New Guy With Old 935 Question

[qlfarm]

Hello all:

I have been reading the forum with great interest as a guest for a while now. I have decided it was time to stop creeping and join. I have gone through 13 pages of posts with the topic of the 935's in them and still can't get an answer to my dilemma.

A friend and I both bought 935's last summer. He started patterning his on paper and it is shooting like crap. They both have the stock Moss .695 chokes in them. Using Winchester 3.5" Supreme in 5 shot (8 holes in a 3" circle at 40 yards), Federal Supreme 3.5" 4 shot put about the same amount in the 3" circle, Federal Wad Controls 3.5 in 4 shot: 3 holes in the 3" circle. We bought a box of Kent's but haven't had a chance to paper them yet.

Hevi-shot is not something we are interested in.  We have had great luck with the plated shot that we have used for years and do not want to change.

We looked at the Sportsman's Show on Monday and also at Bass Pro and in the Cabela's catalog. It appears that everything is in the high ranges (.670+). We are both from the school of thought that the smaller choke gives us better patterns. My friend was shooting an 870 with a .665 and I was shooting a Moss 500 with a .665. I realize the overbore barrels are different, but I am not understanding why you would go up in choke diameter instead of down? We found a few in the .662 to .667 range (HS Struts) but I don't see them mentioned here one time.

So where do I go from here. Go with the smaller chokes that we are used to and try different loads, is there a "magical" number for shooting plated lead shot? Any suggestions regarding choke sizing and plated lead shot combinations would be greatly appreciated.

I read the article on deep cleaning and I am not sure how that causes a change in your pattern? Is it enough to make a difference? I was planning on patterning mine this weekend but I don't want to burn up shells until I figure out where to go with the choke size. I have shot sporting clays with mine and wiped down the barrel with oil when finished; I have not deep cleaned it.

Thanks,

Pat

[Tom Foolery]

Something in the .670" - .676" range and Winchester 3.5" 2oz HV #6's if you are wanting a good dense lead pattern.


I would go Pure Gold, StarDot, or SumToy for the choke.

[joker]

Something in the .670" - .676" range and Winchester 3.5" 2oz HV #6's if you are wanting a good dense lead pattern.


I would go Pure Gold, StarDot, or SumToy for the choke.

Good advice here. I would also recommend the deep clean / polish bbl. It does make a difference. Also it is best to pattern with a 3ft x 3ft sheet of paper and look at pellet count in 10" & 20" circles to compare. Your max range should have 100 in the 10".  Imo you should consider hevi shot it is far better than lead.

[qlfarm]

Thanks for the replies!

So to make my current choke work I need to switch to hevi shot?

Isn't there any lead shot that will work with the overbore barrel and the stock choke?

Move away from the 4 shot and go to 6's; will this help? Standard vs High velocity?

I had thought the overbored barrel was going to be a benefit; I didn't realize it was going to actually hinder the performance of the gun. I don't want to get caught in the buy 4 chokes and 10 types of shells and still not be happy circle.

I will paper a round or two and then do a deep cleaning and do the same thing. It is snowing today and is supposed to get in the 10's so I don't think I will be doing much with it this weekend. I just don't want to drag my feet and end up doubting my gun the first morning of the spring season.

I was hoping to stay with the current sights; I really like them.

I just have an old guy mental block about hevi shot; buying shells that cost $3.50 each out of a shotgun seems extreme.

Thanks again for the input!

Pat

[davisd9]

The Winchester HV 6s seem to do a great job in the 835/935.  Might want to look into them.

[Tom Foolery]

If you are sticking with your stock choke then I would try either Winchester 3.5" 2oz 6's or 3.5" 2.25oz 6's. 

The money that you spend on those would allow you to buy a couple of boxes of Hevi13 6's or my preference #7's and they would for sure out pattern the lead loads and be more deadly even with the stock choke.

[allaboutshooting]

I own and shoot on a regular basis 3 of the overbored Mossberg shotguns including the 835, SSi-ONE and the 935. All pattern exceptionally well.


"Deep Cleaning" is worth the time and effort. It's just important to follow the guidelines closely and allow the solvent, I like Hoppe's #9, to do its work.

The exit diameter is just one part of the equation of what makes an excellent turkey choke. It's really more about the internal geometry. That's why chokes with differing exit diameters can yield similar results.

Choke tubes are expensive as is turkey ammo, even lead shot shells are pretty high now and destined to go even higher it seems. They remain however the least expensive cost of our hunting for most of us.

I've tried every choke tube that I can find commercially available in my overbored Mossberg guns and I've tried to shoot them with every shotshell brand. I just don't shoot #4 or straight #5 shot anymore because the #6's and #7s (in tungsten-based shot) pattern so much better.

With a deep cleaned barrel, you can find out pretty quickly how well your gun will pattern. It will cost you some money but you don't need to spend a fortune. You can also take advantage of the experiences that you read about here but you will need to take your gun to the range to see how it shoots.

Here's a good starting place for both shells and a choke that work very well for me in my guns and by the way, my 935 patterns better than either of my other 2 overbored Mossbergs.

I'd recommend 3" Hevi-13 "Bronze" shells with 2 oz. of #6 shot or #7 shot if that's legal where you hunt. I would pair that with the SSX (.670) turkey choke. That choke and a box of shells will run you maybe $50.00 and if your deep cleaned gun shoots like mine, that's all you'll need.

I'm sure you'll have many more recommendations and I could make some additional ones but to get where you want to be, that should work very well for you.

Thanks,
Clark

[pullit]

"Deep Cleaning" is worth the time and effort. It's just important to follow the guidelines closely and allow the solvent, I like Hoppe's #9, to do its work.

With a deep cleaned barrel, you can find out pretty quickly how well your gun will pattern. It will cost you some money but you don't need to spend a fortune. You can also take advantage of the experiences that you read about here but you will need to take your gun to the range to see how it shoots.

I'd recommend 3" Hevi-13 "Bronze" shells with 2 oz. of #6 shot or #7 shot if that's legal where you hunt. I would pair that with the SSX (.670) turkey choke. That choke and a box of shells will run you maybe $50.00 and if your deep cleaned gun shoots like mine, that's all you'll need.

Thanks,
Clark

X2

[dirt road ninja]

If your set on lead, and want numbers your not going to see them with #4's no matter what choke your running. For lead win #6 hv with a choke in the range already covered above will kill birds all day long.

Try not to compare patterns posted of HTL to lead. It's just not going to happen. The Mossy 835/935 are one of the best patterning guns around. You should have very little trouble putting up a great hunting pattern with lead, but if you want to add a little insurance and close to double your pellet count, go with the HTL.

Yes, a clean barrel will out shoot a dirty one.

Good luck and please share the results.

[qlfarm]

Thanks for all of the replies and also the folks that dropped me some PM's. All of the input is greatly appreciated!

I am off to the gun shop to pick up a new AR stripped lower that I ordered this week. I hope they have a choke selection and a decent amount of turkey shells to select from. I know I am going to try to pick up a 10 gauge brush and do the deep cleaning as soon as I can.

I will save my patterns and let you guys know what I end up with.

Thanks again for all of the input

Pat