My HD 870 is equipped with a Mossberg 18" bead-equipped barrel. This barrel works fine and patterns great with Federal FliteControl 00 buck. It patterns tight out to 25yds (longest straight shot in my house is 15yds). As for Slugs, I've only shot those out to 15yds, but I'm able to put them all into a softball sized group with very little practice (I shoot 5-10 slugs per year). I'm confident in the bead for the mission I have in mind for this gun.
That said, at the local Cabelas' "Bargain Cave" they have a few Remington 18" barrels with iron sights for just over $100. I'm tempted to buy one, but am hesitant to mess with a system that currently works. I'm also not the best with traditional iron sights. On all of my iron sight equipped long guns, I've switched over to receiver-mounted aperture sights.
Considering the new barrel got me to thinking about other options, such as a receiver mounted ghost ring (would keep the same barrel, just upgrade the front sight) or a red dot (gunsmith to add rail). Regarding red dots, my vision smears them a bit, so they're not the best for precision work at longer distances, but would be fine for HD distances.
I also have to consider the possibility that this gun could be wielded by non-gun people who would be unaware of how to use the additional complexities of red dots, ghost rings, etc.
So, the question is, do I keep the bead, swap out the entire barrel to gain iron sights (and go through a lengthy vetting process), or consider something else such as a receiver-mounted ghost ring or red dot?
Oof, that's a lot of words for a simple question.
Chris