I currently have a Remington m887 and I just flat out can't get it to pattern. I've tried for a couple years now. Yesterday I finally brought a big cardboard box down to the range along with my targets.
With the jellyhead maximum and Remington nitro 3 1/2 #5 I got a measely 15 pellets in a 10" circle at 40 yards
With my Carlson full choke and the same loads I got 29 pellets in my circle at 40 yards.
Last year I hunted with the Carlson choke and never missed a bird, but I think the jellyhead is giving me a tighter pattern.....the pattern is just low and left. Oh, and also this is with just the bead on the front. No scope.
Now I have killed turkeys with this gun....but I've missed a couple too. The majority of my pellets were low and left, which seems to not be uncommon with this gun. Another thing that's not uncommon is turkey guys not liking it much. I received the gun as a gift so I didn't do any research on it. I haven't been all that confident for waterfowl with it either.
SO I can either keep throwing chokes and loads at it, or get a new shotgun hahahaha. What would everybody recommend. Thinking about the Remington 870 supermag or one of the lower end mossbergs.
Thanks for any help you guys might throw my way!
The Remington Nitro Shells are notorious for awful patterning. Cheapest route would be to throw some LongBeard Xr's through it.
But a new gun is always fun :)
I tried the Remington nitros a few years and was not satisfied at all, I'd definitely try some longbeard xrs and see what it'd do. I'm always up for a new gun purchase and you can't go wrong with the 870, mine loves the longbeard shells
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Okay, I'll try those first.
I tried the turkey loads by hornady a couple years ago and I remember they didn't blow me away either. I'll pick up some other loads and see what happens this weekend.
Buy a box of Winchester long beards in #5 and s box of federal flight control wad shells in number 5 shot. Use your factory full choke and z target 4x4 feet. Aim for the center and see what you get..never had good luck with Remington or hornady turkey loads
Yeah the Hornady turkey loads and the Remington Nitros are probably the worst turkey loads available lol
Hahahaha imagine that. So you're sayin there's a chance! I'm sure it's my fault for only hunting one state for the first few years of my turkey career, buying a box every year of "cheaper stuff" and now that's what I've got in the box. Anything else to try besides longbeard that people have had good luck with out of Remington's?
Shoot at close distance first and make sure your sights are on, 5-10 yards max. For the money the long beards will be tough to beat! You can start with dive type loads first to get sight close.
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Grab some 3 1/2" Longbeard XR's 6's and give them a try through the Carlson. I'm a Mossy 835 guy. But the Remmy supermag is hard to beat as well. Wally World normally has them in stock so slip by there and put them to your shoulder and see which one you like the best. The 835 will shoot most shells well and there are plenty of chokes to choose from that will pattern extremely well. Good Luck.
The longbeard advice is good if you want super patterns. If you want more forgivable patterns Winchester supreme or even the federal mag shok usually shoot decent for lead.
Quote from: Dtrkyman on April 06, 2018, 12:06:44 PM
Shoot at close distance first and make sure your sights are on, 5-10 yards max. For the money the long beards will be tough to beat! You can start with dive type loads first to get sight close.
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It's nothing but a bead on the front of my gun. No "sights" to speak of. It's quite the head scratcher when a gun doesn't hit where he barrel is pointed ???
I always liked hevishot magnum blend over the longbeard, the patterns were similar but magnum blend always had better penetration. Sometimes with #5s a choke that is too restrictive can cause bad patterns. Like someone mentioned try your factory full choke and see what that does. The other thing you could do to compensate for the pattern is to get a scope to adjust the pattern to where it needs to be. Ive shot a scope for years and have shot birds running and flying, etc, i know some people talk bad about them but they make me keep my head down and with almost no magnification you can be on a bird in an instant. Before i used a scope I had a benelli that shot about a foot and a half high at 40 yds, i sold that thing. Also, you could adjust your front sight to adjust up and down.
