18" 870 Tactical... Can it hunt?

I've tried quail and rabbit a couple of times with an 18" barrel and never had much luck. One good thing about the 870 though, is that a barrel swap takes about a minute. So get the 870 Express, then buy a 26-28" barrel that takes screw-in chokes and you'll be in business.

danp said:

I've tried quail and rabbit a couple of times with an 18" barrel and never had much luck. One good thing about the 870 though, is that a barrel swap takes about a minute. So get the 870 Express, then buy a 26-28" barrel that takes screw-in chokes and you'll be in business.

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Beat me to it, Dan. Wish I could do that with my Ithaca Defense 18"...

danp said:

So get the 870 Express, then buy a 26-28" barrel that takes screw-in chokes and you'll be in business.

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I talked to a guy at the local sporting goods store and he told me I could find a NEW barrel for $80-$100, but when looking on Remington's website they range far into the $200's... Where would I find a new, quality barrel like this?

Also when you say you've never had much luck, have you had any luck?

FleeToTheCleve said:

I talked to a guy at the local sporting goods store and he told me I could find a NEW barrel for $80-$100, but when looking on Remington's website they range far into the $200's... Where would I find a new, quality barrel like this?

Also when you say you've never had much luck, have you had any luck?

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gunbroker.com has a lot of them ...

It is FAR easier to buy the 18" tactical and then buy a longer barrel - the shorter barrels are harder to find.

The 2009 Remington 870 Tactical has threads for a choke. Mine has a Breacher already threaded in there. You can just take that out and put what choke you want in. I don't know if you want an 18" for hunting though.

My favorite rabbit gun has a 20" barrel on it. Look on gunbroker.com and you can find cheap barrels. I just bought a fully rifled 12 gauge barrel for $115.00. It normaly sells new for $200+.

I have owned the 18" and I decided to sell it. I now own the 20" and I really like it better. The 20" allows a few more in the tube (longer tube) and did not hurt my portability. I like the collapsible butt stock to give more options. Other are correct when they say it is easy to swap barrels. I bought mine with the nice long hunting barrel and then bought the short barrel. I added the tube and a clamp, so the clamp slows down barrel change a little.

Good luck and post up some picks when you make a choice.

Double check, I thought the Tactical 870 barrel was not removable.

In which case you should buy an 870 Express with a 28" and Rem Choke and then pick up an 18" for HD.

laserrs said:

Double check, I thought the Tactical 870 barrel was not removable.

In which case you should buy an 870 Express with a 28" and Rem Choke and then pick up an 18" for HD.

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Why woudnt it be removable? That wouldnt be very "tactical".
If its an 870 then im sure its removable.

I have the 18" Synthetic HD model. It's not very good for skeet shooting. I tried once and go so pissed because I couldn't hit anything. Then I borrowed my buddies with a 28" barrel and I was back in business. It's great for HD, but not so much for anything else except some paper target fun.

laserrs said:

Double check, I thought the Tactical 870 barrel was not removable.

In which case you should buy an 870 Express with a 28" and Rem Choke and then pick up an 18" for HD.

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It is. There's no choke modification though.

FleeToTheCleve said:

I talked to a guy at the local sporting goods store and he told me I could find a NEW barrel for $80-$100, but when looking on Remington's website they range far into the $200's... Where would I find a new, quality barrel like this?

Also when you say you've never had much luck, have you had any luck?

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Don't believe the Remington site, that is MSRP and stuff routinely sells for less. A long barrel will be easier to find than the 18" tube.

By "never had much luck" I mean that I found game and got shots off, but didn't take any quail and only a couple rabbits at close range. It works pretty good for jackrabbits with 00 buck, though.

Ok why do you want a tactical? what comes with it that others don't?

I ask because if I had a lot of money heres what I"d buy.

Youth 870 12 gauge either with the 21" barrel or a combo with a slug barrel if I was interested in that.

Get the knox stock (so the youth doesn't matter cause I would get this anyways, and 21" is ideal IMO unless you want to buy another barrel)

Then get a foreward grip you like but personally I've never been bothered by wood (now a surefire grip if thats your cup o tea, and then you aren't wasting any money with the youth variant)