870 Conversion

[Danny66]

Hi,

I have an 870 from the early 80's; 2-3/4", it has a 28" Mod. choke, vent rib barrel, that I used to hunt Quail & Pheasant with in Oklahoma. I don't live there anymore, nor do I hunt, and was considering converting it to a home defense gun. My question is...should I just have my original barrel cut to 18", if so, what is the average cost of this?

Or...just buy one of those slug barrels with the sights?
Also, if you cut a 28" barrel off, to be 18", does that affect accuracy, since the choke is at the end of the barrel?

Any suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated.

[Synchronizor]

I have an 870 from the early 80's; 2-3/4", it has a 28" Mod. choke, vent rib barrel, that I used to hunt Quail & Pheasant with in Oklahoma. I don't live there anymore, nor do I hunt, and was considering converting it to a home defense gun. My question is...should I just have my original barrel cut to 18", if so, what is the average cost of this?

Or...just buy one of those slug barrels with the sights?

A basic 18.5" riot barrel with a fixed choke and a front bead sight is usually a better choice for a no-frills HD build than a slug barrel. These are simple, fast, durable, very easy to maintain, and a bead sight is accurate out to the maximum effective range of buckshot. You can find these barrels in the $100 - $150 range, and they'll install on your gun with no gunsmithing or fitting. Buying a second barrel is the easiest way to convert your gun for HD, and you can keep the original hunting barrel intact in case you want to use it in the future, or you want to pass the gun on at some point.

But if you don't care about keeping the original barrel intact, it would probably be less expensive to simply cut it down. Vent-rib barrels are great for this because you can cut them to any length and still have the rib to use for aiming. Regarding length, I would strongly suggest cutting it to 18.5" instead of the bare minimum 18". The extra half-inch will have a negligible impact on the gun's handling and maneuverability, and it'll give you a little breathing room from a legal standpoint. I don't know what your local gunsmith would charge for this, but it shouldn't be too much if you keep it a simple chop job. It's also not that involved to do this at home, if you really want to keep things cheap.

Also, if you cut a 28" barrel off, to be 18", does that affect accuracy, since the choke is at the end of the barrel?

Accuracy won't really change since that's primarily up to the shooter. The loss of the choke will affect the pattern - the rate at which the shot spreads after it leaves the barrel - but that shouldn't be an issue with buckshot at across-the-room distances.

[keith44]

I'll pretty much echo "synchronizor's" post

If you have the tools you can cut it yourself, the trick is cutting it straight, then cleaning up the cut area. Cut so that the vent rib has support at the end of the barrel or the barrel extends slightly beyond the rib. I also recommend 18 1/2 or maybe even 19 inches as a first attempt for the DIY gunsmith

[Danny66]

I bought a Remington 18" Parkerized, no-vent, IC barrel from Brownell's. It's nice, and looks great on my gun, but haven't been able to shoot it yet to see what brand of 00 Buck shoots the best.