In 1942 the U.K. issued approximately 500 of these to the civilian defense forces or Auxilary Units ( The A.U., Churchill's Underground Army) for use as sniper rifles. Modified with a artillery scope and a silencer, these rifles were meant to be used for disruption in case the Nazis invaded. (Thanks to www.rifleman.org.uk).

The particular rifle I have is an early version, probably 1941 manufacture, and is the standard .22 LR with open sights. Later models have a slightly more tapered forend stock and a sculpted area in the stock under the bolt handle. All Model 74 .22 LR have a magazine capacity of 14.  Barrel length is 24 inches with an overall length of 43-3/4 inches.

Apparently, they caught a bad rap among users for the difficulty in maintenance. In order to remove the bolt assembly from the bolt chamber, the safety MUST be in the fire position and de-cocked.  Since the only way to de-cock the rifle is to fire it, this meant either putting an empty shell in the chamber or dry firing it.  Once the bolt assembly was out, caution had to be used when clening as it is complicated to disassemble and reassemble properly.  If not paying very close attention it could spring apart and throw parts all over.  Dry firing a rimfire is never a real good idea as it could bend the firing pin. Just for the record, mine has absolutely no problem with the firing pin, but just in case, I found a replacement firing pin for $27.00 from Midway USA.

It took me a good while to figure out the right way to remove the bolt assembly.  No matter what I tried I could not remove it to clean it. A dirty bolt carrier was causing stovepipes on every round fired.  I put the gun away until I found a tutorial online showing how to remove it. I never would have thought to slide the safety to fire and pull the trigger simply to remove the bolt assembly but it worked.  After some serious cleaning of the bolt chamber and the bolt assembly (without totally stripping the assembly down) and reassembling, the rifle fires flawlessly.

Considering resale on these rifles is less than the cost of a Ruger 10/22, I decided I would trick it out a little and see what I could do with it.  I installed a rail on the forend onto which I attached a bipod and a sling stud.  I drilled the butt stock and attached a sling stud about 2 and 1/2 inches from the end. I fitted it with a Butler Creek standard sling (modified a bit for my preferences). Then I threw on a UTG Saddle Mount Scope Mount made for a Remington 870 and a Leapers UTG 4 x 32 L.E.R. Mill Dot scope. Camo is Khaki with Forest Green and Dove Grey and Brown.

Update 3/22/2012

My 30 year old son and I did a little target practice.  3" round Shoot-N-C discs at 25 yards. I had already zeroed the scope so I had the advantage. He had a little trouble adjusting to the scope so we shot a set of 4 targets for him to get used to it then got serious.  Far left in picture of targets is his third set, 14 shots.  Next to it is his fourth set, 28 rounds.  Then my set of 28 shots. Last, on the right his last set of 28 shots. As you can see,  he pretty much obliterated the center of that little Shoot-N-C target. By then we were losing daylight and had to start picking up the brass.  Great little rifle to shoot.  We started out shooting American Eagle CJHP and switched to Blazer round nose.  The Blazer actually performed better ballistically for him, however we had several stovepipes with it (about 1 per magazine) and none with the American Eagle. I didn't notice any difference ballistically between the two.  Could have been the American Eagle is a bit hotter load and he was letting the slight bit of recoil affect his shots by keeping too loose a grip.  I stabilized the rifle by putting my left hand on top of the barrel and pressing down, whereas he had a more traditional hold. 

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I just wanted to add a flashlight.  Then, I decided, what the heck, and I am going all out. 

So, where to begin?  What distinguishes a "tactical " shotgun from any other shotgun?  Shotguns are meant for short to medium range game hunting, 25 to 35 yards.  Excepting, of course, the deer slug guns which can reach out to 100 yards or better with pretty good accuracy.  Long barrels keep the shot bunched together longer and allow a better aim at distance. Shot capacity is minimal for various reasons.  Weight is one consideration as well as game laws which restrict the number of allowable shells.  A long length of pull resulting from the way a hunting shotgun is aimed and fired.  Usually held and fired from the firing shoulder across the chest allowing your body to line up laterally with the winged game.  But when we switch to tactical, we shorten every thing up.  We want our body more abreast to the prey and the shotgun more perpendicular to our chest.  A shorter barrel makes the gun easier to bring to bear on our target and facilitates movement through close quarters better.  More shot capacity means fewer reloads in danger situations and more rounds available to put on target in the initial encounter.

Length of pull is a personal issue.  It has to "feel" right and yet allow for the proper placement of cheek to stock for aligning the sight picture.  Contrary to some beliefs, you do still have to aim a shotgun. Although at very close range, pointing may be as effective if you can train yourself to use it as an extension of your pointing finger.  In most instances, we would still want our length of pull shortened up a bit for tactical versus hunting applications or lengthened a bit for comfort. I want to be able to pull that butt right up against my chest and have a good sight picture quickly.

First thing is to shorten the barrel. It's the classic style 870 with the excellent wood stocks and beautiful checkering. It has a 28" barrel with a vent rib and full choke, chambered for 2 -3/4" only. Although I have shot 3" magnums through it with no problem ( I do not reccomend you do that, but it works fine for me) but, I see no reason for 3" magnums in a tactical shotgun.  I added Tru Glo front bead sights and a butt stock shell carrier from Cabelas. Yes, I taped it on and yes, it is on the wrong side.  That's the way I like it and it suits me fine. You can add your shell carrier anyway you want. 

