My Remington 870 Wingmaster has seen a lot of abuse. It’s an older shotgun with a lot of character if you will. I never felt updating this little gun from the standard Remington polymer stock and the pump was necessary, but I was curious about Magpul made shotgun gear and the Magpul SGA series of furniture was affordable enough to give it a go. I’ve been using this particular setup for over a year now and it’s been abused, as well as painted. That’s not a stock getup, but a paint job from myself using AT Armor’s Rhodie paint kit.
Is the SGA Kit Worth the Hype?
It’s not a secret that Magpul makes everything for the AR 15 platform. From stocks to handguard and even small parts like trigger guards it’s not hard to Magpul out a rifle. They are also able to do this at a very affordable cost and provide a very high-quality product. The SGA furniture is no different.
The Magpul SGA Stock is a bit of a cross between your standard straight shotgun stock and a 90-degree pistol grip stock. The idea was to combine the merits of both into one design. The Magpul stock has a quick downward turn in the pistol grip that allows you to grip the gun almost like a pistol grip shotgun. This increases control and allows both the rear and forward arm to support the weight of the weight. A standard stock puts most of the weight on the off hand.
The Magpul SGA Stock also allows me to hold the weapon with one hand comfortably while using my other to accomplish secondary tasks. I can hold the weapon ready to fire as I open a door, reach for a tool, or were to answer a radio call.
The LOP of the stock can also be adjusted via spacers to go from 12.3 to 14.3 inches. 12.3 is quite short and formal average sized folks is perfect when running a tactical vest or plate carrier. There is also plenty of space for adding sling keepers. The stock has a built-in rear keeper for running a sling through.
What About the Pump?
The pump is textured for a good grip, has a small built-in handguard, and is outfitted with M-LOK slots to attach accessories to. The slots are at the 6, 3, and 9 o’clock positions. The utilization of this system allows you to attach lights, foregrips, handguards, and more in a very seamless way. It offers a full grip that allows you to really ratchet down on the pump and work it like you mean it.
Overall the Magpul SGA furniture is well made and plenty modern. It’s built to last and is rock solid in terms of dependability and strength.
Where Lead Hits Steel
Modern design doesn’t mean much if the gear just doesn’t work. Luckily, Magpul has come through with making the furniture work as good as it looks. The stock is massive and 1.5 inches wide across the rear. This size makes it easy to mount the shotgun correctly as well as disperse recoil through the shoulder. The stock is equipped with a thick recoil pad that makes it pretty solid when it comes to round after round of 12 gauge.
The stock is quick and easy to mount and jamming it into your shoulder and bringing it to your cheek is intuitive and easy to do. You can add a cheek riser if you choose, but I don’t find it necessary.
My preference for fighting recoil is to push forward with the pump and pull rearward with the stock. The SGA stock and pump make it easy to exercise this technique. The stock’s unique pistol grip allows you to get a solid grip on the gun and pull it rearward easily, and the textured pump makes it easy to push forward.
Boomstick Time
All my time with a shotgun has made me quite recoil resistant, and proper technique and of course a good stocks makes a big difference. I couldn’t possibly count just how many rounds me and this gun have been through together. For this review, I took out 25 rounds of full powered buckshot and a hundred rounds of Wally World birdshot and let it rip.
After the shooting, my shoulder never felt abused and used. The SGA furniture distributes recoil and allows for good technique. The crossover pistol grip the SGA stock utilizes is very nice for running reloads. It allows me to confidently keep the gun up and ready. The stock even aids in engaging with one hand. Should the lull in combat end in the middle of my reload I can fire a shot one handed with decent accuracy and good control. The gun isn’t going to get off target or create a risk of harming me or another.
The pump allows for easy accessorizing, and excellent control over the gun. The pump is slightly longer than a standard pump. This creates a shorter length of pump. Ultimately it means people with shorter arms will have an easier time manipulating the weapon. It’s longer but isn’t long enough to block the use of a side saddle.
All together the Magpul SGA Furniture is well built and well thought out. They are a great addition to any combat shotgun, but unfortunately, you’ll only get this furniture from Remington 870s and Mossberg 500s. This will not fit on the Logic Industries 80 lower shotgun even though it does take most Mossberg accessories.
