I Finally Got Around to Trying 3" 1.75 Oz. Longbeard #6's

[3" 870 Shell Shucker]

I Finally Got Around to Trying 3" 1.75 Oz. Longbeard #6's

Wow!!!  It's so hard to believe that it is a Lead shell.

I tried a Rhino .660, an Indian Creek .665, and an Indian Creek .675 in my 3" 870 with 28" Barrel.

Tape Measured 40 Yards, from end of Barrel to Target at 67 Degrees.

The obvious winner in the eveness of the pattern and numbers was the Rhino .660 pattern.  Good even coverage in the 10" circle, and on out to 14" as well.  Set the 3 patterns side by side, and no hesitation that was THE hunting pattern of the 3.

208 hits in 10"
282 total hits in 14"


The Indian Creek .665 pattern had an uneven 232 in 9", but outside of that it was less dense.

The Indian Creek .675 pattern, 166 in 10", was nice and even, but not as dense with pellets as the Rhino .660 pattern was.

[Izzyjoe]

Sounds great! Looking forward to trying some myself next weekend.

[owlhoot]

Well did Ya finally get the even coverage you wanted?  That is a nice sounding pattern   Congrats

[Longshanks]

Yup, I hit that even pattern with .655 Kicks/ LB 3" 6's

214 in a 10 @ 40. Rem 870 .655

204 in a 10 @ 40. Rem 870 .655

*Ended up with the same choke in both guns/ barrels turning about the same numbers.

"May the beards be long and the spurs sharp". Looking forward to seeing some results.

[3" 870 Shell Shucker]

Well did Ya finally get the even coverage you wanted?

Yeah, it's one of the best looking patterns overall I've probably ever shot, and definitely my best ever with Lead.  But if you look at the pattern forum, many people have had the exact same or even better success with the Longbeard shells.  They shoot better than anything else I've tried, except the Hevi13 #7's.

I have a solid combo with the Lead 3" Turkey Thug #6's and an Indian Creek .665

And an even more impressive combo with the Lead 3" Longbeard #6's and Rhino .660

[jakesdad]

I didnt try those chokes in my 870,I was getting pretty tight patterns using a ventilator.How did they pattern up close? I know everything is tight close that patterns well to 40,but it seemed the LBs I tried the pattern was about 3-4 inches wide(got 200 at 40)With the grey box Win 6's I got about 120 at 40 and had a 10-12" pattern at 20,which is what I prefered.

[3" 870 Shell Shucker]

Sorry, I've been away for a while.  I didn't pattern any Longbeard up close.  I was looking at them as an alternative to HTL, as a long range option.  Maybe use Federal #6's or Winchester 5's at close range, and Longbeard at long range, if I ever run out of HTL.

[Gooserbat]

I got a good even 226 with a Jebs and a good 210 with a Ballistic Specialties.  Both with a 26" barrel 870.

[Izzyjoe]

That sounds good! Im hoping to get around 200 with my new sumtoy 665.