Remington 870 Express Mag, the gun remington makes well

Well, after pointing out Remington's miserable failure called the R1, I lucked into an 870 with a 20 inch slug barrel and 3 inch frame. It a karmic kick to the junk for slandering a crappy product and then supporting that same company with my hard earned dollars, but such is life. A nice shotgun for a good price is a hard thing to pass up- so on to: ANOTHER HOME DEFENSE SHOTGUN LOAD OUT!

The plan

I have talked about how I like to put together defensive shotguns before, but to recap- the defensive shotgun to me must have 4 elements:
1- it must be reliable
2- it must be cheap
3- it must pattern well with defensive ammo
4- seriously, it must be cheap.

Every gun that will be put into a defensive role must cycle and fire with great dependability- this is not a ground breaking concept.  When we need a gun to protect ourselves and our loved ones, we do not  want to be wondering if the gun will function.

The gun must also shoot your defensive load in a way that presents a reasonable sight picture. A little deviation on single bead guns is to be expected as one switches from load to load; however, a person needs to know when the sights are lined up- the payload will go where it is supposed to.

Finally, the gun must be cheap. Why must it be cheap? because I don't have a lot of money- and with the amount of shotguns on the used market in the US, a person does not need to spend a lot to get a great value.

buckshot, slugs, and shotguns - the perfect mix of manliness

I started this gun with the idea that it would serve as a supplement to my Mossberg 500.  As such, I purchased an Uncle Mike's shell caddy for the buttstock. It was promptly stolen by my father, who put it on his hunting 870. Heavy is the danger of living in a home where everyone is a gun owner. Accessories, ammo, guns, and all sorts of things get consumed and commandeered by any one of several family members.  I will eventually pick up a replacement for this gun- though I refuse to drive back to the store right now.

the 870 has one of the smoothest bargain priced actions available (IMHO)

This shotgun, as are all 870s I have ever used, was boringly reliable. I quickly shot through slugs, buckshot, and birdshot without any jams, misfeeds, or misfortunes of any kind.

I did have one interesting thing happen though with birdshot. While shooting some federal bulk pack / value pack birdshot, I noticed while policing up my empties that several hulls had completely split along the length of the shell. Reloaders should note that these cheap shells might not be a great choice for securing hulls for reloading purposes. It only happened to 2 hulls out of the whole box of 25, but it is enough to be annoying for the volume shotshell reloader.

I have always thought that the action on the remington 870 was superior to that of the mossberg 500 as far as 'feel' while cycling is concerned, however as far as functionality goes- I think it is a total wash between them. I prefer the doorless loading gate and centralized safety of the mossberg over the remington, but the remington has a smoother trigger and a hefty feel to help absorb recoil that beats out the mossberg. These guns really match up well, and I suspect I will have to compare them outright at some point to see if I can really come up with a  preference and justification for one over the other.

bringing the booms

When it comes to ammunition selection, I have a stringent process whereby I compare loads in an extremely complex manner, taking notes and performing a number of intricate tests. The entire process is far to difficult to explain here- but a brief paraphrase might go something like this:

buy cheapest defensive load available.
shoot it.
if it works, buy more and call it good.

note the slight variation in length on these 2 3/4 inch shells

With handguns, I actually care and do try to pick good loads based on expansion, feeding, and other real variables- but with shotguns. . . not so much. If I can stuff it in the tube and it will come out the other end at an appropriate time and go to the place I point it with a reasonable margin of error, I'm generally okay with it.

I use 00 buckshot, and have had good luck with it for my informal 'blowing up water jug' tests. I have shot a lot of the S&B stuff (pictured on the right side of the photo at left) but recently picked up some federal for a good price(center of photo at left). It also blows up water jugs in a satisfactory manner, and can be had in boxes of 25 for between 15-20 dollars. I also tend to keep a few slugs on hand, and will choose anything that shoots a good group at 50 yards and costs less than a buck a shot (left of photo at left).

In rereading this post so far, I realize that I sound like a really cheap bastard- so allow me to explain. I truly believe that it is better to own a less costly gun, shooting less costly ammunition more frequently than it is to own a nicer gun, shooting nicer ammunition only occasionally. My guns get shot and they get shot often. I don't baby the finish, I don't always clean them as soon as I am done, and I like to shoot in volume. As such, my guns get scratched and scarred quite often- and digest large quantities of ammo. That is why I am always price conscious.

gun cleaned, and ready to go with some ammo

I keep a variety of loads available on the stock of the gun because I believe the defensive shotgun is not limited to just home invasion / burglar type scenarios.  The home defense shotgun is the gun you grab to dispatch wounded deer, aggressive coyotes, curious skunks that are playing too close to your pets or children, rabid animals, or any other of a multitude of not that unlikely occurrences. The defensive shotgun must be kept handy- and gets use as woodchuck eradication in the garden, or crow elimination in the back tree.

Yes the gun has to be ready to defend hearth and home from the aggressive human predator, but it can be pressed into service for deer hunting or bird hunting as well.  As such, the defensive shotgun must wear many hats - and it does so very well.

My family has always had an affinity for the 870- and has made good use of them for all of the above scenarios. the 4+1 capacity of the gun does put it at a slight disadvantage to other shotguns in its class, but honestly- capacity isn't a big focus of mine with these type of guns.

note the stolen shell caddy on the top 870.

My mossberg cost me about 185 bucks when all was said and done. This gun cost me 190 (195 once I replace the shell carrier).  Single barrel and double barrel shotguns are also viable home defense options- but by me, they are less popular. That means that while I was looking at the used gun rack today at my local shop, a used NEF shotgun in 20 gauge was going for 175. To me, for another 10-20 dollars I would much rather have a reliable pump gun not just because they hold more ammo- but because I really think they hold more value.

It would be a hard sell indeed for me to spend nearly 200 dollars on a used NEF shotgun. That is not to say they aren't nice- but just that I think that is a very high amount for what you are getting. Conversely, a pump gun can do anything that a single-shot gun can, and much more. to pass up that additional flexibility for 10 or 20 dollars seems a bit foolish.

All in all, for under 200 bucks I think I got a fine deal. I don't know if the 870 will totally eclipse my mossberg 500 for defensive duty, but having options is always nice.