1) 2 3/4 vs 3inch mag. More powder or more lead, or both? Any problem feeding the 2 3/4 in a 3 inch gun? (reliability is #1) I am looking at an 870
2) Any suggestion for the highest penetration in a 000? Is there a really hard nickle plated brand that you can suggest?
3) Any online resource for basic take down of an 870? No friendly gunstores around here
1) Generally, more of both. Most of us do 99.9% of our shotgunning with 2.75" loads, waterfowlers and turkey hunters may need a bit more oomph. For defense, standard 2 3/4" buck or slugs will do, just as they have for decades past. You need to be ready for a followup shot no matter what you are shooting, getting beat up by a 3" maggie numb is not conducive to fast accurate followups. Should be zero issues running 2.75" shells through a magnum 870, I've been doing it for years and years with Express, Wingmaster and Police 870 variations with no issues at all that can be charged to shell length.
2) If you need more penetration than 00, you probably need to be shooting slugs. Plain old 00 has been involved in more antipersonnel action than any other load, given that it is standard issue for much of the DoD and most LE agencies. No reason not to stick with what works, UNLESS 000 patterns better in your barrel. No telling what a given barrel will do with a given load until you put it on paper. But penetration with buckshot should not be an issue on soft targets, on anything else or where penetration is in doubt then slugs are in order. In years gone by both Federal and Remington have offered plated 000 loads, check their current catalogs.
3) The link provided, or the instructions in the factory owners manual, should do you just fine. There is one lamentable site on the web that waxes rapturous over detail stripping an 870- all I can say is, DON'T DO IT. The trigger plate assembly has almost no owner serviceable parts inside, it can be dunked as an assembly in whatever compound is necessary (including hot soapy water) for cleaning, blown out with compressed air and then dried and re-lubricated. There are several parts in the assembly that are likely to suffer damage if removed by an unskilled person, and it serves no purpose to detail strip it save to satisfy some sort of atavistic curiosity.
Field stripped is plenty stripped enough for maintenance on an 870, unless you've submerged it in water. Then a bit more deep cleaning is in order, especially if it was salt or brackish water. Even then, pulling off the furniture for a deep cleaning should do you, given a good wash in fresh water for everything else and a proper re-treatment of the hidden areas when clean and dry (RIG- rust inhibiting grease that is, or a heavy coat of Johnsons paste floor wax, candlewax, or whatever works for you).
If you're looking at an 870, you're looking in the right place. 8^) Not that I'm biased or anything...
Stay safe,
lpl/nc
