870 Express Tac question

[r8dr rider]

I'm thinking about picking up the 870 Express Tactical but is the higher price worth it? The only difference I see is the picatinny rail w/ ghost ring sights and breacher choke. Looking at prices its around 500 while the less tactical one is around 350. Any thoughts?

[JavaBrewer]

If you anticipate adding those options later then buy the Tactical. A good picatinny rail w/ghost ring sights, like the one from Vang Comp, will cost ~ $200 (front and rear sights). If the $350 gun has a cylinder bore and you want to add the Remington breacher choke you will need to pop for a new barrel that accepts a choke and that can cost another $150+.

[KWB977]

I had the same choice, I went with the regular 870 and added Scatttergun ghost ring sights and decided the breacher was not really worth it.....

you plan on breaching anything? then get it, if not build it yourself its more fun anyway.

[Czar Quanovan]

Depending on which model you are looking at the factory magazine extension might also be an added benefit of the tactical.

[NYCShooter]

If your intended use is HD, keep it simple. Buy the Express. You don't need a rail or ghost ring sights. IMO, a bead sight is best, perhaps topped by an XS Big Dot. Add a light, a sling, and a 2-shot extension (Wilson perhaps) and you're GTG.

[calif 15-22]

I have both the 870 express (never fired) and the 870 tactical. I was waiting 10 days for the 870 express when I found a tactical at another shop and bought it as well.
What I liked about the tactical was:
1. The pictinny rail allows the use of Red dot if you wanted without having to buy the seperate mount.
2. Ghost sights are cool (all be it may be not be really necessary)
3. Door Breacher - while maybe not needed it does allow for other chokes to be installed if and when you wanted plus it looks way cool.

I ended up putting a Knoxx Recoil Spec Ops stock on the 870 tactical and that's it. I'm very happy with it. In fact my 870 express justs sits in the safe and will probably never be fireed and will most likely be converted to a tactical or sold.

Good luck as either one is great for what it is intended.

[mrkam]

Yeah, my friend got one, and also has a standard Express, and really the major difference is the ability to accept tighter chokes.

[Barbarossa]

A standard 870 express should have the rem-choke system...

Really the only major difference is the magazine tube dimples.

[mrkam]

A standard 870 express should have the rem-choke system...

Not the standard Express that my friend got from Big 5, very similar to this one. http://www.remington.com/products/fi...c-7-round.aspx

I'm pretty sure the tactical barrel is the only 18.5" barrel with the Rem-Choke system.

[gschoelles]

Check the Magazine tube and make sure there aren't a couple of peened in spots in the threaded area. They do this on some 870's which makes it impossible to add extensions.

I'm thinking about picking up the 870 Express Tactical but is the higher price worth it? The only difference I see is the picatinny rail w/ ghost ring sights and breacher choke. Looking at prices its around 500 while the less tactical one is around 350. Any thoughts?

[calif 15-22]

My 870 Express does NOT have the threaded barrel for chokes, but it does have the 2 shot extender installed from the factory without the dimples. The easiest way to check is load of course or you can unscres the barrel clamp and remove the extender. Drop a shell in from that end and it should go all the way to the loader. If you can't get the shell in from that end, it has the "dimples" and the extender is useless.

[BigDogatPlay]

There are so many variations of the 870 that it sometimes seems like every guy's gun is a different model.

The 870 Express Tactical, below, comes from the factory with standard Rem-Choke threads and an 18.5 inch barrel. The faux breacher on the front end is a screwed in choke tube and it's Cylinder, IIRC. The mag extension also comes from the factory and the tube is not dimpled. It comes with rail and ghost ring sights installed, and I believe the stock and fore end are supplied by Speedfeed. Aippi can correct me if I am wrong on the stock source.



The 870 Express Synthetic 7 round below, which Big 5 often puts on sale and markets as the "Security" model, is a fixed Cylinder choke 18.5 inch barrel. The extension is factory and the mag tube is not dimpled. It has the plain bead sight and a more sporting style stock set.



They are both serviceable and will get the job done. My personal feeling is that the sights and faux breacher are un-necessary, but there is good in being able to drop a modified choke tube into the Tactical model to get a little better accuracy out of rifled slugs.

[Barbarossa]

When I hear "express" I think of a basic 870 express, as below.

Obviously guns with factory magazine extensions are designed to work with factory extensions, so they have no dimples.

Standard guns for hunting like the express below will have the dimples. (and typically the remchoke system)

[NYCShooter]

there is good in being able to drop a modified choke tube into the Tactical model to get a little better accuracy out of rifled slugs.

You don't need a MOD choke to accurately shoot slugs. I have patterned many guns and have found that, generally, I get the best results with a fixed I/C bore, although CYL is perfectly acceptable.

[BigDogatPlay]

You don't need a MOD choke to accurately shoot slugs. I have patterned many guns and have found that, generally, I get the best results with a fixed I/C bore, although CYL is perfectly acceptable.

No you don't need Modified, you're right. I've cloverleafed rifled slugs at 35 yards through a Cylinder bored 870 and using a plain bead in LEO training more than a few times. My point was that adding just a bit of constriction with a Modified tube can improve accuracy at longer ranges. Lots of shooters have been moving to Modified to help tighten patterns with shot and groups with slugs.