I have a 870 that I bought 4 years ago and have been trying to get some better patterns out of it ever since I got it. The best I have gotten so far is high 130's low 140's with the factory choke and
3 1/2 H13 #6. I have tried several different chokes JellyHead 665 Tight Wad, Remington Super Full that came with the gun and today I tried a Pure Gold .670 and a Hevi 13 choke .662. I have shot
H13 3 1/2" 6's, H13 3" 6's and today I tried some H13 3 1/2 Mag Blends. I would like to stay with the
6's. The barrel has been deep cleaned and polished. I am shooting at a large sheet of paper and counting the densest part of the pattern. My question is do you think it would be worth while to send it off to someone like Sumtoy or Rob Roberts and have the forcing cone cut and the barrel professionally polished or should I just give up and start over with new gun. :help:
I'd say those numbers result in a dead turkey. As far as punching more holes in the paper... Sounds like you have the right idea trying different ammo and chokes.
Yes they have accounted for several dead turkeys over last 3 seasons. I'm just trying improve it if I can.
before i shipped it off i would try the jellyhead 660 with those 6 shot after i polished it again :cross2:
For every different shell you try, the choke that it likes best may vary.
Hevi13 #7's are the short-cut to passing the 200 mark, if that's important to you.
Quote from: bullet355 on March 08, 2013, 06:44:43 PM
Yes they have accounted for several dead turkeys over last 3 seasons. I'm just trying improve it if I can.
You're like me man, you want to get the best performance out of your gun as you can.. But if your gun is throwing 130-140 pellets of 6 shot in a 10 inch circle at 40 yards, then you are smoking birds. I'd say you're getting anywhere from 30-50 pellets in the head/neck area, and no bird will ever survive that. Like 870 shell shucker said.. If you are wanting to get over 200 to look good on paper, then get the 7's. but, I'm not saying the 7's wont kill. Now some guys can get 180 with the 3'' 6's but I have no idea how they do it lol.
I like to normally ask how long of barrel. But I can try and help. First off I would do this if you truly want better numbers as you say and want the best performance from you gun that it can do. Ditch the Hevi-13 #6's and go with the 3.5" Hevi-13 2.25oz #7 loads if you have a 3.5" gun. Midsouth Shooter Supply did have them in stock. Then I would do some soul searching. I would try calling Stuart and Mike and have them make you a .668 or .670 Indian Creek BDS choke. Either that or try finding an older MAD Super Max .675 choke that was in fact made by Indian Creek. I have that choke for my 28" barrel 870 and it shoots the lights out. I also have a Pure Gold .670 that shoots excellent. I had a .668 Indian Creek BDS choke that I picked up from Mike and Staurt at their shop is how I got mine. It smoked the .665 choke shooting Hevi-13 3" 2oz #7's. My gun is only a 3" chamber or I would be shooting the heavier load of 7's.
You may want to go back and re-polish the hell and I do mean hell out of that barrel. I even polished my chamber some. Some will tell you that's a no-no. Well I don't know. I done both my guns and both cycle shells into the chamber too and from a lot better than they did before. And both of mine shoot extroadinary patterns at 40yds.
Quote from: bullet355 on March 08, 2013, 05:34:42 PM
I have a 870 that I bought 4 years ago and have been trying to get some better patterns out of it ever since I got it. The best I have gotten so far is high 130's low 140's with the factory choke and
3 1/2 H13 #6. I have tried several different chokes JellyHead 665 Tight Wad, Remington Super Full that came with the gun and today I tried a Pure Gold .670 and a Hevi 13 choke .662. I have shot
H13 3 1/2" 6's, H13 3" 6's and today I tried some H13 3 1/2 Mag Blends. I would like to stay with the
6's. The barrel has been deep cleaned and polished. I am shooting at a large sheet of paper and counting the densest part of the pattern. My question is do you think it would be worth while to send it off to someone like Sumtoy or Rob Roberts and have the forcing cone cut and the barrel professionally polished or should I just give up and start over with new gun. :help:
I'd try an SSX.
