Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns Remington 870 Choke- Bore for Rem Chokes or New Barrel?

Hello,

I have a fixed choke 870 that I would like to convert to the Rem chokes. Is it cheaper to have the current barrel bored and tapped for the screw-in chokes or am I better off to just go find a new barrel that takes the screw-ins? If it is feasible and cheaper to have the barrel bored, who is a good smith to have do the job? Thanks a million.

Might be a toss-up, but it's also very possible that Rem-chokes can't be installed in your existing barrel; not enough sidewall. Your best option might be a set of Tru-Chokes installed. Those will work in a Rem barrel about 90% of the time, or more..

I don't know the price of a new barrel, but Tru-Chokes installation, plus 3 standard tubes of your choice runs $135 here..

Google Mike Orlen Gunsmith or visit the forms over on shotgun world. Mike Orlen is a shotgun smith that does a lot of choke work and is pretty highly recommended. He will put a set of tube in your barrel for about $40-$50. He did a barrel for me and he is noted for fast turn around.

Fixed choke Remington barrels are too thin to set up for Remchokes.
The choice is having Tru-Chokes fitted or purchasing a new Remchoke barrel.

870 barrels arent expensive. Would probably be cheaper and more practical to buy a barrel.

all the barrels I have priced are over 200. I have done the tru chokes with success that's the way I would go

I am getting ready to send another batch of barrels to Mike Orlen to put tubes in. So far he has done about eight of them for me in both single and double barrel guns.

He has not been able to put RemChokes in any of the 870 barrels I have sent him. Through several different smiths I have had at least a half-dozen 870 barrels done and none of them were thick enough and had to use True-lock.

I might ask what you are going to use the gun for. As I age I am finding that I see less and less need for interchangeable chokes for hunting. Steel shot has made the full choke pretty much obsolete and I'm finding a IC or lt modified will kill a pheasant to about 40 yds but not turn it to hamburger at 20 i.e. it is a pretty versatile game choke for everything.
Take a look at the shotgunners beware thread a few threads below and you can see a choke tube can be a source of problems that you don't have with a fixed barrel. Just my $.02 but I would think twice before going to tubes. My guns with tubes haven't had the IC tube out of it in years other than to clean lube and replace a step I wouldn't have with a fixed choke barrel.