870 is a great choice IMO and I definitely recommend one. I have an express with an 18.5" barrel and +2 shot extension. Loaded up with 00 its a great HD gun. Plus as others stated buy some more barrels to go along with it and you can use it for anything you want
-
If you enjoy the forum please consider supporting it by signing up for a NES Membership The benefits pay for the membership many times over.
-
Be sure to enter the NES/Pioneer Valley Arms February Giveaway ***Smith & Wesson SD9VE 9MM***
Thinking about an 870...
- Thread starter Pants
- Start date
rep308
NES Member
3" shell
Thank you all- great input! Now I just need to decide which one to get. I'm leaning towards the 7 round synthetic Express. I really like the Tactical Express because of the sights, but I'm not feeling that mall ninja breacher choke. I'm assuming that can be removed?
Scarecrow
Army Veteran
I was thinking, originally, of just getting 00 buck for home defense loads. I might just use the #4 shot up at a range and refill with 00 buck actually. Thinking about it a bit more, chances are the shots will be down the stairs (from the 2nd floor to the first) so any 'stray shots' will either hit the front door, or ground outside. I might alternate the #4 and 00 in the shotgun.
As for the .45 ACP rounds... I'm more confident with the pistol. I won't 'spray and pray' with it. I also figured that by the time the .45 rounds (230g hollow points) went through the inside wall, insulation, and hit the outside wall, they would have spent enough energy to not go much further. I don't have any actual data on that, so I could be off-base. Does sound like something that we should test though. Build up some mock walls and use different rounds on them at different ranges to see the effects. Group shoot?? Hopefully we can do it in NH, so I can take part.![[smile]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/001.gif "Smile [smile]")
If you are reloading, try using rock salt... I have heard it gets the point across without being able to shoot through a school.
Just an opinion, I keep mine with 2 rounds of some kind of target load, then the rest of the tube is all slugs. If the first two don't get the point across... Then again, my primary has been the 1911 the whole time, so maybe I should swap out the loads in the shotgun. I need to rethink this, I think.
Golddiggie
NES Member
Never put any weight into the rock salt thing... Since I'm not reloading, I'm not about to try it out. Besides, I can only imagine what that would do to the inside of the barrel. While one, or two, rounds shouldn't do any harm, I'd be looking to clean the barrel ASAP after running that through it.
As the pages in the link showed, the wadding actually caused more damage than the salt did. IMO, far less effective than #4 shot would be.
I'm going to be getting more 00 buck shells for home defense. I'll probably use the #4 I have to get a better feel of the shotgun.
Ha, I remember my grandfather telling me stories about his grandfather shooting kids with rock salt, when they would pick from one of his fruit trees. I was pissed when I found out my grandfather gave that shotgun away. It was an old muzzleloader double barrel.
The salt never comes in contact with the inside of the barrel because it's inside the shot cup of the plastic wad, only the plastic of the wad itself touches the barrel.
StevieP
NES Member
Winchester pdx1 with one slug and three 00 buckshot balls, is the shiznit. I've put a box of it through paper targets, and it is wicked. Anyone breaking into my house and threatening my family isn't getting "scared off" with birdshot. 18" mossberg bbl on my 870 express.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2
That Guy
Banned
Not for nothing, but I think the point of the rock salt was that it was supposed to be a less-lethal load. If you wanted to cause an actual wound, the rock salt would be a crappy choice, I agree, but if you are attempting to scare someone off your property, etc., hearing a shotgun blast and feeling that sting would probably put some pep in your step as you run away, which was the desired effect.
That said, inside my home I am not looking to get you to run away - I am looking to neutralize you as a potential threat, so I'm unlikely to use rock salt. I prefer 00B if I were to keep a shotgun as my home defense weapon (I don't - I use a handgun). But like sevenMM said, I cannot understand why people are fascinated with alternating loads. And unless your shotgun is the only weapon in your house, I can't imagine using a slug at all. If you want a slug, why not use a handgun or a rifle?
I had 3 870's (one for bean bags) when I was a cop. Loved them. There's a reason law enforcement carry 00 buck and slugs. I can't imagine why anyone would do anything different--the 870 being a defensive platform.
Edit: Slugs are admittedly overkill. They were mostly a standby for shooting out tires.
Edit: Slugs are admittedly overkill. They were mostly a standby for shooting out tires.
Last edited:
Just to throw some gas on the fire:
The 870 is an excellent gun, I have one with a short barrel for in the house and a 28 inch barrel for the outside.
If the only thing you will use it for is HD, then consider at SW Governor.
You can use .45 colt, .45 acp and .410 shot shells.
Naysayers will say you never want a .410 for self defense but recent improvements in shotgun tech has improved the shotshell significantly. Using a .410 shell with 00 buck gives you 3 .40 cal balls traveling at the speed of a .45acp and it's a lot easier to handle in close quarters, easier to store and access. And you get 6 rounds.
I'm not saying that it's better than an 870 by any means, but it would do what you want to do, and it's a bit more versatile.
Just a suggestion to think about.
The 870 is an excellent gun, I have one with a short barrel for in the house and a 28 inch barrel for the outside.
If the only thing you will use it for is HD, then consider at SW Governor.
You can use .45 colt, .45 acp and .410 shot shells.
Naysayers will say you never want a .410 for self defense but recent improvements in shotgun tech has improved the shotshell significantly. Using a .410 shell with 00 buck gives you 3 .40 cal balls traveling at the speed of a .45acp and it's a lot easier to handle in close quarters, easier to store and access. And you get 6 rounds.
I'm not saying that it's better than an 870 by any means, but it would do what you want to do, and it's a bit more versatile.
Just a suggestion to think about.
