"870P" Upgrades - Police-ing my 870 was simple, fun, and satisfying

[Scrap 4]

So as I have posted a few steps along the way, I have been slowly but surely having fun 'hooking up' my 870 over the last 6 or so months. I had reason to slightly celebrate in October and wound up picking up the Remington 870 Tactical at Dick's Sporting Goods in Fairless Hills, PA... more out of impulse and looking and feeling cool / fun factor than need or real desire... But an hour or two after buying it I realized they were soon releasing an actual 870 Tactical Magpul-edition, which I would have wanted... I bought this with the express intention of Magpul'ing it but didn't know a factory version was about to hit stores.

 

Anyway I Magul'd my Tactical straight away by hooking it up with each and every Magpul accessory and then realizing a single point sling may be awesome for an M4 but on a shotgun , you'd have to have a *real specific* mission for the Mapgul Ms2 on the 870 . So I setup the Blue Force Gear Larry Vickers Tactical Two Point Sling and thought I was totally set... Then I saw that the 870P has a few specific, Police model parts that are easily acquirable and install-able in the 870 regular models so I definitely wanted that.

 

Basically its simple- you need to replace the magazine spring, which I did with an extra upgraded Scattergun Technologies Tactical Magazine Spring & Magazine Follower. In my case the standard 870P Police spring would not work as its designed for the 870P 4+1 not the 2-shot extension on the Tactical 6+1. This was obviously an extremely easy upgrade and at once you notice how the difference feels...the follower is MUCH better than the orange nub included from the factory, its bright yellow green and its got a tail for engaging the spring and therefore doesn't catch or hiccup... and iT DOESN'T remove a shell. (A lot of people in the Mossberg 930 situation have reported losing a shell from installing the Mossberg follower... I was lucky in that I did not either but its a situation you dont want to be in..reliability increase or capacity increase?) ... Anyway this was a great upgrade.

 

Next was the Carrier Latch Spring, or Carrier dog follower spring, which affects the way the shell lifter responds to pressure. As the 870P is designed for heavier, full power loads it was packaged with a spring that increases the resistance on the lifter, reducing the likelyhood of a failure during feeding or operating forward/back/up.down on the action. Really a quite simple install and quite cheap,

 

As was the 870 non-MIM extractor. Possibly the 'most important' upgrade, the express models of 870 use a powdered metal extractor which ... is made from powdered metal and plastic beads. You do the mental math. the Non-MIM extractor is much more 'full-bodied' in your hand and is obviously a big time operating upgrade. Again simple install.

 

Last I installed the Wilson Combat (Scattergun Technologies, Scattergun Tech is Wilson Combat) oversized safety.... More of a "why-not?" upgrade, again was not a terribly difficult install, I had the trigger assembly out for the carrier latch spring anway, took 5 mins.

 

 

So now I have completed the Police Upgrades for my 870PTacMag ... the only thing the 870P has now I do not is the beautiful and much better Parkerized finish. I knew within a WEEK of owning my 870 how terrible *TERRIBLE* the finish you get on an Express is. Powdercoat or whatever they call it is about right, its like pouring powder on the gun and when you rub your hanfds on it it rubs off. I figure, I am not even going to bother going to war with Remington to maybe get it sent back to them, maybe I am lucky and they re-blue-it as junk as before, and I am out my gun a few months for not much return. I was going to send it in to AIP Tactical for Police upgrading and Parkerizing.... you guys would *LOVE* LOVE LOVE to hear *that* story lol , but instead I'm probably going for a Cerakote from the gentleman in Edison I read about in the Rifles forum.

 

 

And as it happens the 870 magpul edition has a Cerakote from the factory so I would really be completely 870 Tactical Magpul Police -kitted out then, which is cool. As long as the Cerakote works and lasts I will be happy.

 

 

Ok hope this helps if anyone is an 870 owner thinking about upgrades.

[tuktuk 16]

where did u buy the parts ? midway ? Brownells ?

and y did go with plastic follower vs metal ?

