Is there such a thing as an extended slide release for the Remington 870?

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kozak6

New member
Is there such a thing as an extended slide release for a Remington 870?

My poor Ithaca is getting lonely, so I was toying with the idea of getting her some company.

I want to like the Remington 870, I really do, except that the slide release is a problem for me. Since it's on the wrong side of the trigger guard, I can't reach it with my trigger finger unless I take my hand off the grip.

Is there an aftermarket slide release that extends across the front of the trigger guard so that I might be able to hit it without taking my hand off the grip?

And also, on the Remington 870, is the slide release the same thing as the action bar release or action bar lock?
 
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hogdogs

Staff In Memoriam
Kozak, It is the location of both the safety and the slide release that made me a mossberg pump kinda guy. I know the Wingmaster may be a "finer" arm and in more squad cars etc... But Mossberg is the only choice for me for HD so it also my choice for all other duty as I am not a collector of specialized arms....
Brent
 
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kozak6

New member
I actually don't mind the crossbolt safety.

I almost never use the safety, but when I do, I'm used to it since my 10/22, Ithaca, and some of my airguns also have crossbolt safeties.
 
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Slopemeno

New member
If you load the gun properly, you can disregard the slide release.

Make absolutely certain the gun is empty. Point it in a safe direction and, wait, check one more time...it IS empty, right? OK, dry fire it in a safe direction. DONT rack the forend.

Now, load the magazine. Don't cycle the forend. You now have a shotgun that won't require you to hit the slide release- you merely have to cycle the forend and the gun is ready to fire.
 
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Nnobby45

New member
If you load the gun properly, you can disregard the slide release.
Click to expand...

Yes, but if you need to UNLOAD the shotgun, there's no disregarding the ACTION BAR LOCK, since learning it's function is critical to the process.

For the left handed shooter, it's no trick whatsoever to learn how to operate the action bar lock with left forefinger---- anymore than operating it with the right forefinger for the right handed shooter.

I'm not criticizing those who prefer the tang safety. It's just that excuses aren't necessary. Many thousands of left handed shooters have easily adapted to the manual of arms for the 870 Remington. From LE to bird hunters, to home defenders.

And, as stated, there's nothing wrong with preferring another system, such as the Mossberg.

Just my thoughts on the matter.:cool:
 
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dm1333

New member
I'm a Mossberg fan because of the safety and action bar release placement. I was holding a used shotgun the other day that had the same type of safety. It might have been a Browning BPS but I can't remember for sure. Now I'll have to take a ride back to that gun shop just to find the make and model of that gun!
 
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Katrina Guy

Moderator
if you find an 870 slide extenstion let us know!

Why I plan on getting (whenever Academy SPorting gets restocked) the Mossberg home defense version.
I had thought myself of how much easier it would be to access if it stuck out a little longer. Why I think most Mossberg users, use Mossbergs instead.
 
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dm1333

New member
I'm not trying to knock the 870 but the finish on our duty guns really does not impress me much. I lived on the west coast for 13 years and never had any rust on my Mossberg but we had to clean our 870s every week to keep the rust off of them. This happened at all three of the stations I was at.

The worst thing about the 870 for me is that I pinch my pinky finger everytime we go to the range! I have a permanent oval scar from all of the blood blisters and torn off skin on my right pinky fingers. I can shoot a hundred rounds through my Mossy with no problems but the 870 slide is my enemy!
 
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Creature

Moderator
If you load the gun properly, you can disregard the slide release.

Make absolutely certain the gun is empty. Point it in a safe direction and, wait, check one more time...it IS empty, right? OK, dry fire it in a safe direction. DONT rack the forend.

Now, load the magazine. Don't cycle the forend. You now have a shotgun that won't require you to hit the slide release- you merely have to cycle the forend and the gun is ready to fire.
Click to expand...

Very similar to "cruiser safe" or "cruiser carry"...
 
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Slopemeno

New member
Exactly. The bottom line is you can shoulder the gun left-or-right side, and disregard the safety.

Unloading the gun is not something you'd be doing under pressure, and is far down the list.

I own an 8-shot 500 and two 870's, and I use my 18" 870. Theres nothing wrong with the slide release on the 870.
 
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Nnobby45

New member
Unloading the gun is not something you'd be doing under pressure, and is far down the list.
Click to expand...

Knowing how to safely unload one's shotgun without fumbling around under any circumstances seems like basic stuff to me.

I'm one of those old fashioned types who thinks that intimate famililarity with one's life saving equipment is even MORE important under pressure. If one can learn to shoot, operate the slide, etc. as a trained rote function, one can just as easily (more easily) learn how to make their shotgun safe, while still under the stress of the immediate aftermath, by pushing the action bar lock, opening the action, and making the shotgun safe.
 
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Katrina Guy

Moderator
I got the Persuader

Only because of the slide release easy access, the tang safety is another plus. While it may not be as smooth as the 870, when my life is on the line I'll put up with some looseness of fit for vital controls that are very accessible without fiddling or fumbling.
 
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Ron L

New member
My son is generally right-handed but shoots left. Trying to teach him was a debacle until we bought him his 500. We got the 500 mainly for the tang safety, but the slide release is a moot point since he's using his left hand.

Only drawback is that I have to practice with his gun too because I'd hate to have to borrow his gun, find a deer in the crosshairs, and have to fumble with my finger looking for the safety. Yeah, I know - practice - boo-hoo, right? :D
 
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Cerick

New member
yes a tang safety is easier to use and more ambi friendly but, with practice, you wont notice either safety and the gun will have already fired before you know what happened. Practice until it is instinct.
 
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xm21

New member
I would think that an extended slide release would make it real easy to accidently engage it,maybe at a very bad time.I also think that Nnobby 45 has a good point,blind familiarity with your weapon of choice is always a good thing whether trying to hit a flushing grouse in the woods,or confronting an intruder in a dark house.When I bought my 870 Express(after years of shooting an Ithaca 87)I drilled holes in the side of some shells emptied the powder,sprayed breakfree to deaden the primer and after they dried filled with silicon sealant to make some dummy cartridges(snap caps were lighter and no stores near me had dummy shells)then I practiced loading,unloading,and dry firing,and when actually shooting mixing them in with live shells to get used to using the slide release to clear and get the gun back in action.I also think it is important to be able to field strip your weapon in the dark(or blindfolded)by feel and muscle memory.
 
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Katrina Guy

Moderator
practice practice practice,

Practice what exactly, how to reach a slide release that is unreachable for most fingers without switching hands?
 
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Slopemeno

New member
I used to win quite a few 'side matches' at our local Action Shooting club with a borrowed 870. The drill was- shoot five Pepper Poppers, *clear* the 870, then transition to your belt gun and shoot the next five (or 10 x 10, sometimes). The loaner 870 had an extension, and you could load as many or as few rounds as you liked. Best time won the pot.

My technique was to shoot, and if I had a round remaining, remove my index finger from the trigger guard, extend my second finger and slide my hand forward and *sweep backwards across the slide release*, and clear. You end up with your ring finger against the back of the trigger guard. Once the action is open or the gun is clear, return to a normal grip.

I think you'll find the more experienced a shooter is, the less problems they'll have with the 870's control layout.
 
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kozak6

New member
I guess.

I was just hoping to be able to make an 870 feel a little bit more like my Ithaca.

Is there any particular reason it's on the left side of the trigger guard? It seems like an interesting place to put it, so I wonder if there's a good reason for it.
 
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