Crimson Trace shoot (Part 2 of 4): Remington 870 pump shotgun

As I navigate through a new industry and career, I have been meeting a lot of fantastic people. Many of the folks I’ve met are humble, caring, and excited to help their fellow shooters. An example of this humility- while I was waiting my turn on a stage, a gentleman approached me and addressed me by name to ask me how I was enjoying the shoot. I told him how much I was enjoying it, and over the course of a few minutes I learned that he worked for Crimson Trace. When I asked him what he did for them, he said “Oh, strategy and product development” in a nonchalant manner. So I asked him “Oh, are you a product manager?” and he said “No, I have this CEO title and try to keep the company running.” I had no idea who Crimson Trace CEO Lew Danielson was until I met him, and I loved his low-key style.

So, let’s get to the guns! The Crimson Trace 3-gun shoot had one class: Open. What shotgun did I use? A Remington 870 Tactical pump shotgun with an 18.5” barrel. I was totally outgunned.

My sponsor, Bass Pro Shops, is helping me upgrade my equipment, but of course these things take time. I am planning to get a Benelli M2 and look forward to getting a review up once it’s all ready.

My 870 has an extension tube bringing my capacity to 6+1. I’ve got a Tactical Mesa side saddle, a Speedfeed IV-S pistol grip, and a Surefire 318LMG forend WeaponLight. I love my 870 which is designed for fun and home-defense in mind, but its heavy weight and pump-action in Open class (where semi-auto is standard) put me at a distinct disadvantage. Some folks had 23-round XRAIL systems to truly leverage the creativity Open class allows.

A closer look at the SureFire WeaponLight and Mesa Tactical Side Saddle. The SureFire was perfect for a night time shoot.

The brutal part was a few stages had 8 shotgun targets lined up in a row, and so even if I made 7 perfect shots with my max capacity, I’d still have to burn a few seconds reloading a single round. Here’s one stage example (note that clays C1-C8 have to be engaged with a shotgun). But as I mentioned in an earlier post, even though there wasn’t a ton of pressure to win, there’s something inside of me that just hates losing, and I at least wanted to put on a decent showing.

In the third post in this series, coming soon, I’ll talk about the night vision and IR gear plus the two fully automatic machine guns we fired.