one 870_cross-section of barrel options .... what's your choices ?

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madashell

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Maybe this should be in the hunting shotgun section but ...

Lets say you have one good 870 (P or WM) and you wanted a good cross-section of barrel options. What would be your picks ?

14" - gotta love the compactness for HD

18.5" - good general purpose/HD

23" - rifled cantilevered for sabot slugs (cantilever to mount scope or red dot) .... think I'd prefer it at about 20 " (although I battle with just going for the 21" rifle sight-rifled barrel.... anyone make a 20" version ?)

26" - ribbed smooth bore/removable chokes for general purpose small game/birds ...... although think I'd prefer a 24" (think Carlson offers one in this length, although more expensive than Remington)

30" - full choke turkey barrel (I have no need for this nor a need for a long trap/skeet/clay barrel)



So .... 14", 18.5", 20" rifled, 24" would be my ideal cover all the bases selections.

What's yours ??
 
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12.5-14 HD cyl bore
21" vent rib remchoke for turkey and rabbit
26-28 remchoke for waterfowl/clays

Remington makes a fully rifled 20" rifle sight slug barrel in 12g and a fully rifled 18.5" cantilever in 20g
 
12.5" Dlask for zombies, aliens and hipsters.

18-20" in a Wingmaster profile with rifle sights and removable chokes, for general purposes.

28" Wingmaster vent rib with choke tubes for birds and clays.
 
I have 14"(XS BigDot Tritium front sight), 21"(smooth bore, rifle sights) and 28" (VR w/Rem chokes) barrels for my WM, but honestly have no use for the 21" and would happily trade my 28" choked vent rib for a 26":
IMG_0109.jpg
 
freezer filler said:
12.5-14 HD cyl bore
21" vent rib remchoke for turkey and rabbit
26-28 remchoke for waterfowl/clays

Remington makes a fully rifled 20" rifle sight slug barrel in 12g and a fully rifled 18.5" cantilever in 20g
Click to expand...

21" for turkey ? I thought there was a law somewhere that turkey barrels had to be 30" .... :p

Hummmm.. I thought the Remington offerings were 21" rifle sight & 23" cantilever rifled barrels .. thanks for the tip, I'll have to look into this further.
 
madashell said:
21" for turkey ? I thought there was a law somewhere that turkey barrels had to be 30" .... :p

Hummmm.. I thought the Remington offerings were 21" rifle sight & 23" cantilever rifled barrels .. thanks for the tip, I'll have to look into this further.
Click to expand...

The 21 is nice, especially in the blind. Also as far as I know, it's the shortest barrel that is chambered for 3.5" gobbler hammer.
 
870P said:
12.5" Dlask for zombies, aliens and hipsters.

18-20" in a Wingmaster profile with rifle sights and removable chokes, for general purposes.

28" Wingmaster vent rib with choke tubes for birds and clays.
Click to expand...

You forgot liberals on our 12.5-14" list ...

What exactly does "Wingmaster profile" mean ? Some of these barrels have a different "profile' ? What am I missing here ?
 
Tom E Gun said:
I have 14"(XS BigDot Tritium front sight), 21"(smooth bore, rifle sights) and 28" (VR w/Rem chokes) barrels for my WM, but honestly have no use for the 21" and would happily trade my 28" choked vent rib for a 26":
IMG_0109.jpg
Click to expand...

Nice setup you got there Tom E Gun.

Saving the nice furniture for when the dinner guests come over ?

Your length comments are interesting. I see no use for a 21" smooth bore (rifle sights or other wise), and I've come to the conclusion there's little benefit for the 28" over the 26" ... imo.
 
I care more about the contour than the length, I find heavy walled barrels awkward and fatiguing to handle, tapered FTW.
 
870P said:
I care more about the contour than the length, I find heavy walled barrels awkward and fatiguing to handle, tapered FTW.
Click to expand...

Figured you were referring to reg. vs heavy walled. Thanks for clarifying.

Never looked into what was heavy walled and what wasn't in Remington's selection. I'm pretty sure my 18.5" is a heavier barrel.
 
madashell said:
Figured you were referring to reg. vs heavy walled. Thanks for clarifying.

Never looked into what was heavy walled and what wasn't in Remington's selection. I'm pretty sure my 18.5" is a heavier barrel.
Click to expand...

In Remington terms there's basically 3 factory profiles, Wingmaster, Express and Police, in increasing order of weight.

It makes a huge difference, to the point where a light contour 28" barrel actually feels less muzzle heavy than either my Dlask 12.5" or my 18.5" Police.
 
870P said:
In Remington terms there's basically 3 factory profiles, Wingmaster, Express and Police, in increasing order of weight.

It makes a huge difference, to the point where a light contour 28" barrel actually feels less muzzle heavy than either my Dlask 12.5" or my 18.5" Police.
Click to expand...

Ah .... see, this is why I started this thread. Learning lots from you guys.

I knew my 870P's had a heavier barrel. Was not aware the express barrels are in the middle of the weight class. Is there an organized list somewhere of what is offered in each weight ? Don't think I've ever seen it laid out like that on any site.

Now I gotta figure out where to hunt down a 26" Wingmaster profile. Was looking at the Express weight 26" but you're making much sense to me 870P. Thanks for the info.
 
madashell said:
Nice setup you got there Tom E Gun.

Saving the nice furniture for when the dinner guests come over ?

Your length comments are interesting. I see no use for a 21" smooth bore (rifle sights or other wise), and I've come to the conclusion there's little benefit for the 28" over the 26" ... imo.
Click to expand...

Thanks, the fleur-de-lis furniture and 21" barrel are both original to the 40+/- year old WM that was handed down to me from my father (so I guess I am just keeping them for sentimental reasons). I had an old beat up 26" WM VR barrel that I gave to my Nephew and preferred shooting that, compared to the current 28" WM VR barrel. At least, that is what I tell myself every time time he out shoots me at the trap range.
 
Right now I've got a 14" with XS low profile sights and a 14" bead that I'm going to put a big dot on to compare the two barrels before moving on with my build.

I plan to buy another 8.5" after selling mine. Regret selling it...

I plan to buy an 18" as well.

The 14" and 18" will be setup the same with the 8.5" stripped down as simple as possible for day hike woods use.

I was going to just swap barrels on the 14" with an 18" as needed but I plan to ultimately add an Aimpoint T2/H2 to my 14" which would have a different zero with the 18" barrel on it.
 
madashell said:
Ah .... see, this is why I started this thread. Learning lots from you guys.

I knew my 870P's had a heavier barrel. Was not aware the express barrels are in the middle of the weight class. Is there an organized list somewhere of what is offered in each weight ? Don't think I've ever seen it laid out like that on any site.

Now I gotta figure out where to hunt down a 26" Wingmaster profile. Was looking at the Express weight 26" but you're making much sense to me 870P. Thanks for the info.
Click to expand...

Not sure where you can find the weights listed.

I believe there's a bit of difference in contour between earlier Wingmaster barrels with fixed chokes, and later ones with removables, although its probably not dramatic.
 
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