Is the 870 3" enough?

[tyelper]

ventilator choke is a good choke, like i said i have one in a 21'' barrel and it will bust a target,,,,,,remember my pm,,,,,,

[honker22]

3" is plenty gun... That's what I shoot.  I'm pretty sure the Remington Super Full choke is a .675.  Not sure if that's the same as the Extra Full.  That said, my Rem SF patterns the Hevi 6s decent at 40.

[Gooserbat]

My old 3" 870 loves win HV #6# and I have tried several chokes and most shot with in 10% of one another, in fact once I found what shell my gun liked the shell made more difference than the choke.

[wvhunter74]

My 870 3" with a 21" barrel and Rhino .660 will put 230-250 in a 10" circle at 40 with Hevi #7. A couple years ago my wife shot a gobbler at 52yds with that gun using a factory superfull and Win HV #4.

[RS]

An 870 Express 3" magnum is what I've used since the 1990's.

[ccirvin]

In short the answer is yes. I can shoot 3.5 but choose not to. You'll be fine.

[allaboutshooting]

There are literally millions of those 3" 870s taken to the fields and woods every year and they account for for a lot of game each year. It's a great gun and true workhorse.

Just a couple of recommendations I'd suggest. The first is that you "deep clean" the bore and the second is that you consider 3" Hevi-13 "Bronze" shells with 2 oz. of #6 shot. The #6 shot flows very well through just about any barrel and choke and especially with H-13, delivers all the energy to the target, turkey head & neck, at 40 yards to cleanly and ethically kill him, as long as we do our job.

If you wanted to improve your patterns without breaking the bank, the SSX is a good choice for a turkey choke with your gun and those shells.

Whatever you choose, best of luck to you this year in the turkey woods.

Thanks,
Clark

[rmck15]

I use an 870 3" with a jelly head choke.  Works well with Hevi-13 2oz #6.

[westtennhunter]

There was a longbeard killed out of my blind last year at a lazered 50 yards with 3" Magblends and a .660 jellyhead. He dropped like a bag of hammers.

[Longshanks]

Patterned my Rem 870SM/ JH .665 this morning and turned better numbers with lead with a 3in shell rather than a 3.5.  The Hevi patterns were better with 3.5 than 3 but i would be completely satisfyed with the 3in pattern. Hevi 3/2/6's bronze may be one of the most consistent shells out there when it comes to HTL.

[rempumpman]

You don't have to believe this, but I have killed as many birds with a 2 3/4 in mag as I have a 3 in mag; never have had a gun for 3 1/2 and they don't interest me at all; it is VERY IMPORTANT that you try as many shells as possible and pattern your gun to see which load your gun "likes"; my 870 has the factory extra full extended turkey choke and I wouldn't be scared to shoot a turkey at 40 yards with a 2 3/4 in mag remington or a winchester supreme elite but I keep my shots 25 or less;

Don't worry at all with your 3 in being enough; it's more than enough..................rem

[FttFttVroom!]

3 inch and 3.5 inch don't kill em any deader than 2.75 that I started with.....just gives a little more wiggle room and confidence in your shot.  Been shooting 3.5, but looking to go back to 3 since they get very similar patterns, sometimes better with the shorter 3 inch.

[Passintime]

Enough for sure.

[Number17]

With powder charges being equal on a pellet for pellet comparison:

2.75" (1 5/8oz) hits harder than a 3" (2oz)

3" (2oz) hits harder than a 3.5" (2.25oz).

In other words, if one pellet is going to be in the kill zone at an extended range (50 yards or more), you can put your money on the fastest pellet hitting hardest. The fastest pellet will come from the 2.75" shell.