I'm going to buy a new turkey gun tommorow I'm caught between 870 super mag mossy oak with thumb hole stock or mossberg 835 both have 20 inch barrels and 3-1/2 inch what do y'all think got 750$ and want a pump
I use to own a 835 and loved it. Never used it for birds but did some hog hunting and duck hunting with it and never ha a single issue
Both are great guns. IMHO I'd go with at least a 23" bbl. Get you a good choke (jh660 or ssx for the 870) and maybe a jh or if you can find a star dot for the mossy. Id also try h-13 #7 in either one. Good luck.
I don't have too much experience with the 835, but I suggest you shoot a friend's before you buy it. Not sure if it just doesn't fit me well but when I shot a friend's gun it seemed to kick really bad relative to others I've shot.
Love my 835. Great gun. Very easy to get good patterns quickly.
Never shot an 870, but it has a strong following as well. Best of luck in your decision.
I heard the 835 kicked like a one eyed bucking mule but it patterned well past 35 with mediocre chokes and real well with Indian creek and kicks but just like the look and feel of the 870 but none of my people have one in a 3-1/2 inch and didn't know how it patterned at long distance all I know is my benelli nova sucks past 35 and to the right and I got as much if not more in chokes for and still can't get it to do well past the 35 mark had friends shoot it and they got the same result as me and I don't like the long barrel on it
I didn't notice the kick to much to be honest I feel my 1300 kicks harder than my 835 did
Love a 870. I have three of them. I just don't care for mossberg very much. In my opinion its a no brainer.....870.
the 870 is a very good turkey gun I personally think they more picky about choke load combo to get good patterns but good luck with your search
I had an 835 it thrower very good patterns but recoiled extremely hard I got rid of it and bought a 935 same great pattern half the recoil
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I saw an ad where the new 835 Ultra Mag Turkey now features the Matthew's Harmonic Damper Technology. Ad says reduces recoil up to 20%. That might just make this great shooting gun an even greater gun if you like pumps. I personally don't like any pump, but I have a 935 turkey that I only use for turkey hunting and love.
I had the moss. with 20 in barrel and it loved the hevi shot 3.5 #7 shot averaged in the 320's in the 10 at 40 yards with an indian creek .675 tube.
Thanks for all the help guys
I have several turkey guns but the best patterning is my Mossy 835, 24" ported.
835 my opinion plus little money left over to put towards extras walmart sells the 835 with a 24" barrel for i believe 330 you may want to check that out unless your set on the smaller barrel ;)
Turkey gun? 835, camo, 23 or 24" barrel, put a red dot or low power scope on it AND a Sims recoil pad. Deep clean the barrel and use a JellyHead .690 choke and shoot Hevi-Shot 13 in 7's.
Or, 870, camo, 21 or 24" barrel, red dot or low power scope, should come with a great soft recoil pad.
Deep clean the barrel and use a Tru-Glo SSX .655 choke and shoot Hevi-Shot 13 in 7's.
Personally, I prefer a 3" gun, but you requested 3.5"... :camohat:
I have a 20 inch 835 and love it for hunting. The 24 inch 835 that it replaced was a little more fun to shoot at paper though. I was in for a surprise the first time I squeezed off a magblend out of this 20 inch gun. To quote my oldest daughter "that thing is like a bomb going off". Now I have named it the Thunder Stick. In my opinion get the 835 and have money left over.
I decided to go with the 870 it fully camo and thumb hole stock with tru-glo red dot scope but what's a good choke to start with because I don't want to go through with what I did with my benelli 400$ gun with about 400$ worth of choke trying to get a desired pattern at a decent distance
Most folks on here use a Jellyhead 660 or 665. Sumtoy, Pure Gold, Kicks, Indian Creek - any of those should work.
Got it now I can't wait for season to start
Sweet ! Cant go wrong with an 870. It would have been my choice too. I had a 835 and I just didnt care for it.
Good luck with it.
im running a .665 jelly head and 3.5 mag blends in my 870. i polished my barrel to a mirror finish. Jb bore bright, scotch brite, kroil, cleaning rod and 20ga brush do wonders.
love these guns
(http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e322/mebe007/IMAG0479.jpg)
Nice buy! Give the HD choke that came with it a try. It patterned pretty good out of mine with hevi 13, 3-2-6.
I've got that exact guy but put a Mueller red dot on it and a Pure Gold .670 choke and have LOVED it for the last 2 seasons!
I'm excited to put it to use
Good choice - I love the camo and the steadygrip! Looks great! I have both guns you were considering and would buy the 870 again in heartbeat. If you ever move onto something else in terms of a turkey gun, you can strip and modify that 870. There area so many aftermarket options for that gun. My 870 converted from a turkey slayer to a tactical home defense shotgun when I switched to my new setup(s).
I'm already looking into a slug barrel for it my old one I had years ago I got a slug barrel for it so I could go to Illinois for a hunt and it was easy to swap out I really missed the ease and versatility of the 870 that's the main reason I went back to it plus parts are easy to get and affordable even though the ones I had in the past never malfunctioned on but you never know
The 835 has a 10 gauge barrel mated to a 12 gauge receiver. It will pattern large shot and large payloads more easily (less trial and error with chokes, etc.) than the 870.
However, I just can't buy a pump that isn't an 870.....
Ducks