Replacement barrels

[Bedford]

What is the best place I could get an 18/18.5" barrel for my 12ga 870 express? I'm not sure which is more common, but my 28'' Vent rib barrel is a little long for a home defense shotgun. I'm looking to do a more tactical upgrade in the future so a shorter barrel would be perfect.

[Banshee]

What is the best place I could get an 18/18.5" barrel for my 12ga 870 express? I'm not sure which is more common, but my 28'' Vent rib barrel is a little long for a home defense shotgun. I'm looking to do a more tactical upgrade in the future so a shorter barrel would be perfect.

order it from Remington.

these are from a 2010 catalog, the prices may be a little off.

24620 V-3 870 BBL 12/18 CYL EXP MATTE $ 124.37
F402395 V-3 870 BBL 12/18 RC RS FRT SIGHT $ 150.00
F242247 V-3 870 BBL 12/18 CYL BS HD MATTE FIXED CYLINDER BORE $ 134.00
F402125 V-3 870 BBL 12/18.5 RC BS MATTE $ 150.00
F242554 V-3 870 BBL 12/18.5 CYL RS PK $ 150.00
F242252 V-3 870 BBL 12/18.5 IC BS BLUED (FIXED I/C NO CHOKE TUBE) $ 150.00
F242243 V-3 870 BBL 12/18.5 IC PARK BEAD (FIXED I/C NO CHOKE TUBE) $ 101.00
F242559 V-3 870 BBL 12/18.5 I/C FRONT RS $ 150.00
F401767 V-3 870 BBL 12/18.5 RC BS EXP $ 150.00
F400037 V-3 870 BBL 12/20 CYL BS EXP $ 150.00
F246825 V-3 870 BBL 12/18.5 MOD RS PARK $ 150.00
F242549 V-3 870 BBL 12/18.5 IC RS PK (FIXED I/C NO CHOKE TUBE) $ 141.00

[Bedford]

Thank you, I'll see what I can find in that list

[Synchronizor]

Those prices are out-of-date, but Banshee's right on the money. For factory barrels, you'll have the best selection (and usually the best prices as well) ordering directly from Remington. You can download the latest parts price list from the parts information page on Remington's website. Ignore the "Original Factory Barrels" or the "Remington Parts Store" links on that page, those are a joke. Click the "Parts Price List" link to download the entire PDF, figure out what you want, then call Remington's Customer Services line.

Another option that can save you money is to buy used barrels from sites like Ebay or Gunbroker, but you do have to know what to look for there. When ordering from Remington, you're getting brand-new parts, and the phone operators can help answer questions.

[keith44]

can't find it now, but several years ago Mossberg built 18.5 inch cylinder bore barrels to fit the Rem 870. I paid about 95 bucks for one and put it on a spare action I had laying around. Plain bead front "sight" matte finish and smooth bored. I did polish the chamber and square up the chamber end of the barrel for a tighter fitment.

For best quality fit and function, I agree that buying from Remington is the best bet.

[Dr. Marneaus]

Brownells and MidwayUSA sell the remington factory barrels in whatever flavor you like. Likely cheaper than ordering from remington.

I'm currently selling my 18.5" bead front sight barrel. 3" chamber, fixed IC choke. Almost brand new. $100 plus the ride if you want it, just let me know.

[keith44]

send me a p.m. if the O.P. doesn't want that barrel I'd like an I/C option for my bed side friend

[Synchronizor]

Brownells and MidwayUSA sell the remington factory barrels in whatever flavor you like. Likely cheaper than ordering from remington.

Those sites have a much smaller selection, and their prices are invariably higher. Unless there are shipping issues in your area, if you want a new factory barrel, it's best to call Remington directly.

[Dr. Marneaus]

Brownells and MidwayUSA sell the remington factory barrels in whatever flavor you like. Likely cheaper than ordering from remington.

Those sites have a much smaller selection, and their prices are invariably higher. Unless there are shipping issues in your area, if you want a new factory barrel, it's best to call Remington directly.

You're right, they aren't cheaper. The parkerized fixed IC barrel with a bead sight is 58 cents more and the rifle sight barrel is .72 cents more on brownells than direct from Remington, but I forgot that was with my dealer discount.

Without any discounts on midway they are 109.99 and 154.99 respectively, so, yeah. A few (literally) dollars more.

was just offering advice on two retailers that have great customer service and generally good prices. I have used them both dozens upon dozens of time and it's always been pleasant. Just throwing it out there.

[Synchronizor]

Here are the two barrels you mentioned. Turns out this was about all the overlap I could find (at a quick glance, at least) between Brownells, Midway, and Remington.

BBL 12/18.5 IC PARK BEAD (F242243) - $129.99 from Brownells, $109.99 from Midway, $108.15 from Remington.
BBL 12/18.5 IC RS PK (F242549AS) - $187.99 from Brownells, $154.99 from Midway, $154.50 from Remington.

I'll admit I was more familiar with Brownell's prices than Midway's when I made my earlier statement. Midway seems to be more in-line with factory pricing. And of course shipping, discounts, sales, and so on can change things, so it may be unfair to say ordering from Remington will always be cheaper.

But while prices may vary, Remington is still far ahead in terms of selection. Currently, Brownells has only seven 12ga factory barrels that are compatible with standard 870 receivers (plus one more that's somehow compatible with 870s and 11-87s... not sure what happened there, but it's clearly a semi-auto barrel). Midway does better with twenty-five, but Remington's current parts list gives you eighty standard 12ga barrels to choose from (though a handful are NFA or otherwise restricted items). There's also something to be said for getting factory confirmation and assistance when you order parts for your gun.

I'm not trying to knock any 3rd-party retailers, but I still maintain that the best place to get factory parts is from the factory. At least, it's a good rule of thumb. Remington's parts department gets overlooked a lot because they still haven't quite figured out how to get it to mesh with this new-fangled "inner-net" thing, but their phone service works fine, you just have to do a little homework first.