Well I deep cleaned the 870 20. Fed HW 3" 6 were shootin really good in the ssx choke, now the 7s are doin waaaaay better. The 6s are still producing a very good hunting pattern but I'll be shootin the 7s.
What kind of numbers are you getting?
140s with 7s and 110s with 6s in a turkey target with no optics.
What kind of numbers did you have prior to the cleaning?
With 7s you couldn't hit the broadside of a barn from the inside! 6s produced a pattern Thant would kill any turkey around at 40 but were only slightly better than lead. 6s would put about 70 in the target. The deep cleanin helped a lot, I don't know how may rounds had been through this gun when I got it. Now I've got a brand new one to start workin on also.
Nice, I'm on the quest for federal hw, seems like there is none in north alabama.
Well the brand new one with a ssx and hw 6s puts 116 in a 8 1/2"x11 1/4" turkey target.
which barrel length you shooting?
Both are 26" barrels, one brand new and one from the early 90s.
Not saying your barrel will do it, but I have seen some #'s from a reliable source in the 180's with Fed HW #7's from a 26" barrel. Polish the barrel and you will have a killing machine for sure. 140's however is VERY good. I noticed about a 10% increase when I polished my barrel.