tactical 870 for cold weather use

[Attilla357]

work in rocky mountain foothills, building an 870 for grizz/cougar medicine. compact size is necessity. conditions can fluctuate extremely. does anyone have cold weather experience with lubes, lazer sights, flashlight and fold over stock attachments in these conditions?

[Synchronizor]

Sounds like an interesting project.

You mentioned -45 (I'm assuming Celsius) in your introduction thread.

On my 870, I use Permatex Anti-Seize for threaded connections, and Rem Oil for everything else. I know the Permatex is rated for -50 to 870 degrees C (easy to remember), but I'm not sure if plain Rem Oil can handle the -40's.

One thing I would be concerned with in those temperatures is plastics. A lot of gun parts and accessories are polymers these days, and I can definitely see lower-quality plastic parts breaking pretty easily.

On the 870 itself, I don't think the polymer trigger guard will give you trouble, but the Express stock doesn't have much structure to it, so you might want to upgrade that if you're starting with it. SpeedFeed makes some good furniture composed of glass-filled Tenite cellulosic plastic (I think). I know Tenite can take the temperatures you're looking at with the right formulation, but I couldn't tell you if that's the composition used in SpeedFeed products.

The stock plastic magazine follower is probably not going to do well at those temperatures. I like S&J Hardware's Delrin (acetal homopolymer) followers; they can handle temperatures that low and won't corrode if they get wet. We don't really hit the -40's around here, but I have lugged my gun through deep snow at high altitudes, and it always gets wet.

On that note, some Marine Magnum internals - like the bolt and trigger assemblies - might be worth considering, too.

You may also be interested in this video, where some extremely chilled ammo is tested.

[antares]

Advances in lubes allow for the use of modern firearms greases(TW-25, Wilson's Ultra-Lube, Militec, Slip2K). Apply a very light, thin film of grease and use a hair dryer to heat the lubed parts(be wary of use on plastic/polymer parts). The above mentioned grease lubes will bond to the metal enough to allow you to wipe the parts off after heating them and use the gun in subzero temps. Using very small amounts of graphite to augment the pre-lubing should allow for the occasional re-lube, after extended shooting(25 to 50 rds in this case).
As for plastic parts, the 870 series comes in a 'police' version that uses alloy trigger guard and safety parts as well as having a somewhat thicker barrel. Cost is higher but the gun makes a better 'base gun' for later modifications.

[Synchronizor]

As for plastic parts, the 870 series comes in a 'police' version that uses alloy trigger guard and safety parts as well as having a somewhat thicker barrel. Cost is higher but the gun makes a better 'base gun' for later modifications.

Normally, the polymer trigger guards are more impact-resistant than the more brittle compressed-aluminum parts on older 870s and Police models. This might change in a cold enough environment, but I'm not aware of any testing along these lines.

The only thing special about Police barrels is their finish. They have the same profile and wall thickness as other 870 barrels.

[sledge]

I think looking at the Marine Magnum as the base gun seems like a necessity. The anti-corrosive properties are vital in places like Alaska, where snow, rain, and salt collaborate to destroy your weapon.

[mercman]

I'm in CO right now and the SG is my go to weapon when I'm out in the woods. I've got cougars on my property here and keep my 870 close to hand. Its set up with a Mesa collapsible AR style stock and S&J mushroom safety. I'm running a Magpul single/two point sling with an 18" barrel with bead front sight. I'm a recent convert to the SLIP 2000 Extreme Weapon Lube (EWL). I've only had the gun out when it was around -10-15 degrees and it worked fine.

Be sure to disassemble and thoroughly degrease you weapons before changing lubes. I use either brake cleaner or odorless mineral spirits.