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Posted: 1/13/2010 10:36:38 AM EDT
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After receiving an approved Form 1, are there any advantages/disadvantages to using 14" Police barrel versus cutting down a 18.5" 870 Express or 18.5" Police Barrel for use on a 870 Express receiver?
Does the 14" factory barrel have longer forcing cone than the 18.5" barrels? I have read that some SOT's will lengthen the forcing cone when cutting the 18.5" barrels down. Basically, I would like to cut my existing barrel down to ~12.5" without messing with anything else. Bad idea? Would lengthening the forcing cone make a big improvement? |
| Hacksaw any shotgun barrel you have handy, the real-world difference between that and factory barrel will be next to zero. Short barrels can be load-sensitive, you might have to buy allot of ammo and test patterns if range and shot density make any difference to your intended use. |
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CA AOW? NICE! 
the biggest advantage to cutting will be the availability... you already have the shotgun barrel you can cut. factory remington 14.5" and 12" are f-ing impossible to find. you'll see them pop up for sale from time-to-time, and then sell in like 10 minutes. 
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Use a pipe cutter and grease the outside of the barrel to prevent marks. This makes a very clean cut. Clean the inside burr with a rod wrapped with sandpaper.
I made mine the same length as the shortest Scattergun Tech mag extension. I also used a brake cylinder hone to clean up the chamber and open up the forcing cone a bit. The forcing cone work is supposed to reduce felt recoil and it is rumored to tighten up your groups a bit. I have a spare barrel I am tempted to send off for the Vang Comp treatment, but the price seems a bit high............. |
| There's a gunsmith in the shotgun forums, GunCat, who can take care of what you want done - shorten, new bead or alternate sight, lengthen forcing cone, thread for chokes, etc. He did two barrels for me, and the work was excellent with a very fast turnaround and great customer service. If you want a CYL bore barrel, no, there is no real difference. I know Remington makes a factory 14" with a fixed MOD choke, but I'm really not sure how to order one (try an LEO distributor). A brand new 18.5" parkerized IMP CYL barrel factory direct is right at $100, and it would be a nice starting point to shorten and would have the detent ball installed. |
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I had (it's gone, don't PM me about it, etc.) a NIB factory Rem 870 14" barrel with standard no-frills sights. It went for $250.00! I still can't believe that they have such a high premium.
Unless you've got a factory AOW/SBS and want to keep everything 100% factory, just chop one yourself. It's silly to pay so much! Mike |
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Thanks for all the info!
After I got my first approved Form 1 back (AR15 pistol with VFG), I decided to sign up for another dose of mailboxstareitis for a smooth-bore AOW. This NFA stuff is addictive.
Toughest thing was finding the host (870 Order# 24823). http://www.gunreports.com/news/long_guns/Remington-Tactical-Shotgun_332-1.html |
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Quoted:
Thanks for all the info! After I got my first approved Form 1 back (AR15 pistol with VFG), I decided to sign up for another dose of mailboxstareitis for a smooth-bore AOW. This NFA stuff is addictive.
Toughest thing was finding the host (870 Order# 24823). http://www.gunreports.com/news/long_guns/Remington-Tactical-Shotgun_332-1.html You have my respect for accomplishing this in California. Mike |
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Quoted:
Hacksaw any shotgun barrel you have handy, the real-world difference between that and factory barrel will be next to zero.  Except for that nice OEM sight that will be on the factory barrel.
My SBS came with a d00sh hack job barrel... and the lack of a sight was a slight problem. 
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