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That shotgun and those shells are both junk!! :turkey2:
Quote from: POk3s on April 06, 2018, 12:13:43 PM
Quote from: Dtrkyman on April 06, 2018, 12:06:44 PM
Shoot at close distance first and make sure your sights are on, 5-10 yards max. For the money the long beards will be tough to beat! You can start with dive type loads first to get sight close.
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It's nothing but a bead on the front of my gun. No "sights" to speak of. It's quite the head scratcher when a gun doesn't hit where he barrel is pointed ???
Get some dove loads and shoot at 15 yards, if your POA/POI is off you will need a set of Williams adjustable sights or Red dot or Scope and correct it. With todays chokes and loads you need a gun that will shoot POA/POI with no guessing. By the way, many shotguns don't shoot POA/POI.
My last 11-87 newer one did the same thing just about even with long beards and my barrel deep cleaned shot the densest part of the pattern 4 inches right at 20 yards that gun went out the door and bought a different brand as it did not compare to my old 11-87.
I had an 1187 that POI was off with Remington and Winchester shells but Federal shells were right on. Not saying buy Federal but just try a few brands first.
For as much as you have spent on ammo and chokes, never mind the frustration, go pick up a used Remington 870 for $150. Give it your own custom spray paint job. Try shooting some hevi-shot magnum blend or #6's, or Winchester Longbeards out of either of the chokes you mentioned. Don't worry about getting a 3.5" magnum. The extra recoil is not worth the minimal gain in pattern density. A standard Remington 870 should be easily capable of putting at least 100 pellets in a 10" circle at 40 yards without really trying hard.
Good luck. Trade in the Rem 887 and move on.
I would try fiber optic sights that clamp to the rib.
Adjustable sights or a scope. If it doesn't shoot where you want it to make it do it!!! lol
I would have went the adjustable fiber optic sights if mine was a turkey gun only but I use mine on geese and ducks also so a single front fiber optic sight works best if it's hitting where it should. When you pay the amount a Rem 11-87 cost you should not have to worry about it hitting 4" to the right at 20 yards.
I've been doing this a long time and as often as not guns do not hit w turkey loads exactly where you aim. I've had guns pattern straight w target loads and buckshot only to shoot off to one side w turkey chokes and loads. For $20 the Williams sight advice is good
Remington Nitros should not even be considered ammo. That ammo is plain old garbage. I cant believe they still make them.
Can't help you with the 887. My 870 patterns better with 3" shell over 3 1/2"ers. It also likes 5's better than 6's. Look at Winchester XX and HV loads. They are very good shells. Longbeards throw a great pattern at 40, but at 15-20 they are VERY tight. If you are having POA/POI issues, Longbreads might not be what you want at close range. In my 870 with a Jellyhead .660(old style no green) I have a softball size pattern at 20yrds. I just patterned a Carlson .670 non-ported with Longbeard 3" 1 3/4oz 5's & 6's. I was getting a vollyball size pattern at 15yrd. and a VERY even 20" pattern at 40yrd.
I would re home that gun and get a replacement. Just my 2 cents
Quote from: daddyduke on April 06, 2018, 02:30:12 PM
I had an 1187 that POI was off with Remington and Winchester shells but Federal shells were right on. Not saying buy Federal but just try a few brands first.
I have two 11 87's, and you are right.They shoot better with federal amo, I don't know why.
stay away from the hornady and the Remington nitro's
2 of the worse shells out there
If anyone's curious, this is what I've done...Since I'm far removed from turkey country my local sporting goods store only had a few options. The federal stuff was sold out, so I bought Winchester double x in 5 shot and then took out a loan to buy some heavy shot. Kidding of course but dang that stuff is expensive...especially for 5 shells. The double x had a comparable pattern to the rest. Low and left. The heavi shot was low. Both of them shot better (I felt) with the carlson's choke over the jelly head maximum. This was also done at 40 yards because that's where I had shot before and I wanted to be able to compare. Aiming at the dot of course. I'll add up the pictures. Of the two latest groups. Quite the pain!