The Quiet Survivalist Remington TAC 14

Ive been playing with a few new toys in the last few months and one of my favorites has been the Remington TAC 14 12 gauge ” Other Weapon”.

First off, yes its legal. End of story. For all you NFA lawyers out there don’t email or comment giving your wrong opinion or legal interpretation’s.

I don’t care what, where or how you define it. The ATFE says its an “Other” as long as it stays over 26 inches long.

As long as it is indeed legal here in the great state of Arizona, and I enjoy having it with me I will run it as I modified it to be a more useful piece of gear.

Why?

Ive always wanted a 12 inch 12 gauge 870 since I saw a US Marshall carrying one many years ago. It was in a nylon shoulder rig made by Eagle Industries and this was a very long time before tactical was cool.

It was slung strong side, and came out from under a coat for when things got up close, personal and ugly. They were referred as the Witness Protection Model and some time on Google will give you more information about them than I feel like writing.

If its important to you, go for it

WARNING

Do not modify this is any way to make it shorter by changing pistol grips or a shorter barrel. It will be shorter than 26 inches long and you will have created a Short Barreled Shotgun, or an Any Other Weapon. Both require a tax stamp and a felony if you do not follow the law.

Leave the barrel and pistol grip alone.

Period.

End of story and if you modify it in any way you deserve to be exactly where it will land you.

What I did

I spend some quality time online reading, and way to much time writing other things to fall into the trap put forth by other sites about how this would be perfect “if”.

I even found some sold at over $900 “customized”.

Sorry, cant do it. If you like your money spent in that manner more power to you, but Ive never seen the need to make an 870 into something else.

I wanted a very close range, anti mob gun in the off chance I ever had to deal with a mob up close when I was in my truck.

I also wanted an alternative to a pistol for hunting. Mostly, a large bore weapon shooting a good payload of shot at small game in a survival situation. And I’m sure a load of #4 shot has a better chance of hitting a bird than a 22LR when I am shivering.

Slung in a scabbard on the outside of a day pack or on a saddle gives you more options than you had before to harvest small game as well as deal with larger 2 and 4 legged predators

This is a great way to carry a shotgun without a combination gun while hunting other game.

Saying that there are a few things I thought needed to happen. Your mileage may vary.

+1 Magazine extension

I like the Wilson Scattergun Technologies +1 extension.

I got mine from Brownells

I like it enough from past experience with Wilson parts.

The other plus to this extension?

The barrel is 14 inches long, and extends out past the end of the magazine tube.

The Wilson brings the magazine tube out roughly even with the end of the barrel, making it more pleasing to the eye.

It also has a fixed sling swivel on the left side once the extension is installed.

Installation

The magazine tube on the TAC 14 has 2 dimples pressed into it at the end of the tube, almost into the threads to keep anyone from modifying the magazine to hold more rounds. Its not illegal to do so in Arizona but check your local laws just in case it is where you live.

There are a number of ways to alleviate this issue.

Disclaimer-If you are an idiot and destroy your gun by attempting something you are underqualified to do, its your own fault not mine. You should have paid a smith $50 to do this and you probably shouldn’t have anything more dangerous than a box of crayons anyway.

You can pound out the dents by securing a round mandrel in a vise, then slide the magazine tube over it and hammer out the dents

You can buy the tool from Brownells, but local smiths tell me it stretches out the tube and creates issues later

The last option without buying another magazine tube and getting it swapped out is to drill out the dents and then use a half round file to smooth the inside of the tube

So, a clean workspace with lots of light is a plus. Yes, I drug my drill press out and put it on my tailgate for this operation. You have to “run what you brung” and it worked well.

First step in any work on a firearm is to unload the beast.

Remove the retaining nut at the end of the magazine tube, then the barrel. The black plastic thing keeps your spring from departing at speed, use a flat tip screw driver, give it a twist and pull it out along with the magazine spring.

The follower will not come out. The dents wont let it out.

