Firing slugs through a breach choke on 870 Express Tactical

[bc1962]

I recently purchased a 870 Express Tactical Magpul with breaching choke. One of the salesmen at the gun store seemed to think firing slugs with the choke in place was not possible. I would be interested to know if anyone knows of any ammunition restrictions using this choke (slug, 00, etc...) Thanks.

[Kentactic]

I believe its just a cylinder choke. But even if it isnt your ok to shoot slugs through mild chokes.

[Synchronizor]

The Remington breacher choke is based on a cylinder tube, so it has no constriction. Any ammunition can be fired through it safely (assuming the ammunition itself is safe to fire).

[bc1962]

Thanks. I thought the salesman was confused. I couldn't imagine Remington putting out any factory variant of the 870 with ammunition restrictions.

[Synchronizor]

Well, there are Remington shotguns that come from the factory with very tight chokes for turkey hunting installed, and you're probably asking for trouble if you try to fire slugs out of those. Of course, most of the turkey guns use Rem Choke barrels, so it's a simple matter of screwing out the turkey choke and installing a different tube with less constriction if you want to shoot slugs or large, hard shot.

It is wise to always know what choke your shotgun has, and what projectile sizes & materials it's rated for. However, it's a common misconception that slugs cannot be safely fired through anything smaller than a cylinder choke. The salesman you spoke with apparently subscribed to this theory, and also assumed that the breacher choke had a tighter constriction than cylinder.

[Bastard File]

I use IC Rem-Choke tubes in all my personal protection/HD 870's. The Breaching chokes are neat looking, but I personally don't see the need for me to have one unless I installed them on all my 870's as any number of them may be called to duty in a personal protection/HD scenario. Some have said they would also make a good thrusting weapon due to their design, but I personally don't want to thrust the muzzle of my 870 into an intruder! My contention remains that if said intruder(s) are close enough to "poke", they're dang sure close enough to shoot. I also know that there are no absolutes when it comes to personal defense and that if "stabbing" the intruder with your breaching choke will ensure that you come out on top, then I say do what you gotta do!!