I’m comparatively inexperienced when it comes to scatterguns. Me and everyone in my family have all had 500’s but recently I aquired an 870 Tactical with the rail and XS grs get up
I’ve gone through stickies and used the search function to the best of my ability and understand the difference between the 870-P and the Express line…
My question is, is the 870 Tactical just a tac’ed out Express ? The reciever just says 870 Tactical as opposed to 870 Tactical Express. Is it still missing all the upgrades and bonuses the 870P has ??
Yes they are. The only models in the 870 line that have any significant differences are the police magnum models. If your SN starts with “RS” or ends in a “M” it means you have an express receiver. So no differences between an express and just 870. Magnum means chambered for 3 1/2" shells. When you go to a police magnum receiver you change a few internal components but i’m not sure which ones off the top of my head.
Thank you. Sounds like I already have my answer but the info on the SN is interesting and helpful. I’ll check it out when I get home and then get to work on upgrading any internals I can just to satisfy my paranoid side.
All in all I’m still happy with this piece. Am I correct that the 870P is dicontinued ? Seems like they’re more difficult to find.
Why upgrade? I have a regular express magnum and I have run that gun through absolute hell. Dropped from tree stands at 21 feet, dropped in mud, snow, ice you name it and it functions 100%. If it isn’t broke, why upgrade. If it makes you more comfortable with the weapon then I understand completely but your gun and it’s setup should be fine.
Police Magnums I believe are still around but very hard to get NIB.
Good to know and on the flip side of things I don’t disagree. I trust the 870. I guess I’m just coming from the AR world where there is no room for 2nd best and I’m always striving for the best. Plus up grading is just fun and keeps me distracted.
The 870 has one hell of a history and lineage though and I look forward to really grasping the system inside and out.
EDIT:
What about this “tactical” choke ? During my search it seemed most weren’t fond of it. I personaly don’t like how it looks but if it served a purpose or provided a benefit other than breaching I’d be all for it.
Well, how many doors do you plan on breaching? I know my life total of door breaches is 0 so I would personally scrap it. As for another choke. I would just keep it improved cylinder bore that way you can shoot slugs and buckshot. Not so much from the buckshot side but slugs definitely.
I know where you are coming from in terms of wanting to upgrade. I love a good project firearm. Doing my Saiga 12 conversion as I type actually. If you want to upgrade the gun to as close to a Police Magnum let me get you in contact with my 870 guy. Pm coming
If you feel you have to upgrade any parts on your 870 to get it closer to the 870P model in terms of what the P model has over the Express, you could change out the:
MIM extractor to a steel one (inexpensive and easy to do)
Install the stronger carrier dog follower spring
Add an R3 recoil pad if your gun does not already have one
Install after market shell follower and spring
You might also want to install a larger safety button (Wilson or Vang). The P models do not come with this, but is is an easy and affordable and useful upgrade)
Keep in mind none of these are necessary, just icing on the 12 gauge cake.
I have a Police Mag and honestly, after the “this is cool” feeling wore off I kind of wish I had an upgraded Express. If you upgrade the parts in an express the only difference is that the express weighs less and won’t rust, which is good.
I love My 870 Tactical I have put it through hell and it keep on ticking
check this guy out he is a member here and can supply you all the parts you need he is a Remington Factory Certified Law Enforcement Armorer, certified on the 870 Police and 11-87-Police
I bought an 870 Express Tactical last spring. I hid it in a closet upstairs at my house while we were gone on vacation and then it stayed in there for a few weeks after we came back. When I got it back out, the gun was VERY rusted. I still to this day don’t understand why it rusted so badly. The closet where it was stored is full of my wife’s extra clothes and they are not damp or mildewed or anything. But in any case, I scraped the rust off the best I could but could not stand the way my new 870 looked then. So I contacted J.D. at AIP Tactical and made arrangements for him to refinish it and do some upgrades. I had him strip it all down, bead blast it to remove the rust and pitting, put a heavy parkerized finish on the receiver, extension and barrel, and upgrade some internals.
I got the stronger 870P carrier dog follower spring, the tool steel 870P extractor with new spring, and an oversize safety. Turnaround was very quick and he was a pleasure to deal with, answering my questions and helping me through the process. If you want to get a complete 870 or upgrade / refinish one you already have, I can’t recommend AIP Tactical enough.
As a side note for noobs, the finish on the 870 Express Tactical looks like it is parkerized but it is actually a matt blue finish and, by my own experience, is not very rust resistant at all. IMHO YMMV and all the other caveats.
I didn’t want to start a new thread but I can’t figure this out. The muzzle device on the tactical, Remington just calls it a ‘tactical forend’ on their site and ‘tactical ext cylinder’ on the device itself. Is this the actual choke or is the choke in there and this is just extra? I want to take it off, but don’t know if I can just leave it like that or if that will leave me without a choke.
