Need help with 3-gun setup

[Cadillac]

So I am trying to set my 870 up for 3-gun and have been doing a lot of research, but now I have questions. I almost bought an 18" fixed choke barrel, and am glad that I realized that would be an idea before I did. So doing research, I found that a 21-22" barrel would fit my application best. So I go out and realize there are a TON of barrels for the 870 out there and I just don't know where to begin.

So I am looking at 21-22" and from what it sounds a good fiber optic front site helps. Should i stick with a Remington Branded barrel or are there other brands that are as good/better? I know I'll want one that can take different chokes, and it looks like for 3 gun most people recommend improved or modified chokes. I am sticking with basic front site, not adding ghost ring sites or anything like that.

Other than the barrel, I have an ATI collapsible/folding stock that I love the way it looks, but dislike the practicality of it. I was going to take that off and put a fixed stock, most likely even getting rid of the pistol grip aspect and going for something similar in style to what came on it. Any recommendations?

I do have an ATI 7+1 magazine extension tube on it, but I hear those aren't really all that good so I am thinking of swapping to a different brand.

I ask the question, even after having searched and found so much information because I know everyone has so many opinions that there really isn't one right or wrong answer. Thanks for any help you give!

[Synchronizor]

So I am trying to set my 870 up for 3-gun and have been doing a lot of research, but now I have questions. I almost bought an 18" fixed choke barrel, and am glad that I realized that would be an idea before I did. So doing research, I found that a 21-22" barrel would fit my application best. So I go out and realize there are a TON of barrels for the 870 out there and I just don't know where to begin.

So I am looking at 21-22" and from what it sounds a good fiber optic front site helps. Should i stick with a Remington Branded barrel or are there other brands that are as good/better? I know I'll want one that can take different chokes, and it looks like for 3 gun most people recommend improved or modified chokes. I am sticking with basic front site, not adding ghost ring sites or anything like that.

Remington makes a 21" Rem Choke vent-rib 3"-chambered barrel for their Express Shurshot Synthetic Turkey model that sounds like it might meet your needs.

The vent-rib is a nice fast sighting system, and a lot of different companies offer snap-on or stick-on fiber optic sights for vent ribs. I believe its part number is F240333, and Remington's parts list has a price of $193.64 for it.

Other than the barrel, I have an ATI collapsible/folding stock that I love the way it looks, but dislike the practicality of it. I was going to take that off and put a fixed stock, most likely even getting rid of the pistol grip aspect and going for something similar in style to what came on it. Any recommendations?

If you're just getting started and you're not ready to spend money on a high-end competition stock, a basic Express polymer stock is an inexpensive, but very lightweight and functional option.

These stocks come factory-installed on a lot of Express 870s, but are often removed in favor of aftermarket stocks with more bells and whistles, so you can always find them on the used market for cheap. For an additional $20 or so, you can buy a Remington SuperCell recoil pad that drops right into this stock and makes it extremely comfortable to shoot. I'm sure there are better competition stocks for those with deep pockets, but this one will get you out there for relatively little money, and let you get some experience before you start spending the big bucks.

I do have an ATI 7+1 magazine extension tube on it, but I hear those aren't really all that good so I am thinking of swapping to a different brand.

Nordic magazine extensions have a lot of fans among competition shooters. Their MXT line is a bit on the spendy side, but it's lightweight, and gives you a modular system that lets you easily set and change your capacity.

What capacity are you looking for?

[Cadillac]

So I am trying to set my 870 up for 3-gun and have been doing a lot of research, but now I have questions. I almost bought an 18" fixed choke barrel, and am glad that I realized that would be an idea before I did. So doing research, I found that a 21-22" barrel would fit my application best. So I go out and realize there are a TON of barrels for the 870 out there and I just don't know where to begin.

So I am looking at 21-22" and from what it sounds a good fiber optic front site helps. Should i stick with a Remington Branded barrel or are there other brands that are as good/better? I know I'll want one that can take different chokes, and it looks like for 3 gun most people recommend improved or modified chokes. I am sticking with basic front site, not adding ghost ring sites or anything like that.

Remington makes a 21" Rem Choke vent-rib 3"-chambered barrel for their Express Shurshot Synthetic Turkey model that sounds like it might meet your needs.

The vent-rib is a nice fast sighting system, and a lot of different companies offer snap-on or stick-on fiber optic sights for vent ribs. I believe its part number is F240333, and Remington's parts list has a price of $193.64 for it.

Other than the barrel, I have an ATI collapsible/folding stock that I love the way it looks, but dislike the practicality of it. I was going to take that off and put a fixed stock, most likely even getting rid of the pistol grip aspect and going for something similar in style to what came on it. Any recommendations?

If you're just getting started and you're not ready to spend money on a high-end competition stock, a basic Express polymer stock is an inexpensive, but very lightweight and functional option.

These stocks come factory-installed on a lot of Express 870s, but are often removed in favor of aftermarket stocks with more bells and whistles, so you can always find them on the used market for cheap. For an additional $20 or so, you can buy a Remington SuperCell recoil pad that drops right into this stock and makes it extremely comfortable to shoot. I'm sure there are better competition stocks for those with deep pockets, but this one will get you out there for relatively little money, and let you get some experience before you start spending the big bucks.

I do have an ATI 7+1 magazine extension tube on it, but I hear those aren't really all that good so I am thinking of swapping to a different brand.

Nordic magazine extensions have a lot of fans among competition shooters. Their MXT line is a bit on the spendy side, but it's lightweight, and gives you a modular system that lets you easily set and change your capacity.

What capacity are you looking for?

Wow! Thanks for the info. The barrel looks like exactly what I was looking for! As for the stock, I actually still have the polymer one that came on it so I'll throw that back on and shoot with it a bit. I'll also look into the recoil pad.

As for mag tube, I'm thinking that an 8+1 is what I will want to throw on there. I know there are some really long ones, but I don't really want something too crazy at this point. I have an upgraded magazine spring that I bought when trying to convert it to a police like model, I replaced the internals with the parts that come on a police. So far I am happy with the shotgun. Maybe I will sell the ATI stock and put it into a good fiber front site for the barrel.

[Synchronizor]

What Police internals are you running? Some things like the stiffer springs may not be the best for competition applications.

[Cadillac]

What Police internals are you running? Some things like the stiffer springs may not be the best for competition applications.

The Sear Spring and Carrier Dog Spring have been updated per the article I found on this page of how to upgrade it. (also the non-MiM extractor). Also, won an auction for that barrel on Gunbroker so that should be showing up soon. Thanks for the advice on that one.

[Synchronizor]

It's important to understand that the Police parts aren't universally better, they're just different. "Better" or "worse" depends entirely on the application.

I think a standard-weight carrier dog follower spring would be a better choice for a competition gun. The extra-heavy springs used in Police guns stiffen up the 870's slide action and shell carrier, requiring more effort to cycle the gun, increasing the likelihood of short-stroking when you're trying to shoot quickly, and making reloads less forgiving. It's not a huge difference, but since (as far as I know) rough handling and harsh environments aren't major concerns in 3-gun events, there's really no positive trade-off for the added internal friction & stiffer shell carrier.

As for the sear spring, it's all about the trigger pull. If you want a heavy pull the heavy sear spring is fine, otherwise, that might be another thing to change out.

Both MIM and machined extractors work fine, there's little to no functional difference. Stick with whatever you trust more.