New hunter with gun questions

[Jgspahn]

Hello fellow hunters,

Im new to the turkey game, but im hooked already. My first ever season was last year. I saw a few birds, but no kills. Last year I lugged around a super long barreled model 12 2 3/4 12 ga. I didnt want to run out and buy something unless I was sure I was going to make this stick. I love it and Im addicted.

Ok, on to my actual question. Im looking into buying a gun for turkey season. I really like this one:

http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/shotguns/model-870/model-870-express-shurshot-synthetic-turkey.aspx

or

http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/shotguns/model-870/model-870-sps-synthetic-turkey.aspx

Now, I do know some about guns, but im no expert by any means. Those guns seem like they would be sufficient, and im really intrigued by the thumb hole stocks for manuevering the gun around. What do yall think about this? Also, 21" seems awfully short, will I lose maximum kill distance with a barrel that short?

All info and opinions are welcome, and thanks in advance.

[West Augusta]

Stick a .665 JellyHead choke on either of those and you will be in business.  Bonafied turkey killer.

[allaboutshooting]

First of all, welcome to OG. There are lots of folks here who will give you the best information they have to try to be of help to you. It's a good place.

The 870 is just a hard gun to beat. I own and shoot several both for hunting and in still target shooting competition.

The SureShot stock has become very popular and many hunters really like it. The LOP is a little short for me. I bought a couple and gave them a try but I prefer the traditional stocks. It's really all a matter of preference and what feels best to you. I do however like the raised comb and the Super Cell recoil pad is excellent.

My experience tells me that barrels of 26" (or longer) pattern better, have an edge in retained energy due to some increase in velocity over shorter barrels and produce less muzzle whip. Having said that, the shorter barrels will produce killing patterns and are much more popular currently. Again, it's largely a matter of what feels best and appeals to you.

Turkey hunting is really all about confidence in your abilities and in your equipment. You gain that by spending some time at the range. It's important to know just what your chosen combination can do and not trying to exceed that.

A good even pattern in 10" with a good fringe pattern out to 20" at 40 yards will do the job. Especially with the shorter barrels, I would not get too hung up on numbers. If whatever you choose will deliver a good even pattern at 40 yards in the temperatures that you intend to hunt, you have a winner.

Lastly, I really recommend that you "deep clean" the bore of your gun, new or old, so that you can see just how well it can shoot.

Have fun and good luck this spring.

Thanks,
Clark

[CASH]

 

This is what you need to do.  Go out and buy any Mossberg shotgun and pm a picture of it to bird.  He'll really appreciate it.  He is the BIGGEST Mossberg fan EVER!

[TauntoHawk]

I have an 870 21" barrel with sureshot stock and a burris fast fire red dot.. currently running a jellyhead .665 chock

its light, really manueverable with that stock and short barrel combo, and produces every bit if a killer pattern needed. I love the gun

sureshot comes in pretty handy too when I slap the slug barrel and Nikon BDC on it for deer season

[Jgspahn]

I have an 870 21" barrel with sureshot stock and a burris fast fire red dot.. currently running a jellyhead .665 chock

its light, really manueverable with that stock and short barrel combo, and produces every bit if a killer pattern needed. I love the gun

sureshot comes in pretty handy too when I slap the slug barrel and Nikon BDC on it for deer season

So TauntoHawk, if I buy the top mentioned gun, would I definitely have to buy another choke? Also, I would have to buy sights as well i think. How far would you be confident in taking a shot with your current set up?

[davisd9]

The first shotgun would indeed need some sights if your point of aim is different than point of impact. Usually they are different with different load and choke combinations.  The second gun already has adjustable sights on it so it would not need any sights unless you wanted to mount a red dot or scope, in which it is tapped for already.

There is nothing wrong with patterning the choke that comes with it.  Use a few different loads and see what it does.  If you use Hevi-Shot then make sure the choke is rated for it.  If that choke does not produce a pattern in which you are happy with then there are good chokes to try, such as Primos JellyHead and a Pure Gold. 

Becareful not to get caught up in numbers in a pattern.  It is easy to do.  The most important thing about a pattern is how even it is in a 10" circle.  If you have 150 hits in a 10" cirlce that is even at 40 yards then that gun is a killer at 40 and in the right circumstances I would try 45 yards with it.  Good Luck and let keep us up to date!

[TauntoHawk]

So TauntoHawk, if I buy the top mentioned gun, would I definitely have to buy another choke? Also, I would have to buy sights as well i think. How far would you be confident in taking a shot with your current set up?

