Remington 870: 18" vs 14" for patrol

[LHS]

Oh yes, you certainly do. I love me some model 12 trenchy goodness.

I really need to show you the 12 Trench gun I've been playing with.

I <3 <3 <3 <3 shotguns

[SWAT Lt.]

I had a 14" 870 for a while which was right handy but didn't pattern terribly well (IC choke). I upgraded to a 14" 870 with a modified choke and it shot great. We issued Federal Tactical 00B and that gun gave nothing up to the 18" guns, especially when the FLITECONTROL wad came out. I personally prefer the 870 to the Mossberg.

[Rich]

I ran a 14" Mossberg 590 for awhile. There was very little downside, except as noted by John ref the old style Sure Fire foreend. One can get shorter lights nowadays so it is a non-issue.

My gun patterend with Flightcontrol just as well as our 18 and 20" guns.

You guys are so lucky. I wish the ATF would change the law and allow use permit holders to use barrels under 18inches.

[Crusader8207]

I run an 870 14" with a Mesa Tactical LEO recoil reducing stock. I recently sent it to Vang Comp for their sights and barrel porting. Hornady 8 pellet 00 buck pattern nicely out to 20 yards. It is my favorite shotgun.

[GJM]

How do you like that stock with slugs?

[Crusader8207]

How do you like that stock with slugs?

I like it a lot. This past weekend I shot an 870 without the Mesa LEO stock and couldn't believe the noticable difference. I highly recommend it. (I shot both 00 bucks and slugs through both guns)

[Drang]

...I wish the government would eliminate the ATF and laws that prohibit citizens from using firearms used by law enforcement.

FIFY. (Or for me, at least.)
I don't realistically envision my having a need for a short barreled shotgun, but, inspired by Matthew Quigley, that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to have the option to own one. Would be easier to maneuver around Neue Schloss Drang, for one thing.

[Jeep]

FIFY. (Or for me, at least.)
I don't realistically envision my having a need for a short barreled shotgun, but, inspired by Matthew Quigley, that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to have the option to own one. Would be easier to maneuver around Neue Schloss Drang, for one thing.

Short barreled shotguns, short barreled carbines, and pistols with stocks are all potentially excellent defensive choices. If we could get rid of these ridiculous restrictions, I think we would see all kinds of better firearms develop. However, I see almost no chance that our political masters would allow it. They know nothing about weapons and their bodyguards have all the firepower they need so they see no need to expand the types of weapons we may legally own.

A society that says that a 17 inch barrel on a shotgun constitutes a felony is a society with far too many laws and far too little common sense.

[Erick Gelhaus]

We began issuing 14" 870s office wide back in '04 and now have about 260 in service. For several years previous, we had issued 18" 870s and allowed the use of personally owned ones as well. Our issue loads are a Winchester reduced recoil 8 pellet 00buck and slug; there is a 2 3/4" Brenneke slug available for those who train, zero and qual with them. The guns are issued with slings, side saddles and scattergun ghost ring sights.

Someone noted ejector failures and it is interesting how many of those we have seen.

The only shooting we have had with one involved the suppression of an ambush.

As mentioned, they are easier to deploy from a vehicle. More than a handful of us carry it with just the Brennekes for use when dealing with potentially armed suspects in vehicles.

[GJM]

I would be interested in hearing more details about your ejector failures. Given the number of shotguns you had out there, you probably had a big enough sample to see trends.