Opinions on sights for a shorty 870?

P

platnumbob

CGN frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
58   0   0
Location
Calgary
So I have recently put together an 870 build with wood police furniture and a 12.5" grizzly barrel with bead sight. It is pretty, but it shoots high. I mean I was expecting it to shoot a bit high but its throwing lead like 2 feet high.

I clearly need to buy a blade type front sight that can be epoxied onto the barrel. I hit google to find some options and stumbled across the scattergun technologies/ Trijicon blade front and rear ghost sight systems. It looks like the front blade epoxies on and the rear sight must be drilled and tapped.

First off, would the scattergun tech type sights give me enough adjustment to hit point of aim? And if so does anyone have any experience with them?

Secondly, are there any other recommendations, or recommendations as to where to best source such sights?

Thanks guys - first shotgun "build" for me.
 
XS Sights Big Dot Tritium solved the POI/POA issues on my grizz. Had to swap out the bead for a smaller one (the smaller one came with the big dot), then the Big Dot mounts onto the bead. It's a moderately tight fit, and with some two part expoxy, it's held firm for a few years and close to a thousand rounds now.

Easy to acquire sight picture, glows in the dark (which is neat, but not super useful to me). The big white circle around the glowing Tritium center makes it an easy sight to acquire in any lighting conditions.

bubba_grizz_profiled_s.jpg
 
Are you handy? I took some aluminum plate (1/4" I think) and made a sight blade using hand tools. I cut a small rectangular blank and drilled through the center and countersunk for the screw head. Removed the factory bead and tapped the hole for a 6-48 screw. I contorted the bottom of the sight by wrapping course sand paper around the barrel and drawing the sight down it. After I had a rough sized block I attached it and took it out to pattern at my chosen distance. I filed it down until POA was POI at that distance, then did some shaping and finish sanding to pretty it up. Cost me nothing and worked great.

 
My gun looks pretty similar to yours (grelmar's) - I built mine on a 870 express super mag receiver though and then added a Grizz barrel. How high was yours shooting before you put on the Big Dot? I am concerned based on how high mine was shooting that it will not raise the POI high enough to get me on target.
 
geologist said:
My Wilson Trac Locs shoot to POA at 25 yards.
Click to expand...

Those are the sights I was initially looking at. Did you install them yourself, how was it? Also, how much adjustment do you have with the rear ghost ring for elevation? The front post seems to sit higher than the Big Dot XS sight.
 
platnumbob said:
Those are the sights I was initially looking at. Did you install them yourself, how was it? Also, how much adjustment do you have with the rear ghost ring for elevation? The front post seems to sit higher than the Big Dot XS sight.
Click to expand...

I had Rusty Wood install them. The front sight came off after a couple of years with the original epoxy. I just cleaned the barrel, roughed it a bit and JB Welded it and it's still on.

The rear sight has a maybe 5 -7mm of travel front and back so you can set the elevation you want. Mine is setup for buckshot at fairly close range.
 
It works out about 6" high at 25 yards now. Firing slugs puts me right on at 50 yards, and with shot, 6" high is Ok for patterning.
 
Geo's gun is a Norinco receiver and barrel where as yours is a mix of Remington and Norinco. It's quite possible that a combination of out of specness is adding to the normal issue of shooting high with a shorter barrel and short front sight.

You need a pedestal, but the easiest first step is to determine what height you actually need. Mock up a front sight. A cocktail type wooden skewer or simple carved wood shaving and a dab of hot melt glue makes a simple mock sight....trim the wooden skewer at the range with a sharp pair of scissors until you have the height you want. Measure down to the barrel and do the math.
 
Umm...I agree I think. But do you not think that a pre-built pedestal like the scattergun tech one would get me to POA if there was an adjustable rear ghost site? Adjusting the rear sight down should be the same as adjusting the height of the front up I would think.
 
It should work just fine, unless you have a Norinco barrel sitting cockeyed in a Remington receiver in a way that does not allow the normal adjustment range to work for you.
How high a front sight do you need to make it work with the top of the receiver and no rear sight?
The typical 14 inch Remington bead sight is mounted on a small pedestal, if your needs a taller sight then that it would suggest to me that something is out of spec....

Once you know what your current setup needs for a front height sight lined up with the top of the receiver you can also calculate for different systems.
 
Alright, I took Can-Down's advice and determined/ measured my necessary front post hight. I got a peice of putty, jammed it over the front bead, and slammed a toothpick in. I then cut the toothpick until my patterns and slugs were roughly on target at 25 yards.

In short, it looks like I want a post aprox 1/2" - or if you want to be precise 4/8" off of the top of the barrel :)

Does anyone care to measure their aftermarket sight solutions off the top of the barrel so I can get an idea of the best option ie. The big dot, the scattergun technologies post etc? If you guys have time that would be great, thanks!
 
Wilson combat (or the scattergun tech sights - they all look to be the same) makes a front sight post for 12.5 barrels which is apparently .785" high - with an adjustable rear ghost ring I would think this to be perfect. The link is below, but does anyone know of a site sponsor or Canadian distributor for these type of sights? They confirmed they won't ship to Canada.

http://shopwilsoncombat.com/Trak-Lo...ont-for-125-Barrels/productinfo/SGTL2-TFT-12/
 
Last edited:
Weird - I responded before but it didn't post.

Call Casey at Tac-Ord - he'll have the sights, and will do install as well. HIGHLY recommend you let him do the install. The drill/tap on the receiver can be a bit tricky to get centered, and the front sight should really be silver-soldered in place.

Refinish the whole thing with KG gunkote - I still have lots!
 
Tac-Ord does not have the 12.5" barrel specific sights but only the standard height which are a bit shorter. I am a bit scared that the rear sight ring may not drop low enough to get on POA. Does anyone know of another Canadian distributor for these type of sights? I have an email into Brownells, but their website does not seem to have the correct front post sight either.

Alternatively I may have to go with a standard front sight post with no rear sight - I think that should get me roughly on target but would not have any adjustability.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom