My cousin bought a new 870 and wants to put a scope on it. What is best, drill and tap or saddle mount? Thanks in advance for your response.
I would go with the drill and tap personally.
Drill and tap. I use a Bushnell Red/Green dot on mine.
While some hunters are happy with various saddle mounts, most find that having the receiver drilled and tapped is a better option.
It is very important that the smith who drills and taps the receiver have experience with those guns and that it's all straight.
One thing to remember with that 870 is that no matter if it's drilled and tapped or a saddle mount is used, the sight is on the receiver and the barrel is a separate part of the gun.
Keeping the relationship of the sight to the barrel is as important as the mount that's used for the sight.
On an 870 it's the magazine cap that holds the barrel in the receiver and if the torque is changed on that cap, it changes the relationship of the barrel to the receiver and the sight.
I recommend marking the cap and the barrel band in some way, scratch or nail polish for example, and then sighting in the gun. In that way you can make sure that the cap is always tightened to the same torque.
My best results have been to tighten the cap as tight as possible by hand and then using some padded pliers, 3-4 "clicks" after that.
Thanks,
Clark
I say drill and tap ive been using a saddle mount on my 870 for the past two years. I've had a problem with rust underneath the mount. I hunt in the rain alot though
drill and tap
There is just enough metal in the receiver to drill and tap it. I would also suggest that you put Loctite on the threads of the screws holding the base to the receiver to secure them.
FC