A couple of years ago we posted a step by step tutorial of a tactical shotgun build. In it, we took a beat up Remington 870 Express and turned it into a cutting edge tactical shotgun. Recently, we set out to build a custom defense shotgun based on a new Remington 870 Police Magnum.
The Remington 870 Police guns come off a separate assembly line at the plant. These guns are subject to a 23 station checklist, have a longer magazine spring, heavier sear and carrier sog springs, a parkerized finish, compressed metal trigger plate, and machined ejectors and extractors. From our experience, the fit and finish on the Police guns tends to be superior. Our base gun came equipped with a walnut stock and 18″ IC barrel.
We decided to make the following upgrades to the shotgun:
Install ghost ring sights with a rail for optics
Install an extended magazine tube (we prefer the handling characteristics of the one shot extension over the two shot versions)
Install a white light for target identification
Install a reduced length-of-pull stock
Refinish in Cerakote
This article will chronicle our experiences building a custom defensive shotgun and is presented for information purposes only. We are careful to observe all safe firearm handling and machine shop safety practices during it. If you wish to attempt a project like this, please do so under supervision of an experienced gunsmith.
For more information on the Remington 870, visit Remington’s website.
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