I have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised by the Magpul buttstock. I feared it would feel chintzy and I still think it's as ugly as the back side of a mud fence on a rainy day, but it gives most of the upsides of a pg stock in the handling department with none of the downsides.
I have all of the above.Originally Posted by TR675
Forends: My current fave is the older-older model Surefire. The newest one is slimmer, but I really like the one stamped Laser Products. It's got less of a texture on it, but seems to fit my hand better. Also, if you use the push/pull method espoused by Chief Haught and others, it seems to brace a bit better in the hand.
Stocks: I really like the Magpul unit the best, when using either a bead, rifle sights, or an Aimpoint. The grip is the best part, I think. You get a grip angle very similar to a Speedfeed pistol grip, but with the ease of manipulation that comes with a factory stock. I can hit the slide release for a select slug drill a lot easier with the Magpul unit than I can with a Speedfeed pistol grip stock.
When I'm keeping a shotgun pointed at a low ready or at a target, I can still maintain solid control while reloading. I can also fire it one handed while doing so. Not an occasion for celebration when you do it, but useful.
One real plus for the Speedfeed over a factory wood stock, is you can drill the stock for a pair of Noveske QD mounts. I did that, and it makes rigging a sling very easy. Pretty handy if you are going to wear the heavy beast all day for a class. The last shotgun class I took, I was just healing up from a sprained left wrist. Without a good sling rigged up, I would have had a LOT less fun in the class. The Magpul comes all set up - just bolt in the QD mounts. So factor that into the greater cost of the Magpul.
I have three social shotguns, all set up with the various stocks/sights/lights/optics/slings/doodads you mentioned. I keep one set up as a testbed, just so I can try various things. That's rapidly become my fave, with the Aimpoint H-1, Magpul stock, old Surefire forend. You're welcome to try them, and see what you think.
Much agree. They got that part right, and I think it's the biggest advantage to it. I may just eventually put one on all my shotguns.
Although I haven't yet fired a shotgun with this stock, from handling it my impressions are similar.
Another option is the short Hogue overmolded Shortstock, which is nice if you like the conventional style:
http://www.getgrip.com/main/overview/shotgun.html
Their forend is nice, but you might have to drill and mount a rail section if you want to add a light.
If you prefer the pistol grip variety, the Mesa Tactical Urbino is essentially a shorter Benelli:
http://mesatactical.com/products/cat...ctical-stocks/
Their receiver sling mounts are nice and not too expensive. You will want the riser version if you are planning to run an optic. I got these for our work 870s about 6-8 months before Magpul introduced theirs. I'm a huge believer in short LOP stocks, but then I have a 46" chest and 32" arms!
I have the Mesa Tactical on my Benelli M1S90, but the Hogue and Magpul units aren't built for it, sadly.
Thanks for the input everyone. If I'd bothered to read the thread from the beginning instead of relying on memory I would have found answers to most of my questions, natch.
Bill, I may take you up on that offer when the weather gets north of 40 degrees again.
Yup, see you in June.
So I'm well on my way to completing Project 870.
The base gun is a police trade-in 870P. I've changed or added the following:
*Magpul stock - I like it just fine. The OEM stock I did not care for one bit.
*OEM +2 magazine extension for a +1 Scattergun technologies extension, spring and follower. Bonus: it comes with a sling loop.
*Vang Comp big dome safety. Very nice addition.
*Mesa Tac sidesaddle/rail combo. Added a spare Aimpoint micro onto that.
*Spare Vickers sling.
I tested it last weekend with 25 rounds of Estate birdshot, 50 rounds of Federal Flite Control 8 pellet 00 buck, 12 rounds or so of Winchester low recoil buck and 20 rounds of Winchester "low recoil" LE slugs. Thoughts:
*I had been planning on SBS'ing this gun, but honestly with the reduction in length from the Magpul stock and amazingly different (and better) balance with the +1 extension instead of the +2...I just don't see the point.
*Estate is garbage ammo. Multiple FTE's and FTF's with this ammo, plus the action "locked up" repeatedly after firing - I guess this falls into the FTE category. This didn't make me feel warm and fuzzy about the gun. The issues were worse when attempting rapid fire.
*The Federal Flite Control 00 buck, OTOH, ran like s*** through a goose. No FTE or FTF issues; and it patterned as tightly as expected. This did make me feel warm and fuzzy about the gun. On rapid fire strings, I could work the action and fire a new round just about as fast as I could pull the trigger.
*The Mesa rail seems like a high quality addition; the Aimpoint on top makes hitting things all too easy. Getting it "zeroed" takes on new meaning though, by which I mean "good enough for Government work" is the order of the day.
*The Winchester slug groups (from an improvised bench) were about 6" at 25 yards. I have no idea what to expect from an 18.5 inch cylinder bore using rifled slugs, but this seemed a bit large to me. OTOH, I may have had a serious case of the flinches after the first couple of rounds, because...
*There is no such thing as a "low recoil" slug.
Initial conclusions: I'm not completely sold on the 870 as the be-all, end-all of pump shotguns. The controls are awkward, poor reliability with the garbage ammo concerns me, and I would like better slug groups, although I have no idea if that is the fault of the gun or not. However, I am really happy with this overall setup.
I'm glad you got a chance to get out and work with the shotgun, it sounds like it's coming along nicely.
Just a question, and I'm in no way attempting any kind of trollishness. You said that you were concerned about the 870's reliability with garbage ammo. Wouldn't that be a factor with most firearms? I can stick out of spec ammo into a K-frame Smith revolver, and it's probably going to have issues. And you probably saved me money on the Rio stuff - I do appreciate that.
Again, not talking any kind of smack, just wondering out loud. I'm glad you got it set up, it sounds very sweet. Are you thinking about a light for it?
Thanks, and have an enjoyable weekend.
All good questions.
I'm concerned about the ammo because I haven't tried it in different shotguns yet - so I'm not 100% willing to blame the issues completely on the ammo.
It is garbage ammo, but if it works in my Benelli and 1300 but not the 870, I'm not going to be happy. If it doesn't work well in anything, I can't blame the gun.
Light comes later.
Gotcha. It will be interesting to see how the Rio does in the two other shotguns.
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