Fighting with Shotgun

It has a lot of tips and pictures. Recommended.

Tacstar Side Saddle

I had a review of the TacStar 4-Round SideSaddle about a year ago. Now it is time for some tips. First of all it is a very good product and helped me a lot in competitions. But there are two important things you should know about it:
1. Do not overtighten the screws which attach SideSaddle to receiver. One of my friends have broken his SideSaddle this way.
2. Check 4 small screws often. I have lost two of them somewhere on the shooting range:

TacStar SideSaddle

By the way, I have received, installed and tested Mesa Tactical SureShell 6-Round Carrier for Remington 870 and will have a review about it tomorrow.

Let’s see information about the shootouts where shotguns were used: North Hollywood shootout and 1986 FBI Miami shootout.

Brief description of the North Hollywood shootout (from Wikipedia):

The North Hollywood shootout was an armed confrontation between two heavily armed bank robbers and officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in the North Hollywood district of Los Angeles on February 28, 1997.

Local patrol officers at the time were typically armed with 9 mm or .38 Special pistols on their person, with some having a 12-gauge shotgun available in their cars. Phillips and Matasareanu carried fully automatic rifles, with ammunition capable of penetrating police body armor, and wore military grade body armor of their own.

The patrol officers were armed with standard Beretta 92-type 9-mm pistols and .38-caliber revolvers, and some also carried 12-gauge pump-action shotguns, but the body armor worn by Phillips and Matasareanu was strong enough to resist penetration.

The robbers were protected by body armor which could not be penetrated by the officers’ handgun and shotgun ammunition.

The ineffectiveness of the pistol rounds and shotgun pellets in penetrating the robbers’ body armor led to a trend in the United States toward arming selected police patrol officers with semi-automatic 5.56 mm AR-15 type rifles.

As you can see from the video, policeman used his 12 gauge shotgun from the distance of about 50 yards (he was behind the kiosk). Policeman saw that shotgun pellets hit the robber but had no effect. Robber returned fire.

So it is not a very good idea to use a shotgun (birdshot and buckshot) against the enemy with body armor. Especially on a long distance (20-50 yards). Slugs are more effective on such distances. But remember that shotgun is a Close Quarters Battle weapon. Shotgun is one of the most effective short range weapons and it is extremely good for a home defense use.

Brief description of the 1986 FBI Miami shootout (from Wikipedia):

The FBI Miami shootout was a gun battle that occurred on 11 April 1986 in Miami, Florida between eight Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents and two serial bank robbers.

The incident is infamous in FBI history and is well-studied in law enforcement circles. Despite outnumbering the suspects 4 to 1, the agents found themselves pinned down by rifle fire and unable to respond effectively. Although both Matix and Platt were hit multiple times during the firefight, Platt fought on regardless and continued to injure and kill the officers. This incident led to the introduction of more powerful handguns in many police departments around the country.

Unfortunately, FBI agents didn’t have enough weapons. Only two of the FBI vehicles contained shotguns. Also, it turns out that shotgun pellets are not very effective against enemy inside the car. Another important thing to know is that it was difficult for the FBI agent to reload his shotgun able to use only one arm.

Do you know any other shootouts where shotguns were used? Please leave a comment.

I added a few new parts and upgrades and Duracoated my 870. The Duracoat product is affordable and easy to use. I chose to use the Durabake in parkerize finish. I spent about an hour prepping and spraying then baked for 3 hours at 180 degrees fahrenheit. The finished product looks great, I will send an update after my 870 is back in one piece.
From: DuraCoat

Remington 870 Parts before Duracoat

Remington 870 Parts after Duracoat

I can’t stop saying thanks to you, J.R.!

But I have made my own list of parts to have for an emergency repair:
TRIGGER PLATE PIN DETENT SPRING
TGR PLATE PIN DETENT SPRING REA
EXTRACTOR PLUNGER
EXTRACTOR SPRING
EXTRACTOR, 12/16/20, NON-MIM
FIRING PIN RETRACTOR SPRING
FIRING PIN
FIRING PIN RETAINING PIN
EJECTOR SPRING

Update:
+SEAR SPRING

But I hope that I will never need those parts and my Rem 870 will work without any problems for years!

