Which follower to choose?

[fleetsider]

Hi everyone, I plan to change the follower on my new 870 Tactical fixed 6 round mag. I have the GG & G mag follower, is anyone using this type? If so, any problems? good, bad etc..... thanks

[Kentactic]

I use the Red S&J with the tail with good results. No loss in mag capacity in a +2 factory Extended magazine.

For those that dont know, the reason the tail dosent cause you to lose rounds is the mag spring has to bunch up at the back of the magazine. The tail simply goes down the center of this stacked spring. The tail is there to make sure it coils and uncoils nice and straight to avoid tangling.

If you use a Follower with a long tail on a gun with no extension that stacked up spring may be shorter and the tail may hit the back of the mag tube. In that case perhaps trimming the tail will work just fine.

[Banshee]

I use the Red S&J with the tail with good results. No loss in mag capacity in a +2 factory Extended magazine.

For those that dont know, the reason the tail dosent cause you to lose rounds is the mag spring has to bunch up at the back of the magazine. The tail simply goes down the center of this stacked spring. The tail is there to make sure it coils and uncoils nice and straight to avoid tangling.

Well that is the theory. All I have ever used have been standard tailless followers and have never had any problems with magazine springs tangling in the magazine tube.

[Kentactic]

I use the Red S&J with the tail with good results. No loss in mag capacity in a +2 factory Extended magazine.

For those that dont know, the reason the tail dosent cause you to lose rounds is the mag spring has to bunch up at the back of the magazine. The tail simply goes down the center of this stacked spring. The tail is there to make sure it coils and uncoils nice and straight to avoid tangling.

Well that is the theory. All I have ever used have been standard tailless followers and have never had any problems with magazine springs tangling in the magazine tube.

Gets to be a bigger issue with the longer extensions mostly i think. Take your tailess follower shotgun with an extension and remove the rounds from the magazine by the tab underneath.. if you do it slowly sometimes it will hang up. Dosent happen as often when ejected at full speed but if it snags in slow mo it could at full speed possibly.

[Synchronizor]

So I have read that the stainless steel followers may or do scratch the inside. Are you find this to be true or not? Or is there something to prevent this?

It won't scratch it, necessarily, but the metal-on-metal contact will wear the tube's finish more than other options.

I'm running with an S&J follower, and I highly recommend them. You can feel when you're empty without looking, the tail keeps the spring centered (but won't reduce your mag capacity even with a short spring), their high-viz colors stand out nicely, and they have a number of different options to choose from. Best of all, they're made from an acetal resin called Delrin, which is very stable, but strong and wear-resistant with a naturally low-friction surface. It won't change dimensions due to temperature or humidity, and if stabilized properly, won't be broken down by chemicals (at least, any chemicals that should be found inside your shotgun). It's used in a lot of precision products like gears and other moving parts that require tight tolerances, low wear, and low friction. I have a machinist buddy who's even seen people use it for pistons in high-speed air engines.



I bought a type 1 follower (shown on the left), but the post had a tendency to open up the crimps on some shells over time. I got tired of cleaning buffering out of my receiver, so I've drilled it out to be more like their type 2 followers (center), and am completely satisfied with it now.

[pesty3782]

S&J in both my 870's...I like the bright colors to help confirm empty mag especially when teaching new shotgun shooters.

Tony P.

[TYFOON]

I just ordered the GG&G. I'll post my thoughts when I get to test it.


I read the reviews and basically decided upgrades were maybe just fixing a non existent problem.

But I thought it looked cool:)

[McCracka]

So how is the gg&g follower?

[TYFOON]

I bought a GG&G from Botach but have not received it yet.

[MauiWowwee]

I got my GG&G follower from MidwayUSA this past Thursday. Very nice piece. Took my shotgun out yesterday and no feeding problems.