one thing i noticed about shooting a longer barrel and scop with crosshairs

[bowmike]

Was sighting in my 870 with the scope this weekend. My 870 has a 28" barrel. I wanted to shoot from a sitting position once I had got the scope dialed in. When sitting in your typical turkey hunting position with gun resting on my knee, i was very wobbly and found it very hard to keep the scope on the target. I am a decent shot, and rarely flinch, and shoot on exhale but I think with the longer barrel it makes it tough to keep the gun itself steady. I did not notice this when shooting with the bead but when you put a scope with reticles on it and some magnification, it really shows.

Anyone else have this issue? I am sure that by practicing with the gun more I will have less of this occuring but I don't want to have the bird come in and not be able to get the crosshairs on him.

[vt35mag]

Always SEEM steadier with irons, when in reality you are probably wobbling the same amount.  Also when you are using magnification, the sight is going to block out less of the target vs without.  A larger MOA dot (if you are using a red dot) would help decrease the amount of perceived wobbling.

[bowmike]

That is what i meant with the bead. I was definetly wobbling but it is far less noticeable, the scope really points out how much you are moving. It surpised me how much you actually move.

Is this decreased by going with a shorter barrel?

[allaboutshooting]

Most of us use scopes for still target shooting. We're shooting at a 3" circle 40 yards away and sit in a "turkey hunting position" without any rest except by using our knee, just as you described. About the only difference is that we sit on low boy stools and do not lean against anything (like a tree) when we're turkey hunting.

Getting steady is always the challenge. Most of us use variable power scopes set on the very lowest setting. The higher the setting the more movement that you'll notice.

Relaxing, breath and site control, along with a gentle press of the trigger straight back and lots of practice really help. I'd suggest that you dry fire your gun to practice. If you're uncomfortable shooting your gun with an empty chamber, you can use snap caps. Dry fire will help you remember to squeeze the trigger and also help you to keep from developing a flinch as you practice.

Good luck.

Thanks,
Clark

[the Ward]

X2 on what Clark said.With a scope it is just much more noticeable when you wobble slightly due to the magnification.                           

[ShotGunSniper]

One reason why I traded my 835 with the 28" barrel for another 835 but with a 24" barrel. Now, I got my 1st kill with that 835 with the 28" barrel but I could had done the same with the 24 ". I noticed that the 24" barreled 835 has better balance for me over the 28". IMO, that 28" is for the duck's..lol. Just my 2 cent's.