870 for home defense...

[bug_eyedmonster]

Hey Calgunners,

I was hoping to find some help building the ultimate home defense 870. I have a standard 870 with extended mag tube, synthetic stock/foregrip, but would like to fancy it up. I thought of a pistol grip, but my girlfriend might need to shoot it, so that's not gonna help. I was going to order the sureshot shotshell carrier for it, but wasn't sure if I was going to change out the stock or foregrip, which will determine if it's going to be a six or eight shot holder. I also wanted to change the front sight out, but was told it might be permanently fixed to the barrel.

The thought of sending it to Wilson/Scattergun Tech crossed my mind, but the money kills me. Paid $2XX for this thing that just sits here, and can't justify spending $400+ to make it cool and still sit there.

Any thoughts?

Jerry

[darksands]

Speedfeed pistolgrip stock. Best pistol grip stock I have felt. Buddy got it for me for my birthday.

[NDFMF]

If your gf is going to shoot it, consider the Knoxx (now Blackhawk) SpecOps stock. Pistol grip + telescoping stock with integrated recoil reduction. Makes 00 buck and slugs feel like trap loads.

[scc1909]

My 870 Home Defense Special

Here's mine...SureFeed synthetic stock and recoil pad, no-name bandoleer/sling, Mossberg Ghost-Ring sights (awesome in low light!).

[ZRT650]

get a: mesa side saddle, surefire forend, knoxx recoil rducing stock and lots of buck shot and you will have the ultimate HD 870 when i get home i'll post a pic of my setup.

[zhyla]

home defense ... would like to fancy it up.

Keep it simple, don't add any crap onto that it doesn't need. For HD you want something that just works and won't get in the way. A flashlight and a shell holder ought to do you.

Buy another shotgun to play dress up with if need be.

[Trapper]

Keep it simple, don't add any crap onto that it doesn't need. For HD you want something that just works and won't get in the way. A flashlight and a shell holder ought to do you.

Buy another shotgun to play dress up with if need be.

I couldn't agree more. A home defense shotgun should be kept simple and above all needs to be reliable. After surviving an armed encounter I wouldn't want to stand in court while a lawyer shows my tacticool shotgun to the jury and asks why I needed a bayonet, heat shield and two 50rd bandoleers of buckshot.

[kduly]

If your gf is going to shoot it, consider the Knoxx (now Blackhawk) SpecOps stock. Pistol grip + telescoping stock with integrated recoil reduction. Makes 00 buck and slugs feel like trap loads.

Keep it simple, don't add any crap onto that it doesn't need. For HD you want something that just works and won't get in the way. A flashlight and a shell holder ought to do you.

... and keep it simple for HD gun. The rest of the "cool" stuff just an overkill.... IMHO. Good luck.

[Argonaut]

Great point......don't want to look like a professional killer to a court.

[BigDogatPlay]

Here is the 870P that is now my principal HD and I think it's about optimum.

** Extended mag
** 6 round side saddle
** Sure Fire fore end
** Knoxx Spec-Ops

I picked this 870 up PPT recently already set up this way and it's a winner. If it's SHTF and I have to fight my way to the safe, there is a plain jane, factory stocked Mossberg 500 with a side saddle and a 25 round sling with nothing extra to slow it down once I get there.

I keep this with the stock collapsed and my wife, who is kind of petite, has been trained to cradle the butt against her hip understanding that where the light shines, the pattern goes.

[8-Ball]

I just finished mine and am working on the pics to post up in a new thread.

Didn't want to go tacticool, but at the same time, some of the stuff just makes practical sense and will be safer to use and shoot in a HD situation...

I'll post up a link when I get it done...

[gun toting monkeyboy]

KISS. The best idea for HD shotguns. I have an 870 that still has the wooden stock, a 4 round side saddle, the extended magazine, and a 20" IC barrel with rifle sights. That's it. I will probably swap out the sights for the tritium version one of these days. But it does everything I need a HD shotgun to do. With the rifle sights, I can do headshots with slugs all day long at 25 yards. Body shots at 50. The buckshot patterns are good out to about 30 yards, after which I start getting fliers going off the man-sized target. Originally I tried pimping it out. But I found that the pistol grip/stock combinations tended to batter my cheek with heavy loads. So I went back to the plain-Jane wood stock. It adds a bit more weight to help soak up the recoil. The heat shield wasn't really needed either, so it also got removed after a little while. As the others have stated, simple is better for this application. This isn't an entry gun or a combat weapon. It is for home defense. You don't need fancy grips, spikey thing on the end of the muzzle, or phasers/lasers/tazers. You want something that goes "ka-chook!... BANG!" That's it.

-Mb

[8-Ball]

Here is the setup I did after a lot of research...