I finally retired the Mossberg 535 I've shot for years. I went today and bought a new 835 ultimag turkey with 24" barrel. (Ported barrel not ported choke) Not to beat a dead horse, but how does the factory choke work on this? I like to shoot Winchester LB's 3", #6 shot, 1 7/8. Opinions, suggestions, anyone use the factory choke. My last gun was TOO tight at 40 yards and made close shots difficult. I want a good average. No I haven't shot it yet just curious what thoughts are out there.
Quote from: KentuckyHeadhunter on January 19, 2017, 03:37:25 PM
I finally retired the Mossberg 535 I've shot for years. I went today and bought a new 835 ultimag turkey with 24" barrel. (Ported barrel not ported choke) Not to beat a dead horse, but how does the factory choke work on this? I like to shoot Winchester LB's 3", #6 shot, 1 7/8. Opinions, suggestions, anyone use the factory choke. My last gun was TOO tight at 40 yards and made close shots difficult. I want a good average. No I haven't shot it yet just curious what thoughts are out there.
I wasn't satisfied with the .695 factory choke using #6 3" LB's. I know a guy who used it for #9 TSS with good results though.
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I think you'll find what your looking for with that choke. It will be a legit 40 yard gun with a little forgiveness inside of 20. Only 1 way to find out....
Happy shootin' and huntin' with your new gun!
I have had my 835 for many years now but I didn't have much luck with the factory choke and lead loads. That was way before longbeards however and I have yet to even shoot one of those loads. I picked up a stardot choke back in the day for about 15 and it shot better than many much pricier chokes with every load I tested. That choke is still in my gun and I shoot hevi shot #6 load that gives me everything I want from 10-40 yards.
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Ditto what Happy said. My Woodland camo has had a .676 Stardot in it since early on. I tried 4 chokes including the factory and killed birds with it fine. Shot Win black supreme 5's for years but Longbeard XRs took that gun to the next level. I never tried the new Longbeard shells in the factory choke, but I bet they would pattern very well.
That factory choke with long beard #4 is pretty impressive
I just bought the same gun. Let me know how it goes when you shoot it or I'll let you know when I get a chance/find a place to shoot mine. Based off the recommendations from this sight I've topped mine with a FFIII and bought a Indian Creek choke that I'm still waiting to show up.
Idk about the new guns w new loads but I've shot an 835 since early 90s I think it was. Until last year I hadn't even bought another turkey gun.
I shot supreme xx #4s n an awful lot of birds saw the light.
If it's anything like the old ones the choke was perfectly fine at any reasonable range
Quote from: knightrider on January 21, 2017, 05:26:55 PM
That factory choke with long beard #4 is pretty impressive
Double Amen ! Waaay beyond impressive out of my 835 :icon_thumright:
675 to 680 most the time. Now they had a choke that came with them that may do what you want with the Win XR
I shoot a Rhino with Hevi 13 gold 5 or 6 or Nitro H517 and have killed dump truck loads with it. Mine is the shorty 20" barrel
Quote from: KentuckyHeadhunter on January 19, 2017, 03:37:25 PM
I finally retired the Mossberg 535 I've shot for years. I went today and bought a new 835 ultimag turkey with 24" barrel. (Ported barrel not ported choke) Not to beat a dead horse, but how does the factory choke work on this? I like to shoot Winchester LB's 3", #6 shot, 1 7/8. Opinions, suggestions, anyone use the factory choke. My last gun was TOO tight at 40 yards and made close shots difficult. I want a good average. No I haven't shot it yet just curious what thoughts are out there.
Congratulations. You have a fine turkey gun with a proven record over many years.
You may find that choke to do everything that you need with those shells. I'd certainly encourage you to try it. The Mossberg X-Factor Turkey Choke is also an excellent product.
I'd also recommend that before you take that gun to the range that you "deep clean" the bore and the choke. http://allaboutshooting.com/blogs/blog/98772615-deep-cleaning-a-shotgun-barrel That simple procedure can help more than might be imagined.
Good luck with your new 835.
Thanks,
Clark
I would try out that factory choke with LB's before doing anything else.
I own the same gun and shoot 3", #6 LB's as well. The first thing I did was deep clean my barrel. I shot the LB's with the factory choke and did not care for the pattern. After trial and error I ended up with a .676 Star Dot and won't look back. Every gun is different, so try the factory choke first but I think you will find that 835's really like the .676 Star Dot. Very even patterns with no holes. Enjoy your new toy, happy shooting, and have a great spring season.