[Scrap 4]

Hey man,

 

I answered your PM in detail.

[McClane 4]

Goop post and a perfect example of why guns should not be bought on impulse. It pays to do research and know what you're getting into.

 

Dare I say... You would have been far better off buying a standard 870P with factory Police wood stocks. (model #'s 24901/24903) You could have easily sold the Police stock set for far more than the cost of the Magpul set, putting money IN your pocket. It's not just the springs on an 870P that make it better than an Express/Tactical. The receivers are far better in terms of machining, the finish is superior and the action is overall better. Put them side by side and there's a night and day difference. Especially with what Remington is putting out nowadays.

 

By the time you add up all that money in parts and shipping, then time installing it, you would have been better off with a 870P form the start.

[acuevo 0]

i don't like hearing about remington putting out bad stuff these days i just bought an 870 tactical on friday LOL

[71ragtopgoat 23]

I'll never buy Remington. They supported NY's gun laws buy announcing a 20 million dollar investment in there NY plant after the vote.

I'll buy Chinese before I buy Remington

[Cemeterys Gun Blob 165]

I'm probably going for a Cerakote from the gentleman in Edison I read about in the Rifles forum.

 

 

Who is this guy of which you speak?

[Parker 213]

I'll never buy Remington. They supported NY's gun laws buy announcing a 20 million dollar investment in there NY plant after the vote.

I'll buy Chinese before I buy Remington

 

Older Remington's will last forever. New ones will as well, they are just not finished as well and may utilize cheaper parts in areas that can tolerate this. It's to be expected that when you cut corners in order to lower the price of your product to be competitive, certain things are going to suffer.

 

I've said many disparaging things about Remington over the years, they've made some bone-headed moves in their history and they've floundered a bit since DuPont sold them. I have been critical since the Cerberus ownership but understand certain business decisions when it's about making money. To their credit, Remington's Ilion employees were out in force at the Albany rally last month to show their disdain for the SAFE Act. They are stuck between a rock and hard place.

 

Keep in mind that Remington is one of the oldest manufacturing companies in the United States, still making a product they started making in 1816. They are approaching their 200th year anniversary. They are the only original manufacturer of both firearms and ammunition in the U.S. No American would want to see them fail, nor do people want to see them disappear from the Mohawk Valley in New York.

 

I'd like to see Glock or Sig-Sauer step up up to the plate and denounce the latest assail on high capacity firearms in America, but I won't hold my breath.

[Rifleman1 32]

Ok hope this helps if anyone is an 870 owner thinking about upgrades.

 

Upgrades completed:

• Jumbo Head Safety
  
• Stainless Steel Follower
  
• Non-MIM Extractor
  
• TacStar Side Saddle
  
• Shotgun Flashlight Mount Picitinny Rail
  

http://www.rem870.com/2012/10/17/10-must-have-upgrades-for-your-remington-870-shotgun/

http://www.rem870.com/2012/11/23/7-remington-870-upgrade-ideas-for-less-than-20/

[Arbelest 29]

 

I'd like to see Glock or Sig-Sauer step up up to the plate and denounce the latest assail on high capacity firearms in America, but I won't hold my breath.

 

1 out of 3 one more to pressure and the other will have to follow.

[Sixtytwo327 14]

I have been critical since the Cerberus ownership but understand certain business decisions when it's about making money. To their credit, Remington's Iion employees were out in force at the Albany rally last month to show their disdain for the SAFE Act. They are stuck between a rock and hard place.

 

True... plant upgrades are planned years in advance - it's not like they just suddenly decided to invest $20 million because they're overjoyed by the SAFE act.

[tuktuk 16]

finally ordered all the parts from midway USA.

lets do some modding

[Scrap 4]

finally ordered all the parts from midway USA.

lets do some modding

 

LOL. Good luck it wasnt that hard, I just gave myself plenty of time and a good table worth of space to work with, set my laptop up for opening reference websites/videos, got my tools I needed, and took my time and carefully did all at once.

 

 

If you need a hand please feel free to let me know. I will give you a good discount off my normal rates