I got an 870 a month or so ago to build a home defense shotgun.

It's Remington 870 Express Magnum, 21" barrel, 3 round extension, and refinished birch stock with Boiled Linseed Oil.

 

Nice choice for nightime home ops! Just cleaned mine yesterday. Older one though before they switched to plastic bits inside.



8 of buck should solve any problems, but 4 slugs at the ready if needed.

Adrianspeeder

 

Put 'em where it'll slow 'em down, right up the tail pipe!

 

Nice gun. The only thing I don't like about the 870 is the safety location. It isn't quite ambidextrous, so I opted for the Mossy 500. If it wasn't for the safety I would have an 870. They have more options and I have grown to trust it. It has the safety on top, so no matter which hand you shoot with it is easy to get to and see that it is ready to go boom. I shoot lefty and the rest of the family shoots righty, so true ambidextrous is highly desired in my house.

 

i'm personally not a fan of the 500. out of all that ive held i could almost pinch the forearm til i heard a cracking noise, action doesnt feel tight, and it will get plugged with enough dust. Wheras the 870 is a litte heavier, yet tighter, i havent had a plugging issue, and if it does jam, you pop the action release and jab the butt into the ground. it'll either fail or eject. i have yet to see an 870 that has jammed due to cracked brass, fail to eject with that method.

 

My Mossberg 500 sometimes won't lock when sliding the pump forward. It sometimes takes a second harder slam to get it to lock. Not good for defense if you shoot first round, pump, and it doesn't lock, no second shot.

My Remington 870, which is over 25 yrs old, works flawlessly however. My gun of choice.

 

870 has always been my favorite. Smoothest, most solid feeling action in the game. I've been really wanting to refinish one so I got this roughed up one. Haha

 

Really? I was thinkin' about getting one of these as a backup.


Adrianspeeder

 

Edited my first post and added some more pictures...

 

If I had to choose just one shotgun from all the ones I own as the only one I could have, it would be my 870. I don't think there has ever been a more reliable solid pump gun ever made.

I have Mossberg, Ithaca/SKB, Browning, and Ol' Reliable 870.

BTW that is a nice looking 870, you should be very happy with it.

 

You guys have it all wrong!

1911 .45 for home defense! Much easier to swing about the hallways and you will hit just the perp, not the perp, family vacation pictures, and family wall clock at the same time!

 

Yea, maybe. All I know is that neither piece of the perp will be able to bother me again when I use the shotgun.

 

You are correct a pistol in much better for clearing a building, if you are properly trained. They is no argument that they are the most maneuverable firearm out there. However, if you are bunkered in your "safe" area, there is no better firearm than a shotgun. No aiming required. Just point and shoot. If you get a rifled barrel and shoot buck shot you will get a very quick spread of your shot, so that makes aiming even less important. Not too mention most people will get an adrenalin dump, so shooting accurately is not going to happen without years of practice with any firearm and hitting something with a pistol is highly unlikely.

 

Disagree. All my 1911's are locked up at night. Even with hollow points, 3 walls later a missaimed round will still hit someone else in the house or a neighbors house.

Buck is pretty much inert after going though two layers of drywall with a non point blank shot.

Adrianspeeder

 

^ exactly.