[/quote]

When I first started turkey hunting about 5 years ago I got the Remington without the sureshot or any of that extra stuff.. hunted with the stock x-full choke, used the bead on the barrel and shot lead #6's..
Killed my first 7 Toms with the first 7 shot between 25-46yds, now I know that for that choke and ammo set up I probably got pretty lucky on dropping that 46yd bird and should have kept under 40 which is the preferred range of any turkey hunter regardless. But the point is the stock Remington got the job done fine.
As I went I added the extras that are all nice but not necessities.
The sureshot stock is awesome and I Would recommend buy the gun that has it, the knoxx stock is good too. They offer much better control and comfort when maneuvering the gun. Makes those long holds on that slow strutting tom that much easier and less fatiguing. I have extremely short arms so the extended fore stock is almost as important because I have to almost fully extend my arm to properly hold a standard Remington on the 26" guns. The gun also holds a lot better for my wife who I got into turkey hunting last year.
The red dot is really nice too but not needed by any means. I wear contacts and when I would close one eye and stare down the barrel at the little bead it tended to blur out my vision making it very hard to find a birds head and see obstructions. The sight allows me to line up more like a scope and keep both eyes open giving me a much clear and wider field of vision. Gives me a big confidence boost but wasn't cheap even at the great deal I found it for. $155
Choke. This is one of the cheaper and best upgrades you can make, after a good bit of research I decided that the primos jellyhead gets great results with 870's. I got a size .665 for under $40. I also switched to Hevi-13 shot and got both 3-2-7's and 3-2-MB. If I bought another choke it would be a custom one from Sumtoy or maybe an Indian Creek in a .660.

The general rule of thumb for maximum range is you want 100 pellets or more evenly inside a 10" circle.
Inside 10" circles I got
At 50yds with my stock choke and lead 6's I got 26 hits. (shows how lucky I got on some of those 40+ shots I never should have taken with this set up)
Mag blends and jellyhead I got 81 hits at 50yds
Hevi #7's and jellyhead I got 110 hits at 50yds.
So according to that I can feel pretty confident at about 50yds with the Hevi13 loads But with that said I feel best keeping to 40 and about 45 max in an open field. And yes last year I pass on an opportunity on a bird at 51-52 with the Mag Blends loaded in because I just didn't want to stretch the limits and risk injuring a really mature bird. I killed at 29 and 33, the birds didn't move or even flop.

Sorry for the overly Long winded response but im getting way too excited for spring, can you tell? To sum up the Remington will make an awesome turkey gun, get the sureshot if you can. Buy some good turkey loads, add an after market choke if you have the cash. Get out and Pattern, make sure the POI is the same as POA if it is the beads should work fine for aiming and find a comfortable range and call the birds inside of that.

Just like Archery.. Brag about how close you got them, not how far you had to shoot!!!

[chatterbox]

This is what you need to do.  Go out and buy any Mossberg shotgun and pm a picture of it to bird.  He'll really appreciate it.  He is the BIGGEST Mossberg fan EVER!

[SumToy]

 
Ok I think you have got alot to read so I add to it. LOL  Just get you a 870,535 or 835 and you will smile.

[Crappiepro]

This is what you need to do.  Go out and buy any Mossberg shotgun and pm a picture of it to bird.  He'll really appreciate it.  He is the BIGGEST Mossberg fan EVER!

WOW!! Talk about helpin out the new guy!!

[Crappiepro]

Oh yeah! Welcome to the forum!!
That Rem special purpose with the jelly head choke.665 is awesome. My buddy just put one on his and it shoots a really nice pattern.

[Turkeykiller12]

I ve heared the shurshot stock will hammer your jaw when shooting a hevi recoil load. Also, my brand new 870 wont eject a 2 3/4" shell after shooting it.

[bird]

This is what you need to do.  Go out and buy any Mossberg shotgun and pm a picture of it to bird.  He'll really appreciate it.  He is the BIGGEST Mossberg fan EVER!

Ha Ha Very Funny Bobby Boy

Friends Don't Let Friends Shoot Mossbergs!

Get a Rem870SM 23" VR barrel and a Pure Gold .670 choke, Burris FastFire III and add a Knoxx recoil reducing stock and your all set.

[CASH]

This is what you need to do.  Go out and buy any Mossberg shotgun and pm a picture of it to bird.  He'll really appreciate it.  He is the BIGGEST Mossberg fan EVER!

Ha Ha Very Funny Bobby Boy

Friends Don't Let Friends Shoot Mossbergs!

Get a Rem870SM 23" VR barrel and a Pure Gold .670 choke, Burris FastFire III and add a Knoxx recoil reducing stock and your all set.