This is a ready made gauge for telling you the dents are gone. The factory follower falls out when you get it right.

Pad everything , then drill a starter hole in the bottom of the dent. Doesn’t matter which one. Then use a larger bit to remove the dent entirely. Heavily lube this operation so the drill doesn’t bind and the  chips don’t clog the bit.

Do both sides. Then use a half round file to smooth out the inside until the follower drops out.

Batman would call this a clue you are done.

This is an ideal time to put it the follower of your choice, either the one coming with the magazine extension or what I did

GG&G makes a fine follower out of aluminum and it is textured so a thumb in the dark can tell you if its loaded or not.

I like its RED too. Easy to see and it wont be mistaken for the brass end of a shell in the mag tube.

So in went the GG&G, the factory follower and the Green Scattergun Tech follower coming with the extension went into the parts box.

Reassembly was easy, just reverse the procedure. Pay close attention to the sling swivel and the barrel so you don’t scratch everything up, and make sure the washer coming with the kit goes around the magazine tube against the barrel band, push the spring in and screw it down tight.

GG&G 5 shot side saddle with QD sling swivel

I wanted a way to carry a full reload without having to fish for shells in a smock pocket or on the floor of the truck.

KISS=Keep it simple stupid.

Really

It also has another advantage most don’t think about, but its why I went with the steel receiver instead of aluminum in the other manufacturers similar gun.

Its heavy, and with 5 rounds in the magazine, and 5 more in the side saddle its even heavier. And the weight is exactly where it needs to be to reduce recoil.

That’s in between your hands. And yes it makes a difference.

Installation is easy.

You need a plastic mallet and a pin punch the appropriate size, follow the instructions coming with the side saddle and everything goes together as advertised.

There is an allen wrench included, but I like the allen sockets for this. No reason, just personal preference.

What I did do before tightening the side saddle to the receiver is put a good thick coat of oil behind the housing between it and the receiver so it is less likely to rust.

Not a requirement but this is not my first BBQ.

Sling

I wanted a sling, and not just an afterthought either. I have a similar sling on my TAVOR and I like it. The advantage to the TAC 14 is now it has sling swivels on it, so you can order your sling bare, no swivels to pay for.

I hate spending money I don’t have too, for things to add to my parts box. Got to many to keep track of now, why add more right?

With the rear swivel forward of the pistol grip, it slings higher and the swivels are on the left side of the weapon so it stays laying flat against my back. Or under my arm against my side.

Much better than a swivel on the end of the pistol grip. Not to mention the difference in strength with it attached to the receiver and barrel band vs, the plastic in the grip.

Up to you, but I like my gun staying attached to me in the heat of the moment. You may find different.

Ready carry

Or how it rides beside me in the truck or in the pack.

Again, if you are an idiot, just leave this gun alone.

I’m going to break it down to steps in prepping and loading for carry

1. Completely unload, put a finger in the chamber, look at the shell lifter and make sure what is showing in the magazine tube is the follower. In my case it with be the textured RED GG&G follower.
2. Close the bolt by running the slide forward
3. Move the safety to fire and drop the hammer on the empty chamber. This unlocks the slide to chamber the next round and eject the empty cartridge case ( in this case there isn’t one, you have an empty chamber) IF YOU HEAR A LOUD BANG DURING THIS STEP YOU ARE AN IDIOT AND FAILED TO FOLLOW SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS.
4. Leave the slide fully forward, and safety in FIRE position load 5 shells into the magazine tube.

You are now loaded and ready for carry. The chamber is empty, all you need to do to fire is chamber a round. Work the slide, creating that sound of the round cycling out of the magazine into the chamber we all know and love.

Remember the weapon is not safe at this point, the safety is in the fire position and all it requires to go bang is your brain turned off and your booger hook on the trigger.

Place it where you have decided it will ride and you are done

I hope you enjoy yours as much as I have mine

The Quiet Survivalist Remington TAC 14