12.5 or 8.5 grizzly

J

Jayph

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which one? pro's and con's? Is the 8.5 really only a fun toy (no real use). Does the dominion arms need any tuning to run great out of the box?

Thanks.

Jason
 
I'd say an 8.5" shotgun is just as useful/useless as a 12.5" one.

Personally I'd go 12.5, I dont like how easy it is to get one's hand in front of the muzzle when rapidly pumping a real short barrel.
 
Nothing wrong with the 8.5, I have one. Any handguard from any other 870 won't fit without major modification, though, only bad thing. The slide on them has a raised bit at the front so you'd really have to try to hurt yourself with it, your hand in anywhere near a natural position doesn't come near the barrel in my experience.

I've never looked into whether the extra 4 inches on the 12.5 make it standard Remington dimensions for the slide.
 
i have both and you really cant go wrong with either.
the 12.5 is still too short to put a folding stock on it.
the 8.5, with a short LOP stock, is the shortest fully functional shotgun you can have (assuming you get it threaded for chokes) without resorting to folding.

personally i would go for the 8.5" for that reason, and also because anyone can put a 12.5" barrel on any 870 -- the 8.5" is a much more unique configuration.

8inch870.jpg


:cheers:
 
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I bought the 12.5 it is pretty short and it has a more shot capacity which is a nice compromise over the 8.5".

Randy
 
Although I have an 8.5", I'd recommend the 12.5". It's still plenty short and you can put a longer aftermarket barrel on it if you want, and then there's the extra mag capacity. Also, the 12.5" is cheaper.

But I LOOOOOOVE my 8.5" Grizzly, cause it makes me smile!
 
i asked the same thing and i ended up with the 8.5 its great fun but if i did it over again i would go with the 12.5 for the few more shots
 
I have a 12.5 and it has run like a champ , zero failures even after hundreds of rounds. I would choose the 12.5 all the way for the following reasons. The 8.5 has a 2+1 capacity v.s. a 4+1 capacity but even more importantly , if should ever want to put any other 870 barrel onto this great shotgun it can be done on the 12.5 but can NOT be done on 8.5 without some major customization to a barrel.
 
I bought the 12.5 because I hunt primarily and in BC you need a minimum of 12" barrel to hunt... If I could hunt with the 8.5 I would buy the 8.5" mag fed when they come in.
 
Over the Oehler the 12.5 only get 10 fps faster, having both the fun factor of the 8.5 is huge, i give it the point... JP.
 
Are the finishes on the DA's a parkerize or the same bead blast as the Express?

How do they compare to a vintage 870 Wingmaster?
 
Beniw765 said:
I have a 12.5 and it has run like a champ , zero failures even after hundreds of rounds. I would choose the 12.5 all the way for the following reasons. The 8.5 has a 2+1 capacity v.s. a 4+1 capacity but even more importantly , if should ever want to put any other 870 barrel onto this great shotgun it can be done on the 12.5 but can NOT be done on 8.5 without some major customization to a barrel.
Click to expand...

Totally agree!

QuickDraw16 said:
I bought the 12.5, I would buy the 8.5" mag fed when they come in.
Click to expand...

Same!

Cheers
Jay
 
Another thing to onsider with the 8.5 or 12.5 is that they are extremely loud, especially the 8.5. If you intend to use one for bear defence it will work fine and the fireball out of the barrel will look cool, but you probably will suffer hearing demage, so try not to use one without ear protection.


MBP, that is one cool looking gun.
 
everyones hung up on the 2+1 capacity of the 8.5 (if you mod it to a Wingmaster ball detent style mag cap you can fit a third shell in there btw - easily with the factory style follower but even with an S&J style no-jam follower with a couple thou shaved off its ass end).

3+1 plus the ability to top off (which you cant with a mag fed) is enough for any situation you can get yourself in in Canada.

-bear defense? if you get 4 shots off youre a f*cking hero: i dont think even Boomer could manage 4 shots on a charging bear.

-home defense? were in Canada, not Liberia.

-hunting? you have to plug it to 2 anyway.

any situation where i fire a 12 gauge in anger im not really going to be concerned about my hearing, so the bigger the bang the better.
 
LoL I'm waiting for the day that I see somebody duck hunting with the 8,5'' barrel in the marsh! 3'' mag steel shot haha :p
 
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