Which 870 express tactical aftermarket follower?

[akula83]

Hi everyone, looking at a new/2014 870 express Tactical with the factory 2+ extension. Can anyone confirm these will come with a slotted or non slotted follower? I'm going to want to change out the factory one .Looking at some supposed factory + 2 extension kits, they show "slotted" followers. Any recommendations on a good aftermarket one? Thanks in advance.

Also, why can't a find a part number for a factory upgraded "Remington police follower". Is there no difference ?

[Synchronizor]

All 870s come with slotted followers whether they have mag tube dimples or not. The orange plastic 12ga follower is a common part for all 12ga 870s (as well as other Remington shotguns, I believe), and this includes Police & military models. Honestly, the factory followers work fine. While they're criticized a lot, you'll have a tough time finding many real reports of them actually breaking or failing, even in heavily-used guns.

If you're really losing sleep over it though, or you just want to run something different for the heck of it, there are some quality aftermarket replacements available. The ones I like the most are the Delrin followers from S&J Hardware. These perform & stand up well, and they let you easily tell by feel when the magazine is empty - a nice feature you don't get with the factory part. The follower I like the least is the stainless steel Vang Comp follower. I've personally tested it in multiple magazine extensions, and it jams in every one. The stainless steel is also heavier and not as slick as a self-lubricating polymer, and it's the same color as a lot of shell cups.

A search of the forum here will turn up a lot of past threads discussing magazine followers.

[akula83]

Thank you Synchronizor, I did a forum search and didn't come up with something I thought was concrete. I appreciate you chiming in, I have watched your you tube videos and am impressed. The reason I asked is because I ran snap caps through a brand new one, and it did hang up and jam. Is that an accurate predictor? I don't know. My reasoning was to just bypass the factory one now and eliminate feed problems other than it not being broken in...hope I made sense.

[Vitaly]

You can also visit page with my reviews of Remington 870 followers.

I use Vang Comp Systems Follower.

[Synchronizor]

The reason I asked is because I ran snap caps through a brand new one, and it did hang up and jam. Is that an accurate predictor?

That most likely means your extension is loose or not installed correctly. The factory extensions use a two-piece design that can be finicky in this regard; see this video. It's also possible that the extension & magazine tubes aren't quite concentric, in which case you may want to try sanding down the internal edges. The factory follower should not be hanging up at that joint unless something's off there, and if that's the case, changing the follower won't solve the problem.

[UltimateGuns]

I haven't tried all of the different followers out there. But of the ones I've tried, I like the Vang Comp and the Nordic Components versions the best.