Remington 870 "Special Purpose" barrel question

[meh92]

Is there any reason why a Remington 870 12 gauge 2-3/4" & 3" "Special Purpose" barrel would not work with a regular 870 Magnum (3") receiver? Is there something which makes the "special purpose" barrel mechanically different or is "SP" just a marketting gimmick?

I have a police trade-in 870 Magnum which I'd like to outfit with a cantilever rifled barrel for deer season. I found a Remington "SP" version online for a good price ($150) and was curious if it should work.

Thanks

 

[Fred Fuller]

No reason it shouldn't work, the only difference with the SP is the external finish.

lpl/nc

 

[GreenMachine]

SP Magnum Barrels

I've owned a couple of SP 870's, also a couple of SP 1100's, plus an extra barrel for the SP 1100. All SP 1100 fixed-choke barrels had chrome-plated bores, while some SP 870's had chrome and some didn't. The SP 1100 was only made 1986-87, as the 1100 was replaced by the 1187 in 1987. Whether or not SP 870's with fixed-chokes were produced past 1986, I do not know, as RemChokes came out in 1987. I've seen SP 870's with RemChokes, so I imagine the SP 870's were produced past 1986. The chrome-plated bore SP's have a dood reputation for tight patterns, and I can testify to that trying several different turkey loads through my guns. The old Federal 1-7/8 oz #4 load pattered very well through my SP's. I remember Francis Sell, an old shotgun scribe, saying that he had a hand in the internal dimensions of Remington magnums, and that those barrels were optimized for #4 shot(lead). If anyone out there has more info on SP's, I'd enjoy hearing about it.