Thanks,
Clark
I am sure I could pick up some numbers by switching to 7's but I would really like to stay with the 6's. In fact I would like to drop down to the 3" 6's. but my gun will barley brake 100 with them. I am not only looking to up my numbers but more importantly get a more even and consistant pattern that I am not getting now. I have seen several people on here and other forums say they are getting close to 200 with the H13 3" 6's. I am just trying to get the best I can out of my gun. I think I will try polishing the dickens out of that barrel again, and see what that does.and its a 23" barrel by the way.
'.
Quote from: bullet355 on March 08, 2013, 09:41:56 PM
I am sure I could pick up some numbers by switching to 7's but I would really like to stay with the 6's. In fact I would like to drop down to the 3" 6's. but my gun will barley brake 100 with them. I am not only looking to up my numbers but more importantly get a more even and consistant pattern that I am not getting now. I have seen several people on here and other forums say they are getting close to 200 with the H13 3" 6's. I am just trying to get the best I can out of my gun. I think I will try polishing the dickens out of that barrel again, and see what that does.and its a 23" barrel by the way.
'.
I'll be honest with you here and please don't take this the wrong way. If my 870 barrel would barely break 100 with Hevi-13 3" 2oz #6's, it would definately be going back to Rem. There's got to be something not right with that barrel. Heck I could get lead to shoot way better than that.
"There's got to be something not right with that barrel".
That's what I've kinda been thinking, which is why I thought about sending it to some one.
The gun is 4 years old now so I doubt sending it back to Remington is an option.
I don't even shoot many Hevi-13 #6 loads, but I do play around from time to time with them. Here's how my 28" barrel shot these Hevi-13 3" 1 and 3/4oz load of #6 last year on a cool 45 degree day. Now the next one I shot was only like 170 something but this was the first shot out of my Ventilator .655 choke that cool day. I bought these shells locally from a store here at the time. I went back and bought some more.
(http://www.hunt101.com/data/526/DSCF00631.jpg)
By the time you pay someone the labor and shipping to and from you would be much better off to just buy a good used barrel that hasn't been messed with. Check ebay.
Here ya go.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Remington-870-Magnum-12-Ga-Shotgun-Barrel-28-inch-Choke-Mat-Finish-/121075301383?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c30a67c07
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Remington-870-Barrel-12-gauge-right-hand-2-3-4-3-3-1-2-Rem-Choke-/271165623302?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f22bb0c06
I thought about a new barrel but would like to find a camo to match the gun.
Then I would definately send it back to Remington especially if you bought it new. Just tell them you bought the gun so many years ago as a collector and that you just now decided to use it and it shoots terrible. My money would be they would fix it free of charge minus the shipping. You will probably get a new barrel rather than them actually trying to fix your barrel if they have that camo pattern. If they no longer have that camo patten, they more than likely will ask you if you would agree to take a currently new camo pattern that they have.
The best patterns I have gotten with short barrel rem 870's have been with kicks .655 and ventilator .655. The ventilator choke is very inexpensive. Think I payed 12.00 Worth a try.
170 in a 10 with 3/2/6's Pb. Ventilator
155 in a 10 with 3/2/6's Pb. Kicks
*both chokes will shoot hevi 3/2/7's 250+. Ventilator is closer to 280.
*after polishing my 870 barrel I had to shoot a box of inexpensive shells through it before the patterns were productive.
*check the barrel tightness as well. Tighten the screw with a pair of pliers and a leather strap.
I have a rhino 660 you can try. It's in my backup gun.
My 3" 870 with 28" Barrel has never shot huge numbers, but with the right choke it shoots better numbers. I settled for that. I can shoot in the High 150's with the current 3" Bronze shell 1.75 Ounce Hevi13 #6 shot. With any choke other than my best one in that gun, it shoots in the 140's at best.
