I am probably going to give a little more information than necessary but I have searched til I am blue in the face. I keep hearing about how well "those 870's" pattern. I can't get mine consistent. It is only chambered for 3" shells. I guess the original turkey special. It took several years and I eventually got comfortable with the old white hevi shot (3-2-6) hulled shells and a .655 kicks choke. I could get 189 (my personal best). Several years ago I purchased a case of the old Remington hevi shot 3-2-6 as my back up load. It was a good price. Last year was my last with the old white shell, may they rest in peace.
I have tried at least 6 choke combinations with the Remington hevishot and my best pattern is 98 in a 10" circle. I have around 7 boxes left and I am probably going to sell those. Chokes at my disposal are kicks .655, .660, .665, hevishot tube .662, hevishot undertaker, redhead blackout .660. I have ordered magblends 5,6,7 and 4,5,7. I am going to buy some straight 7's.
Please help me narrow down my options. Also if you know something magical to get those old Remington hevishot loads to shoot I am all ears. Also barrel has been deep cleaned.
First off get away from hevi shot garbage and deep cycle an and polish that barrel. Second get yourself a Jellyhead .660 or .665 or something from William at Suntoy. Third grab a box of Winchester Longbearde shells. That gun will shoot 150+ all day long with this combo.
That 655 kicks with longbeard 6s will do good
Barrel has been polished. As per guidance I have seen on this board.
I'd try that .665 with Winchester Longbeard XRs in 6's and I bet that 870 will set a personal best.
I have the same gun. I shoot a Sumtoy .650 and Hevishot 3" 2oz 7 and it does 220s consistently. Very even 10" and 20" pattern. I've had tighter patterns but the Sumtoy gives me the best overall hunting pattern.
You"ll just have to experiment till you find a good combo. I'm personally a big fan of sumtoy chokes. That said, 98 in the 10 ring at 40 will kill birds! Up until the number counting craze caught on, a lot of folks would have been happy with that. We have now turned into a cult where if a gun/load doesn't put 200 in 10" then it is sub-par and unuseable. Can't blame anyone who wants high numbers, but don't forget what this sport is all about!! get em close and enjoy the show!!!!
I would think lots of loads would do better. First starting out with the hevi shot. I used the Remington loaded hevi in 12 and 20 gauge and don't remember doing to well with it. Stayed with lead Federal Grand Slams in 12 and 20 gauge for a few more years until Federal dropped them and went flight control.
Tried the Environmetal loaded hevi in the 20 , then the 12 and now Heavyweight from Federal too.
One heck of a difference.
If all i had were the Remington loaded hevi i would probably not seen the benefits of HTL performance on the old tom turkey.
good luck.
Those shotguns usually shoot very good patterns, sound like you have a good selection of chokes, I would get a couple boxes of Long beard xr's, in 4,5,6 and try them. But I will also say there's nothing wrong with 98 in the 10", but you can do better. I have an 870 with a 26" barrel with an old strut stopper 665 choke, and using #6 LB's it'll do 215 in the 10" that's all I need it to do.
I have same gun with a lengthened forcing cone. Shoots great with longbeard 4's and mag blend 4,5,&7's using the .662 hevishot tube.