmodified long fore-end.

4. To completely empty the gun, at this point push the forearm up to the halfway position
and turn the gun upside down so you can see into the magazine loading port.
5. Push the lifter/carrier to the normal full up position toward the breech, easing the
forearm back only as far until the lifter/carrier stays up .
6. Press the first locking latch with a thumb, releasing one round into the loading port for
removal, repeat pressing the first then the second latch as necessary until magazine tube
is empty.

I prefer to unload the magazine with the action closed, because a longer fore-end won't get in the way, and the carrier is there to guide the shells into your hand, so it tends to be quicker. That's best done with two hands though; what you copied here works well if you only have one free hand. I do it that way sometimes when I'm driving west across the Idaho-Washington border, as Washington doesn't allow long guns to be loaded in a moving vehicle.