The same gun and choke will do 180 with 3" 2 Ounce Magnum Blend, and 294 with 3" 2 Ounce #7.
Just some food for thought.
Quote from: 3" 870 Shell Shucker on March 09, 2013, 11:55:23 AM
My 3" 870 with 28" Barrel has never shot huge numbers, but with the right choke it shoots better numbers. I settled for that. I can shoot in the High 150's with the current 3" Bronze shell 1.75 Ounce Hevi13 #6 shot. With any choke other than my best one in that gun, it shoots in the 140's at best.
The same gun and choke will do 180 with 3" 2 Ounce Magnum Blend, and 294 with 3" 2 Ounce #7.
Just some food for thought.
Trust me that 294 with Hevi-13 3" 2oz #7's is in fact an extroadinary pattern. I know 297 shot is the best my gun has done with that load. And there isn't many guns that will come close to beating those same type numbers with that same load. Mine was shot with a MAD Super Max .675 choke. I have done 282 with the .655 Ventilator choke. But the overall pattern isn't nearly as good inside the 20" That's what I have been trying to tell folks on these forums about getting too tight and actually blowing or shooting holes in your pattern.
"I have a rhino 660 you can try. It's in my backup gun."
Thanks, thats a generous offer, but my season starts Friday and I probably won't have a chance to go shoot again before it comes in, so I am going to stick wtih what I've been using the last few years.
I do have a 655 venilator that I haven't shot yet. I thought it might be to tight for the H13 6's.
Longshanks
Those are some really good numbers for lead
"170 in a 10 with 3/2/6's Pb. Ventilator
155 in a 10 with 3/2/6's Pb. Kicks"
What kind of shells are they?
Your shooting good ammo, your barrel is on the shorter side - you will probably get good results by trying different chokes - make sure that forcing cone is mirror smooth , and the bore is the same clean it out after each shot and you should get it up there in count
I do run a bore snake through it between shots, but I don't use any solvents.
I'll have to take a look at the forcing cone.
My 870 hated a 28" barrel but loves a 24" with a 665 Jellyhead. I get around 240 now.
Try that Ventilator when you get a chance, you might be suprised.
Quote from: West Augusta on March 10, 2013, 05:59:59 AM
My 870 hated a 28" barrel but loves a 24" with a 665 Jellyhead. I get around 240 now.
I orignally had a 21" barrel on my 870 turkey gun that I bought brand new. I ended up trading it for a 28" barrel from a guy in GA. We traded even. It shoots only better patterns now. I have always got better patterns from a longer barrel vs a shorter barrel. And that 's shooting both barrels with the exact same chokes and loads. The reason I say that is I had another brand new 870 28" barrel at the time and compared them. The 28" barrel always won.
Quote from: bullet355 on March 09, 2013, 09:26:40 PM
Longshanks
Those are some really good numbers for lead
"170 in a 10 with 3/2/6's Pb. Ventilator
155 in a 10 with 3/2/6's Pb. Kicks"
What kind of shells are they?
Winchester XX (red shells)
The gun will turn great patterns with the winchester 3/ 1 7/8/ 6's (grey box) and the winchester HV 3/ 1 3/4/ 6's. In this set up, looks like a matter of mathematics..more shot in the shell=more holes in the paper..no need for HTL in this setup. I shoot 40 yds, 170 with PB 6's is devastating on the turkeys.
It will turn 280 with Hevi 3/2/7's.
*winchester xx 6's and hevi 7's worked best in this set up.
*the best route I have found with numerous turkey guns is to set up the shotgun/choke first..(members of Old Gobbler have been instrumental in this process)..then find out what ammo shoots best. Starting with a particular load..and trying to find what choke works best can get expensive when you start going through 4-5 chokes and even a couple of barrels..and still might not have the results you want.
*numerous times I have seen hevi 7's turn mediocre patterning guns into turkey slaying machines.
Nitro Shells, I don't shoot them but they are a sure enough shell.