Upgrades for Rifle Sights

[aegusto]

Am considering the XS Sights 24/7 Big Dot Express Set to replace the factory rifle sights on my barrel. Saw an interesting discussion about "low profile" rifle sights, but they are (or were) an LE-only item that is hard to obtain and may no longer be available. UPDATE: Here are the barrels with XS "low profile" sights on Remington's LE website. The part numbers are:

F249630AS 870 BBL 12/18.5 IC RS XS $212.00
F404691 870 BBL 12/18.5 MOD RS XS $212.00

The price of the XS Sights is an eye-watering US$120. I am really fond of XS Sights in general and use them on pistols, so the upgrade makes sense, but am wondering if there are other (and perhaps better or more cost-effective) options. Will appreciate any thoughts or recommendations.

Also noticed that Remington lists certain models of XS Sights on its 2014 Parts List, but I cannot tell one from another. As noted at the link above, it might be possible to buy the XS Sights considerably cheaper direct from Remington if you know which ones to order. My experience with the Remington parts department (discussed in other posts) has been less-than-stellar, so I doubt the ability of anyone at Remington to help me over the phone.

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[Synchronizor]

120 USD doesn't sound too unusual for a set of tritium night sights. If that's outside your budget, you may want to look at more basic, non-illuminated sight elements.

[SignessSG]

Those are exactly what I need for my barrel. I've had a hard time finding a tritium sight set for my rifle sight barrel with dovetail front and rear ramp.

[Synchronizor]

Trijicon also offers a tritium rifle sight set for Remingtons, if you prefer a 3-dot setup.

[aegusto]

For the record, I scanned through the 2014 Remington Parts list and discovered the following XS Sights for sale by Remington that are supposed to fit the 870 (which 870 is not specified). I cannot tell from the descriptions which barrel they are designed to work with.

F202701 FRONT SIGHT XS (NON TRITUM DOT) (DAY SIGHTS) $17.51
F202150 FRONT SIGHT XS HEIGHT .400 (NON TRITIUM DOT) $17.51
F202057 FRONT SIGHT XS HEIGHT .450 (NON TRITIUM DOT) $17.51
F401820 FRONT SIGHT XS TRITIUM DOT HEIGHT .350 $40.17
F202450 FRONT SIGHT XS TRITIUM DOT HEIGHT .400 $40.17
F202897 FRONT SIGHT XS TRITIUM DOT HEIGHT .500 OR .450 $40.17
F114600 REAR SIGHT ASSEM XS SIGHTS $17.51

I think I want this front sight and this rear sight. At these prices, I can afford a mistake. The tritium is not a big deal to me. I'm really after the "express" v-notch rear sight more than anything else.

[Synchronizor]

I'm not positive, but I think that rear sight is meant for a low-profile rear dovetail base, not a standard rear sight ramp like in the picture from your original post. The front sight might only work with a special low-profile front base, as well.

[aegusto]

I think you're right.

The low-profile LE barrel is what I really want, but I am not willing to fork over $215+ and jump through the hoops necessary to buy an LE-only item. The low-profile 14" barrel is even better, but once again, I'm not willing to pay the price *plus* the SBS registration.

[Synchronizor]

You could probably make up a lot of that price if you sell your current barrel after buying the new one - assuming you don't want to hang onto both.

As for legality, there shouldn't be any special restrictions or hassle with ordering a Police barrel as long as it's above 18 inches. 870P parts aren't necessarily LE-only, just like the guns themselves aren't LE-only.

[aegusto]

This from the friendly folks at XS Sights:

Q: I have a Remington 870 Tactical with the XS white dot front sight and I want to get a tritium front sight, what is the part number?

A: It is one of 4 possible part numbers: .350”-.400”-.450”-.500”.

Shotguns are variable beasts, what height zeroes shotgun “A” may not work on shotgun “B” even though they are but one serial number apart. To add to this confusion, the ammo they use at the factory for zeroing may have considerably different ballistics than the ammo you have chosen to use. We have seen in some cases up to 14” difference in point of impact at 25 yards between two makes of slugs.

The first thing you must do is shoot the gun with the ammo of your choice and see if it will zero for you. [How can a firearm not zero, assuming you can adjust the sights?] If it does, then we need to know how tall the front sight in your gun is. Height is measured from the top of the blade to the bottom of the dovetail in thousandths of an inch to the nearest .005”. Once you have the measurement, compare it with the numbers listed above.

If it doesn’t zero, we still need to know how tall the original front sight is. With that info and how far off from point of aim the point of impact is AND the distance the group was fired at, we can figure out what sort of height change is needed to bring point of impact to point of aim.

The sights are $60 each + S&H. Call the toll free order line 1-888-744-4880 to get one once you know the above information and we will be happy to get a tritium sight (of the correct height) headed your way.

[Synchronizor]

Here's an 18.5" Police barrel with the low-profile rifle sights right on GunBroker. Legal as you please.