26" 870. good choke to start with?

[jordanz7935]

Hello everyone its been awhile since ive been on here but its getting to be that time of year again!!My younger brother,14, saved his money from his summer job and bought his first "new shotgun".a 26" 870 express.Although he had a hard time finding a 26" in stock anywhere.(I highly recommended the 26" over the 28" for obvious reasons). Anyhow, im in the process of selecting a good turkey choke for him to start with. ill probably set him up with 3 in #5's. Either Turkey Thugs or Win supreme hi-vel. Maybe if i can find em locally the new longbeard xr's. Never been a fan of number 6 lead and i probably wont bother with htl because of price,availability. He will be using the bead sight at least for the first year. I want to get him a good proven choke for a good (cheap) price. I've read alot of good stuff about the ventilator but im afraid it would be too tight of a pattern for a bead and they seem to prefer #6 shot. Locally i have 2 options in my budget, the rem superfull turkey and the ported undertaker.665. I can get the undertaker on clearance for $15. What do you guys think? feel free to post links of any good deals you find.

[ILIKEHEVI-13]

The Rem Ventilator .655 will be the way to go for the price.

http://www.gunpartscorp.com/ad/956890.htm

[SumToy]

The long beard comes in 4's and 5's also.  Now the long beard likes a little more open choke.  665

The other lead loads like to be choked smaller.  650 to 655

[nyhunter]

I would take a look at the patterns SumToy is getting with there chokes and the New Win. long beard.  They are very impressive for lead. Thats where I will buy my next choke from. 

Now I have good luck with the fallowing chokes out of all 870's
Kicks .655 win. HV and XX #6 and "old" Federal 2oz#5 and #6
Hasting's .660 Win. XX #5's and #6's and HV #6's , "old" Fed. #5's & #6's
Jellyhead .660 All H-13 - #6's , #7's , MagBlends , Win. XX#6's and HV#6's
Indian Creek .665 H-13 #7's . 

[Longshanks]

Ventilator .655 and Kicks .655/ Pb 6's

[the Ward]

If this is his first year turkey hunting I would probably not go too tight on the choke/pattern. Easy to get really excited and miss with a tight pattern, especially with a bead sight.Also make sure he's going to be ok with recoil of a 3" mag,it can be pretty stout out of an 870.Try using a lead sled or similar when patterning so he doesn't develop a flinch.Good luck and I hope you both have a great, safe and successful  season!

[3" 870 Shell Shucker]

SumToy is killing it with the Winchester Long Beards.  He has them dialed in.

I also have some Indian Creek .665 3" #5 Lead patterns posted over on the Pattern Pictures Forum.

http://oldgobbler.com/Forum/index.php/topic,40154.0.html

[allaboutshooting]

Locally i have 2 options in my budget, the rem superfull turkey and the ported undertaker.665. I can get the undertaker on clearance for $15

First of all, it's good to see you back and congratulations to your brother for saving his money and buying a very good gun.

There are all kinds of chokes out there that will work with his gun but frankly, the most important part is spending a little time at the range and then, you older brother, teaching him some woodsmanship.

Those #6 pellets will cleanly kill a turkey, as long as you know the range that the shell and choke he chooses will throw a killing pattern.

Your working with him is frankly the most important part. I'd go with that Undertaker and some good #6 lead shells, maybe Winchester XX or HV shells. Then spend a little time at the range shooting at some big paper, that will allow him to gain confidence in both the choke and his ability.

You may also want to consider buying a box of low brass 2.75" shells to start the process. They will have much less recoil and have a better chance of not producing a flinch that is easily developed shooting turkey loads.

Whatever you do, I congratulate you for working with your younger brother and introducing him to the sport of turkey hunting.

Thanks,
Clark

[jordanz7935]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Yea the longbeards have definitely gotten my attention this yr for sure. Im probably gonna run them in my 935 and drop the mag blends. I would love to get him a sumtoy but the most i can spend is around $30. and Ward this will be his 3rd yr turkey hunting with me. He can easily handle the recoil hes very tall,6'2, for his age. He actually killed his first gobbler last year with me using my 935 with 3.5 Mag Blends. but yea that was my thinking going into this that i dont want him having too tight of a pattern @ close range either. Im set on lead 5s for sure which is the only reason i haven't ordered the ventilator yet. Anyone have any pattern pics of the ventillator with lead 5s? i might look into the hastings chokes too, i see em on ebay all the time for cheap.thanks for the input guys

[jordanz7935]

Thanks for the input clark i appreciate it. Its been a blast teachin him the ways of the woods. You can see his first turkey on youtube, "Rockwell Outdoors Episode 2".His hunt with me filming/calling, is the first segment on that episode. check  it out guys. He got his first buck with me this season also. Ive had him shooting since he was 10 and hes turned into a good shot. So its nice now the learning curve is over with him for the most part but i totally undertand what your saying clark. Like i said im pretty set on lead 5s so ill just have to try a few different loads when i decide on a choke. We have 3 months until turkey season so no big rush. Im sure it wont be to hard to get him 105 to 110 in the 10" circle @ 40 type patterns which is what im lookin for.

[ILIKEHEVI-13]

Don't overlook the Ventilator .655 and the hevi-13 3" 1.75oz #6 loads. 

[the Ward]

Ok good deal.Wasn't sure about his experience when I saw the age.Sounds like he is in good hands.

[Gamblinman]

I have yet to see a bad patern out of a 870 and Jellyhead choke. With a little research, you can pick one up for $30.00.

Gman

[jblackburn]

There are several rem chokes in the classifieds here the would be in your budget

[tbarfiel22]

shot my dads this past weekend with a 24" with a tru glo gobble stopper .665 and put 140 #4s at 30 yards in an 8 inch circle with the longbeard xrs