patterned my 870 20ga

[nyhunter]

gun was a 870 20ga with a 26" barrel.all shots were at a measured 40 yds, shooting at 3'x3' sheets of paper. shells were Hevi-13 3" #7, pellet counts were in a 10" circle
choke #1 was a ssx .550, gun was clean
1-107
2-114
choke#2 was a tru lock .575 non ported. gun was clean
1-122
2-147
3-136
I was hoping for better " higher" numbers but you get what you get I guess. I will be trying the federal heavy weight #7's next,and proly another choke to throw in the mix.  any sugestions on a choke and what size?

[FullChoke]

I don't have a suggestion for choke/shot, but my pattern numbers jumped by 12%-15% when I deep-cleaned the barrel of my 870 and then polished it per the instructions over on the Guns section. Don't try to short-cut any of the steps or materials and really take your time to do it right the first time. I believe that you will be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Keep us up to date on your progress. Good luck.

FullChoke

[SumToy]

Ok I think your number are low BUT could be a few things.   The guys with our chokes and the IC chokes see bigger numbers. 

Now you shoot then put the 10 or put the 10 then shoot.   Now what was the weather like?  I would try a few thing before I go off playing in the inside of the barrel.  ALOT of guns that put big numbers and do nothing but buy choke and shells. 

Clean barrel with brush.  Then run denatured alcohol down it to clean oil or junk out.   Let it dry out.  Find a good blue sky mild temp day.  Fire away you should see 150 or above.

[allaboutshooting]

gun was a 870 20ga with a 26" barrel.all shots were at a measured 40 yds, shooting at 3'x3' sheets of paper. shells were Hevi-13 3" #7, pellet counts were in a 10" circle
choke #1 was a ssx .550, gun was clean
1-107
2-114
choke#2 was a tru lock .575 non ported. gun was clean
1-122
2-147
3-136
I was hoping for better " higher" numbers but you get what you get I guess. I will be trying the federal heavy weight #7's next,and proly another choke to throw in the mix.  any sugestions on a choke and what size?

We normally see much higher numbers with the SSX and those #7 shot shells. Those look more like #6 shot scores that we see.

I do have a couple of suggestions. I would deep clean both the barrel and the choke. I would make sure the magazine cap is tight, hand tighten and then 3 clicks with some padded pliers.
I'd shoot some inexpensive shells, 2.75" are fine, through the barrel and choke, a box would be good. The SSX responds to a break-in period. Then I'd thoroughly clean everything again and take it to the range to shoot at big paper and circle your best 10" patterns. My guess is that you'll see some better patterns.

Thanks,
Clark

[nyhunter]

The temp was 56 and the wind was 5-10 mph, and i only shot when it was calm.
I agree with Clark those numbers represent #6 shot more than #7.  The barrel was beep cleaned last year and maybe had 5 shots threw it with foster type slugs. Then it was cleaned again before i shot it with the H-13 turkey loads. I shot at a bulls eye and then circled the densest part of the pattern. I'm wondering if shooting the lead slugs maybe had something to with the low numbers. 

[allaboutshooting]

The temp was 56 and the wind was 5-10 mph, and i only shot when it was calm.
I agree with Clark those numbers represent #6 shot more than #7.  The barrel was beep cleaned last year and maybe had 5 shots threw it with foster type slugs. Then it was cleaned again before i shot it with the H-13 turkey loads. I shot at a bulls eye and then circled the densest part of the pattern. I'm wondering if shooting the lead slugs maybe had something to with the low numbers.

You certainly did everything correctly. You shot at a realistic temperature for fall or early spring hunting but those numbers, all of them, still seem low for that shell with #7 shot.

The leading that you experienced after shooting those foster slugs should have been removed with some Hoppe's and a good scrubbing with a brass/bronze brush, so should not have effected your patterns.

It looks like you shot a box of 5 shells. Were they shot as you listed them, the SSX first and then the Trulock? If so, did you clean in any way between the first 2 and the second 3 shots? Just curious since some guns/chokes will shoot better patterns as they foul.

That would not explain the low numbers but it might explain the increase in numbers of the second group of shots as opposed to the first group.

Thanks,
Clark

[nyhunter]

yes i shot the ssx first "2 shots" then cleaned it and shot the next 3 with the tru lock.

[allaboutshooting]

yes i shot the ssx first "2 shots" then cleaned it and shot the next 3 with the tru lock.

I suspect that your gun may like a slightly fouled bore.

I have a gun just like the one that you have. I also have both of those chokes and those shells. If I can get temps like yours, I'll shoot 5 shells in exactly the same way that you did and see what happens.

Thanks,
Clark

[SumToy]

Clean the gun after each shot as you test. That way you try to keep everything the same.  The turlock will work and folks have seen good numbers with fed hw.   Now if you feel you want better numbers you need to try Sumtoy 562 or the IC choke. A lot of guys run 555 in it.   FORGET doing anything.g to the barrel. Seen A LOT of guns go DOWN in numbers from folks working on bore of gun. Big thing is brush it and patch it or run snake down it.  Just do same between shots.   

I think if you a numbers guy change choke if you a hunter shoot the trulock.  Just keep it 

[allaboutshooting]

yes i shot the ssx first "2 shots" then cleaned it and shot the next 3 with the tru lock.

To be sure my memory on numbers was correct, I pulled some paper that Doris shot last week with her 870 with a 26" barrel and the SSX. She used #6 shot Hevi-13 shells. No cleaning between shots. (We normally don't count number in 10", just look for the numbers in 3" circles.)

I took her targets, used the best 3" circle as the middle and drew a 10" circle around that. It may or may not have been the best 10" on the paper but it at least allows a count of the hits within 10".

They were:

123
117
130
131
121

Remember these were #6 shot shells not #7 shot shells.

I'll shoot those #7s as soon as the temperatures cooperate.

Thanks,
Clark

[nyhunter]

ok thanks Clark, I look forward to seeing your results.

[savduck]

That seems pretty low to me for 7s.  I have the 870 with 21 inch barrll.

My SSX puts up 155 to 175 numbers with Hevi 13 7 s

With fed 7s it puts up 140 to 160 type numbers.

[allaboutshooting]

ok thanks Clark, I look forward to seeing your results.

The temperature is right today but it's pouring down rain and we may have that all week. It will probably be next week before I can get out to shoot that #7 shot.

It didn't rain all summer and now it wants to rain about every day.

A question just crossed my mind. Did you look at the individual shells you shot to make sure that some #6 shot shells had not been mistakenly put in a #7 shot box? Those numbers just sound too much like #6 shot. I've shot enough of that #7 and seen much higher numbers very consistently with those shells.

Thanks,
Clark

[nyhunter]

unfortunately i didn't check the shot itself, the shells did have#7 on them.

[allaboutshooting]

unfortunately i didn't check the shot itself, the shells did have#7 on them.

Thank you. I understand. With the cost of shotshells today, it can be "painful" to cut them open and examine the shot size.

I'll let you know as soon as I've duplicated your work.

Thanks again,
Clark