“I have ATI M4-style stock but I don’t use it. It’s a crap.

First of all there are gaps between parts of the stock especially when it is fully extended. Second disadvantage is that you need to take it off before disassembling your shotgun. Third problem is that this stock works good with high sights and you need additional cheek piece.

Also, ATI forend is a pain too, I can’t take it off, it stuck. And when I decide to change it I will have to contact an armorer.

As an alternative, I have ordered SpeedFeed stock and it works perfectly without any problems above.”

Thanks to http://llandaff.livejournal.com/ for this short review.

From Theodore:

This is Theodore and I have finally received my Supercell Recoil Pad for the Remington 870 (SKU. 19471). The pad seems as if it probably could do a good job absorbing recoil but I never tested firing my Remington Model 870™ Express® Deer Gun with the new pad!!!… to see if it performs as advertised. Why? Well I was very disappointed to find out that it does NOT fit !!! … I know it is strange. I spoke to the official importer and he too confirms this. He immediately refunded me and apologized but all I wanted was a Supercell Recoil Pad for my Remington 870. Anyway, I did some research and I think that “870 express” stock is a different size to the “870 Wingmaster” or Model 1100 stock, which might fit the pad – I don’t know! Lesson. If you wish to purchase this particular product, I recommend you visit the store with your Gun in hand (so to speak) and make sure it fits your stock.

Installation is very easy – only two screws – don’t forget to squirt some oil into the two little holes in the pad of your stock before you unscrew your old or install your new pad to prevent “wounding” your pad during installation.

I have left my old original recoil pad on my gun and I am learning to deal with the recoil. It is a painful leasson, but I prefer it this way. I hope this review of the above product might assist fellow readers of Vitaly’s Rem870 site.

Remington Supercell Recoil Pad

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Today I want ask you to share information about websites where you can buy Remington 870 upgrades and accessories. I think this information will be useful for all Remington 870 owners. Share you positive and negative experience.

Let me start.

Brownells
http://www.brownells.com/

This website has huge amount of different accessories and upgrades for Remington 870. I have used it many times and everything was perfect.

Advantages: The do ship Internationally
Disadvantages: Prices are higher than on the other sites.

Hunting Connection on eBay
http://stores.ebay.com/Hunting-Connection

Very good eBay shop where you can buy different accessories for Remington 870. I have used this shop several times and they were great.

I know that there are a lot of other sites with Remington 870 accessories: Cabelas, MidwayUSA, Gunbroker, Cheaperthandirt etc. Please leave a comment with your experience with these or other websites. Thanks!

First test was on Saturday. I’ve made about 100 shots using slugs, birdshots and buckshots. Everything was fine but then I saw that heatshield moved for about 1 inch to the front. Also, heatshield hit the rear sight and it now requires adjustment. The problem was easy to fix, you need to tighten all screws very tight. Otherwise heatshield will not stay in place.

Here is photo to show you how your screws should be tighten:

Second test was on Sunday with all screws tighten. I have put about 100 shots again (slugs, birdshots and buckshots) and this time everything was great.

Heatshield is a good addition to a a shotgun but it’s not a must. I am not sure if this particular heatshield is the best one, I want to test the plastic heatshield in the nearest time.

And yes, it will scratch the barrel, so maybe it gives not that much of advantages as I thought.

ATI Shotgun Heatshield

There are several types of the heat shields for shotguns on the market. Steel ones and plastic ones. I have chosen heatshield by Advanced Technology International. If you have barrel with rifle sights (like me) you will have to make some modifications to it.

First of all you will need to make a hole for the rear sight:

ATI Remington 870 Heatshield

It is not very difficult to do. Then you will need to do something with sharp edges and paint them.

Installation is not a big deal. Heatshield slides over the barrel, turn it upside-down to slide under the rifle sights.

Attention: you will need to sand some parts of your forend which touch the heatshield. Otherwise forend will not work properly with heatshield installed.

Remington 870 Heatshield

Remington 870 Heat Shield

Of course it adds some weight to your shotgun but it is not critical. Shotgun looks great with this upgrade. I will test it on the shooting range this weekend and will write about my impressions.

Update: ATI Shotgun Heatshield Test and Review