870 owners ????

[nyhunter]

I have a 20ga 870 with a 26in barrel that I'd like to turn into a "turkey only" gun. I was wondering what you guys are doing to get good 40yd patterns? I'm leaning toward a ssx choke and fed. heavy weight 7's. I will take any advice on choke and shell combo that you have had good luck with also. I guess what i wanna know is are you having the forcing cone done, barrel polished, ported, trigger work? What should I expect from my little 20 as far as 10in numbers at 40yds?  Thanks

[mossyoakpro]

You are gonna get very well educated on this topic.....there are some sure enough 20 gauge turkey killers on here.  I will be watching as well.

Can't ever learn enough about this subject   

[R AJ]

My 870 26" gun has only had a very clean barrel with polishing done by using some 0000 steel wool wrapped around a brass brush and coated with a dab of bore polish . I have had IC 555, Swarm 550, TG GS , TG SSX, Rem SF , Sumtoy 562, and JH among others. At 40 yds using a shell like H-13 #7 or Fed HW #7s all are turkey killers , with my personal favorite of Sumtoy and TGSSX .
140s  at 40 yds and more in #7s.

I would not do the expensive "other" treatments unless seriously into target shooting myself.

[Waddle Whacker]

I shoot the 21" barrel youth model and have done nothing to it, other than clean the barrel. The SSX and Fed 7's is a good place for you to start. That has been a highly successful combo for a bunch of folks on here, I am not one of them. My best and most consistent patterns came from the Fed. 7's through a Primos TightWad. I averaged low-mid 140's. I have since switched to TSS, but if it comes to a point where I can no longer afford it, I would gladly go back to the TW and HW7's. 140's seems to be about perfect to me with the HW7's, smokin pattern with a little wiggle room. I don't care to have it any tighter. Four of the six birds i killed with it failed to flop. The H13 7's will put up higher numbers, but I prefer the more dense shot. If you would prefer a denser pattern, H13 may be a better choice for you. The Rem Super Full choke is another turkey killa and can be had for under $20. Mine was slightly subpar (120's) compared to the TW, just another option that others have been highly successful with. These are just my experiences, but there are plenty good choke/load combos out there, and every single gun is different.  Mr. William at SumToy will hook you up and get it shooting how it should, he was great to do business with. Excellent customer service. You may want to give him a call.

[nyhunter]

Thanks for the advice guys, Keep it coming if any of you have something else please let me know whats workin for you.

[DocHolliday]

Set one up for my son as a "travel gun" (we shoot doubles at home). If I may, I would suggest trying the Trulock/Cabelas Hevishot tube in the standard Full Choke. The numbers aren't quite as gaudy, but it is a "killer" at 40 (plus) and isn't so tight that it's a baseball sized pattern at 20 yds.  IMO, we get so caught up in the 40 yd numbers that we forget the object of getting them close. Good enough at 40 and good enough at 20 might be a better goal for a hunting piece with a single bbl (pump/auto). That is in fact why we shoot doubles. One bbl for way out (30 plus) and the other for in close (25 in), each with some overlap. We shoot T9's or Hevi 7's for distance from a tight choke and Hevi 9's up close from a very open choke (DEADLY out to 25 yds at least-that's the furthest kill w/them).
Best of luck!
Doc

[Sand Man]

IMO, we get so caught up in the 40 yd numbers that we forget the object of getting them close.

Couldn't agree more.  This is also the reason I went to a red dot on our 20's.  The patterns I shot at close range aren't very forgiving.


To answer the question, I'm reloading 1 5/8oz TSS 9's.  I get North of 300 in the 10 @ 40 yards with both guns.  I'm using a Remington Super Full Lead only choke.

I found that the Remington Super Full Hevi-Shot choke throws a more open pattern with TSS.  It shots less in the 10 at 40, but it has more hits in the 20" than the lead only choke.  I want to say it was 260ish in the 20 and 260is in the 10 as well vs just stacking 350ish like my gun in the 10".  I guess what I'm getting at is it's a lot more forgiving than the lead only choke, so I set my dad up with the Hevi Shot choke.

Both of these guns were 21" barrels.  I'd expect better with a 26" barrel.

All I did to both guns were polished and deep clean the barrels.  Nothing else.

[killdee]

I'm on the way to reloading TSS also and Hal told me the Rem sf choke was a real winner and to wait about buying more chokes before I shot the tss. Mine shots the Hevi better than the HW federal, both 7's in this setup in a 21'' 870.

[BrowningGuy88]

I have a SumToy in the mail for the Fed HWT's. I have seen some impressive numbers on here with that combo. Hope it works as well for me. Hopefully 140+ in the 10.

[gophert]

Hard to beat the Indian Creek .555 if you like it tight and uniform

[Borat]

188 @ 40.  See pattern/load: http://oldgobbler.com/Forum/index.php/topic,25861.0.html

[dirt road ninja]

I'd skip the forcing cone work. The choke and shells you mentioned should provide you with a very capable rig. I'm currently using a 21" barrel with a JH .570 and Hevi 7's getting 115 - 137 with most going 125 in the 10. Smoked two with it this year and couldn't have been happier with the results. I hope to try a SSX as well this summer.

[schuylkillspur]

I'm currently using a .572 non-ported undertaker tube with Federal HW#7. will kill turkeys all day long @ 40yds.