870 Express to 870 Express Tactical w/ Blackhawk Conversion?

[jamesoncue]

Hello everyone,

I am new here so forgive me if this has been asked before. I did some searching but didn't come across anything concrete. I had been looking at the 870 Express Tactical w/ Blackhawk! for quite some time. Unfortunately, by the time I was ready to buy, they were impossible to find. I ended up getting a standard 870 Express Synthetic with a 28" barrel.

I would like to convert my 870 Express Synthetic into an 870 Express Tactical w/ Blackhawk... or better.

So far it seems like I will be getting the 18" Remington barrel, the Knoxx/Blackhawk Gen-II Recoil-Suppressing Stock, the 2-round mag tube extension, and what else? Sounds like I will need to get the dimples out of the magazine tube in order to put the extension on. Will I need a different magazine spring?

Additionally... what could I do to this gun to make it _even better_? Akin to the Police or Wingmaster models... it sounds like those are pretty nice. Would any of these upgrades make this gun particularly sweet?? Looking for any valued input you could provide. Thanks so much!!!

James

[jamesoncue]

Oh, also I was looking at this. Seems pretty neat. What are your thoughts on this, or similar products?
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/660691 ... ugv1897016

Thank you ladies and gentlemen!

J

[Carlo1137]

Oh, also I was looking at this. Seems pretty neat. What are your thoughts on this, or similar products?
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/660691 ... ugv1897016

Thank you ladies and gentlemen!

J

You might lose one shot with this follower. I'll show you my express when I'm done with mine. I'm just waiting on some parts.

[Synchronizor]

Welcome to the forum.

You will need to remove the dimples in the magazine tube, and pick up a longer magazine spring if your extension kit doesn't come with one.

With the magazine extension, short barrel, and that stock, you'll have the functional equivalent of the Blackhawk! tactical model.

There are a ton of different magazine followers out there, and it's a good thing to upgrade. Personally, I don't think the one you linked is the best choice, you'll lose a little space in the magazine with some extensions. For less money, you can get better ones like the S&J Hardware followers.

As for what else you could upgrade? Well the sky's really the limit with the 870. Browse through this forum and Vitaly's blog; see if anything strikes your fancy.

[pesty3782]

I am a side saddle fan...just having the extra 6 rounds on the shotgun is nice.

Tony P.

[spsreef]

I have the Tactical Blackhawk model of which you speak. I like it a lot! The drawbacks I see in the model is you can't use a large safety, and I didnt like the feel of the vertical grip. I found the grip was small, and I'm not a large guy. (6' 185#) I fixed this with an $8 Houge slip on grip. The no large safety button has to do with the recoil damper in the vertical grip. I guess there is enough movement in the grip to hit a large safety button. The stock has a damper also. This stock works! Recoil even with heavy slugs, and an 18.5" barrel was not bad. I have a coworker with an 870 and all he complains about is the recoil with slugs. He says he gets beat up with just a few shots. I shot 25-30 with no pain at all.

[Jamie]

I've added the recoil absorbing stock from Blackhawk, the adjustability of LOP and the recoil absorbing allows both myself and my wife to shoot the 870 comfortably. I'm almost 6', 190lbs, the wife is 4' 11", 100lbs. The first time we shot it, we went through about 130 rounds, #8, #4, 00 buck, a few slugs, she shot her half just fine, a bit sore the next day, no biggie.

[jamesoncue]

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for your feedback, and thanks for the heads up about the follower I linked. I read the review article here on different followers available and have learned a bit. The S&J follower seems like a good choice. I do like the reliability of metal for a follower, but I have used Delrin parts in paintball guns before and they have been quite nice.

I'm going to order a barrel and magazine extension tube soon, and I'd like to get ones that match the finish and look of the gun. Most of the available gear I have seen come in either 'parkerized' or 'matte' finish. Although I can't tell if my 870 Express has a parkerized or matte finish... and I haven't found any concrete information on it. Can one of you helpful people shed some light on this for me?

So far I'm looking into doing:
- Remington 18.5" barrel with bead sight
- Knoxx/Blackhawk! SpecOps RS Stock
- Removal of dimples from magazine tube
- Magazine tube extension (Remington or Nordic, haven't decided)
- S&J magazine follower
- Nordic magazine spring
- Non-MIM extractor

Things I haven't decided on:
- Carrier latch spring?? Necessary?
- Wilson Combat enlarged safety... maybe?

Maybe you fine people can provide some insight about the carrier latch spring. Also, I'm curious what kind of lubrication you all use in your 870. I have used Frog Lube (paste & liquid) in all of my pistols and love it. Has anyone used this with their 870? If not, what do you like to use?

Thanks for the great discussion so far. Great site here.

Best Regards,
James

[Synchronizor]

I'm going to order a barrel and magazine extension tube soon, and I'd like to get ones that match the finish and look of the gun. Most of the available gear I have seen come in either 'parkerized' or 'matte' finish. Although I can't tell if my 870 Express has a parkerized or matte finish... and I haven't found any concrete information on it. Can one of you helpful people shed some light on this for me?

If it's an Express, it'll come with the matte finish. The parkerized is more durable, but it's a darker, less reflective finish that won't be an exact match with the matte.

So far I'm looking into doing:
- Remington 18.5" barrel with bead sight
- Knoxx/Blackhawk! SpecOps RS Stock
- Removal of dimples from magazine tube
- Magazine tube extension (Remington or Nordic, haven't decided)
- S&J magazine follower
- Nordic magazine spring
- Non-MIM extractor

Things I haven't decided on:
- Carrier latch spring?? Necessary?
- Wilson Combat enlarged safety... maybe?

If you're buying the 18.5" barrel yourself, you should see if you can find an acceptable deal on one threaded for chokes. It'll make the gun more versatile by giving you more control over your pattern (or let you add one of those breacher chokes, if that floats your boat).

What style of S&J magazine follower are you looking at?

If your gun didn't come with it, you'll also need the short cob-style fore-end to match the Blackhawk! model. If that's something you want to add, I believe it's the Davis Speedfeed fore-end, part# 94057 (you may want to double-check this if you're ordering it; my parts list doesn't have pictures).

Maybe you fine people can provide some insight about the carrier latch spring. Also, I'm curious what kind of lubrication you all use in your 870. I have used Frog Lube (paste & liquid) in all of my pistols and love it. Has anyone used this with their 870? If not, what do you like to use?

It's actually the carrier dog follower spring that some people change on the 870, but the carrier latch spring from the Remington 1100 shotgun can be used for that if you want a really heavy spring in there. Upgrading to a heavier spring makes feeding a little more positive (mostly when working the action really fast), but it will also make the shell carrier stiffer to push out of the way when loading. There are a couple different springs you can use here, if you feel the need to change it.

I just use Rem Oil on my 870, both the spray can and the nifty pre-oiled wipes (those wipes are awesome for caring for a wet gun out in the field). I also use Permatex Anti-Seize to protect and lubricate threads, including the SideSaddle mount screws (when I'm running it), choke tubes, and stock bolts & receiver lug. Both of these are great products, and are inexpensive and easy to find.

There are a lot of good lubrication/protectant products out there, the important thing is to use something, rather than just neglecting it.

[Strapy]

I have the Tactical Blackhawk model of which you speak. I like it a lot! The drawbacks I see in the model is you can't use a large safety,

Not True. You will have to use a TACTICAL RESPONSE® JUMBO HEAD SAFETY. http://tinyurl.com/c8djero I have that on our tactical 870. You just can't use an oversized safety that sticks out. Because the gun slides back into the stock as it recoils. It takes some finger adjustment to hit the safety just has you slide it the tigger guard.