So what size barrel?  18" or 20" would be appropriate.  But, it depends on the shot capacity I want.  An 18" barrel should be a max of 7 shots as we don't want the shot extension to protrude beyond the barrel. Ideally (for me) I want the REM Choke so I can add the DNA collector  but I can't justify the added cost (about $150 extra over the 18 or 20 inch fixed choke barrels).  But I have plans to build my own DNA collector down the road.   I could just cut the barrel off and de-solder the rib, but I want the option of being able to convert it back to a hunting gun.  If you are thinking about this, remember, you don't have to hack that rib off.  Just heat up the mounts with a propane torch to loosen the solder and snap 'em off with a channel lock pliers.  Then cut the barrel to length with a hack saw and file/sand and paint or blue the barrel.  I found a Remington 18" Cylinder Bore Bead Sight barrel at Cabelas for $125.00 so I picked it up. I ordered a 7 shot extension from Wilson Combat for $50.00

Next, a butt stock.  I decided on the Knoxx SpecOps NRS (no recoil reduction) adjustable stock from Blackhawk.

I considered the Recoil reducing version but I have been shooting 12 gauge for 40 years and never had an issue with recoil.  I plan on porting the barrel myself, which will help. I don't plan on ploughing 100 rounds through it in one day like trap shooting so I expect there won't be a problem. If I do experience an issue I'll replace the stock with a regular AR15 style and a buffer tube made for the shotgun or I'll just slip a gel pack recoil pad over the butt and tape it on. I chose the Blackhawk for quality and the adjustability will allow me to select the correct length of pull that feels comfortable with whatever I am wearing. I'll proably add a shell carrier to the stock so I have more rounds available like I do now.  

So that's the essentials.  A proper barrel, a good butt stock and a shot shell extension.  Now for the cool additions. 

Sights.  The simplest is the bead sight.  It is, afterall, a shotgun.  Bead sights are effective and easy to bring on target.  They have worked for years.  Of course I could choose rifle sights or ghost ring sights.  I have an issue with how fast they could be brought to bear though.  We are talking very short range here.  25 yards or less.  But there is an option that allows the use of bead or rifle sights in conjunction with something a little more modern and first and second kind of cool.  I can go with a saddle mount sight.  The proper saddle allows space between the receiver and the mount to see the hard sights while allowing a holographic sight to be added. Holographic sights with no magnification have proven extremely effective in short range for the ability to bring them to bear quickly and accurately. So that's my choice. But I want to do this without spending a lot of money.  So pass on the expensive ones from Eotech and etc.  UTG imports a good one for about $30.00 and also has a saddle mount for a good price. It's also available in a quick mount version for slightly higher price. In the event of battery failure on the dot sight, there is enough room between the mount and receiver to line up the bead sight or rifle sights and still have a good sight picture quickly and easily.

 
Forend.  It seems like everybody and their dog makes a "tactical" forend for the 870.  My idea of a tactical forend is one with rails.  So I selected the MAKO tri-rail forend.  This forend has a full length rail on the underside and a short rail on each side of the front end.  The rear has ridged grips. It's of polymer construction and well made. I also selected a UTG RB-FGRP170B PRO Foldable Foregrip.  This unit has removable slats to allow insertion of pressure plates for lighting options and a removable bottom cover for strage of extra batteries, etc.

Sling.  Of course, being tactical, it has to have a sling.  After looking at all kinds of single point, 2 point, 3 point, combination and convertible slings from just about every sling manufacturer, I settled on the simple SuperSling2+.  A common 2 point sling with fantastic adjustability.  Will suit me fine.  It has Talon quick release swivels and is 1 and 1/4 inches wide nylon strap.  The Blackhawk stock has a swivel stud built in, but I needed a way to attach the sling to the front.  I picked up a rail mount sling adaptor from Shooter's Ridge.

Lights. Back to the original intention. To add a flashlight mount and a flashlight. There are as many light mounts as there are lights. From simple barrel clamps to rail mounted clamps.  But I found a light and laser combo.  The utility of a laser on a shotgun is questionable but the coolness factor is awesome.  So I picked up another UTG product, the ELP38 Tactical LED Flashlight / Laser Combo.  I decided to go with a 2.4" Tri-Rail barrel/magazine clamp for mounting.  The laser can be locked into several positions and has elevation and windage adjustments so it can be aligned with the dot sight for better accuracy.

The Finished Item.   Still need to adjust  the location of the fore grip, but I'll need to practice with it to find the proper location for me.  Here is "Brutus".

Man: "Hello?"

Woman: "Honey, it's me. Are you at the club?"

Man: "Yes."

Woman: "I am at the mall now and found this beautiful leather coat. It's only $1,000. Is it okay if I buy it,

sweetie?"

Man: "Sure, go ahead if you like it that much. I want you to be happy."

Woman: "I also stopped by the Mercedes dealership and saw the new models. I saw one that I really liked. It's a

beautiful silver."

Man: "How much?"

Woman: "$60,000."

Man: "Okay, but for that price I want it with all the options."

Woman:"Great! Oh, and just one more thing. The house we wanted last year is back on the market. They're asking $950,000."

Man: "Wow, then go ahead and make them an offer, but just offer
$895,000."

Woman: "Okay. Thank you darling — you're wonderful! I'll see you later! I love you!"

Man: "Bye, I love you too."

The man hangs up. The other men in the locker room are looking at him in astonishment.

Then he asks, "Anyone know who this phone belongs to?"