New from California....

[Alpha Wolf]

Hello all.
Just purchased my first 12 gauge, an 870 Express Tactical Magpul.

Longtime shooter (Since the 60s) But new to shot guns. I do not count shooting our 410 as a kid as shot gunning LOL.

Father of 2. Married for 29 years. Also a car and motorcycle guy.
M1 Garand and M1A Socom 16 are my two favorite rifles in my safe.
Kimber Team Match II 1911 and Ruger GP100 are my two favorite pistols in my safe.

Looking for tips on shooting and modifying my new toy.

[Vitaly]

Hello all.
Just purchased my first 12 gauge, an 870 Express Tactical Magpul.

Longtime shooter (Since the 60s) But new to shot guns. I do not count shooting our 410 as a kid as shot gunning LOL.

Father of 2. Married for 29 years. Also a car and motorcycle guy.
M1 Garand and M1A Socom 16 are my two favorite rifles in my safe.
Kimber Team Match II 1911 and Ruger GP100 are my two favorite pistols in my safe.

Looking for tips on shooting and modifying my new toy.

Alpha Wolf, welcome to the forum! Nice to see you here!

[jasonin951]

Just purchased my first 12 gauge, an 870 Express Tactical Magpul.

I just got one of these myself. I wasn't sure about the price compared to a standard 870 Express Tactical that you could upgrade yourself with the Magpul accessories but when I found out it came with the free Art of the Dymanic Shotgun and the Cerakote finish that kind of sold me. Plus it has the removable choke. I am not sure if the other model comes with this feature.

[JBall]

Welcome! I am a believer that the Magpul edition is one of the nicer 870's for tactical use. The cerakote finish is awesome, and I really like their one piece 6 shot mag tube on the defensive shotgun. This can be a detriment to some folks because they know of the quick barrel changes and versatility with the 870 for HD, Skeet/trap, hunting, etc... And do not realize when buying the model that the barrel guide ring is much further forward then on regular 870's which makes that a single purpose gun. Sure you can still shoot games and hunt but it will clearly not be the ideal barrel for these situations all though the rem choke system and ability to change your constriction will certainly come I'm handy for everything besides HD. I just felt you should be aware of the situation now before planning all diff upgrades etc...
That being said, I LOVE THE MAGPUL 870. For a defensive/SHTF situation shotgun it's perfect. No extra frills just well functioning upgrades to a already well functioning weapon system. Only think I would add is a side saddle (I vaguely remember it coming with a 4 round Mesa buy I think I'm mistaken). If you do still need one I would certainly recommend the Mesa Tactical or if you want the softer type with Velcro backing option go with OSOE Gear's shotgun cards, and some 3m on your receiver or if you don't feel comfortable applying it to your receiver, by a cheap tacstar saddle and only install the back plate, then apply Velcro to that! This is especially nice when running a chest rig with more shotgun cards on it you can quickly rip off the empty and slap on a new full card and be ready to rock! Good luck man! Enjoy!

[Alpha Wolf]

4 days to go before I can pick it up here in Kommiefornia..

Yes, the one piece mag is a negative in my opinion as it removes one of the biggest assets of a shotgun, versatility to do so many things by just a barrel change. But since this is just for a defensive shot gun, it did not kill the deal for me.

Like the ghost ring sights as these are what I am used to being an M1 and M1A shooter.

Thinking of putting a small red dot on the rail. Kind of between the T1 and the Burris. T1 is great but wow expensive. Burris price is good but I have seen/had some of their rifle scopes fail in short order on 3006 rifles so I am a bit iffy there.

Thinking of putting a side saddle on it. Still debating the type, metal or felcro types. Thoughts?

Need to by a MOE rail to put a Insight light on the left side of the foreend grip.

Not sure about a sling but I have slings on all my centerfires. All have 2 pointers, being a bit old school and shooting Garand and Swiss matches slinging up when shooting is a must. But thinking a single point may be more appropriate with this shotgun. Thoughts? If so, what is the best type and best way to attach them?

Thanks to all for the welcome and any advice you can give would be welcome.

D.

[Synchronizor]

You may want to wait and see how you like the gun's ghost-ring sights. If you're really used to having them on your other guns, a red dot may just slow you down.

The Velcro sidesaddles are nice because you can rip an empty one off and slap on a full one from a vest or other rig. They're also lighter and don't complicate take-down and reassembly as much as rigid shell carriers. On the other hand, a rigid carrier will be sturdier and more resilient. For a dedicated HD gun, the rigid sidesaddles might be a better way to go, though you may end up spending more if you get a really high-end accessory like the Mesa Tacticals. The cheaper TacStar ones work fine, especially if you're not re-configuring your gun often, but you have to install them right or they'll give you trouble. There are plenty of reviews and information out there, so you should be able to figure out which way you want to go.

If this is just going to be a HD gun, you probably don't need to worry about a sling.

[JBall]

OSOE single point bungee sling is the best. The Viking tactic padded vickers sling is very nice also. My post just before your goes into greater detail about my thoughts on a saddle so just refer to that. As far as an optic, some people say you don't need them on a shotgun. I happen to believe just the opposite, especially with a defensive weapon. You are liable for every projectile that exits that barrel. A red dot sight with windage and elevation is a very good idea. Especially if your land is larger and you could possibly be forced outside where you may need to switch to a slugs. Aimpoint is my recommendation. I know they are extremely expensive but when you buy you are buying for a lifetime. Not only that but the advances the have made with batteries is fuckin amazing. Most models you can turn on a setting of 7 (1 being dimmest 10 being brightest) and leave it on for 40,000-80,000 hours depending on the model! That's 5-8 years or something along those lines! "Set it and forget it" LMAO. God forbid you forget to turn your dot on when the crackhead breaks in your house! Good luck man! Feel free if you have any more questions.

[Alpha Wolf]

Took it out to zero in the red dot. The Bushnell micro red dot worked fine. My only comments about it were the funky lens caps which will break at some point and the brightness is not what an Aimpoint has, but that is to be expected and it worked fine using the higher settings.

I could not find any slugs so I just zeroed with 00 Buck at 15 yards. Functioned fine. No issues. Ordered more ammo

While I am fine shooting and zeroing a ghost ring big dot iron sights, I just felt that at night it would be still be faster sighting in with a lighted red dot.

[Vitaly]

Looks great! Please post bigger pics.