Remington 870, Carlson's .575, and HWT 7

[Jbird22]

Guys who are using this combo, what are you averaging with your setup? I shot mine today (26" bbl) and was slightly disappointed with the result. The gun is like new and has only had about 1 box of dove loads ran through it. The barrel has not been polished but I did run a boresnake through it twice before shooting. Anyway, the end result was 122 hits in a 10" circle at a lasered 40 yds. I was only slightly disappointed because even though the numbers were a little lower than I expected, the overall pattern was even. I plan on polishing the barrel when I get time and trying it again. Hopefully that will bring my total up around 140-150 which would make me happy.

[mightyjoeyoung]

You're shooting a 20 gauge that'll put up better numbers than most guys' 12 gauges with heavy lead shot loads and you're "slightly disappointed"?!       lol  That being said, my own 21" bbl'd 870 with the .575 Carlson's non-ported tube and HW 7's puts up a consisitent 150-160 avg all day long.  Some guns just won't do what everyone else's gun will but I would first deep clean the bbl and see what that gets you, THEN I would worry about a polish job.  I polish all my shotgun bbl's before I shoot them anyways so though I'm sure it helps, I can't tell you actuall percentages.  What I CAN tell you is that a deep clean on just about ANY bbl WILL help numbers. 

[Jbird22]

You're shooting a 20 gauge that'll put up better numbers than most guys' 12 gauges with heavy lead shot loads and you're "slightly disappointed"?!       lol  That being said, my own 21" bbl'd 870 with the .575 Carlson's non-ported tube and HW 7's puts up a consisitent 150-160 avg all day long.

I'm pleased that it does out perform a lot of 12 ga lead loads but your second sentence is why I'm slightly disappointed. I think it's capable of doing better with a little maintenance though. I'll deep clean and polish then try it again.

[SCDieselDawg]

Same gun, same choke, HWT 6s went 140s for me. If you want more #s with your setup get a SSX

[Palmetto Turk]

What do you guys consider a deep clean? And how do you polish a barrel? Tks.

[FullChoke]

What do you guys consider a deep clean? And how do you polish a barrel? Tks.

Deep Cleaning: http://allaboutshooting.com/article_info.php?articles_id=282

Barrel Polishing: http://oldgobbler.com/Forum/index.php/topic,182.0.html

[RHBUCKMASTER]

Let us know if there is a change in pattern after the cleaning and polishing.

[surehuntsalot]

this is the .575 Carlson in a 21" barrel with #6's

[Jbird22]

Let us know if there is a change in pattern after the cleaning and polishing.

Well I shot it again today even though the temps were around 10 degrees cooler than when I shot the original pattern. I was hoping to get 130-140 but ended up only getting 113. It would appear that either this choke isn't the right choke for my gun or this isn't a good lot of shells. Either way, the pattern would without a doubt kill at this distance as it was very even and without large gaps but I'd like it to be a little tighter. I might see if I can acquire an SSX but it's not top priority right now as this is currently just a project in the beginning stages.

[owlhoot]

jbird

What was the temp for both shots?

47 degrees with snow not melted completely around , damp creek bottom, hey it is Feb. in Missouri.
But 40+= warm here now!
With a Winchester 37 A 28" full barrel i shot 104 in the ten and another 133 in the 20" for 237.
With the FED. 7 HWT 3".
My 870 21" with them does around 160 in the 10", but have only tested it on warmer and dryer days.
Same loads , has a RSF choke.
For a 20 with 1 1/2 oz.  This is not disappointing at all.  FYI   330 pellets in the 1 1/2oz with HWT 7's.

[Jbird22]

The day I got 122 was low-mid 70's with little wind best I recall. Yest (113) was mid 60's with a slight crosswind.

[deacon]

The shorter barrel 870s shoot the fed 7s better. My 21" bbl 870 averages 170-190 with SSX .550. Did mid 160s with .570 PG (ported). Rem SF .570 was 160s  .555 IC was lowest in 130-140 range. My 21" bbl 1187 20 won't touch the 870 for some reason. I also had higher #s with a dirtier bbl.

[Jbird22]

The shorter barrel 870s shoot the fed 7s better. My 21" bbl 870 averages 170-190 with SSX .550. Did mid 160s with .570 PG (ported). Rem SF .570 was 160s  .555 IC was lowest in 130-140 range. My 21" bbl 1187 20 won't touch the 870 for some reason. I also had higher #s with a dirtier bbl.

Those are good #'s for sure. Wonder why the shorter barrels seem to shoot better?

[grundan]

The shorter barrel 870s shoot the fed 7s better. My 21" bbl 870 averages 170-190 with SSX .550. Did mid 160s with .570 PG (ported). Rem SF .570 was 160s  .555 IC was lowest in 130-140 range. My 21" bbl 1187 20 won't touch the 870 for some reason. I also had higher #s with a dirtier bbl.

Those are good #'s for sure. Wonder why the shorter barrels seem to shoot better?

I have wondered the same thing as well? It has got to do something with the burn time of the powder maybe? I have often wondered after reading a lot on here if a longer barrel has any real benefit.

[gophert]

I don't think it's the norm for a shorter barrel to out perform a longer barrel on paper.  In the woods it doesn't matter.  Given similar loads and choke performance, the longer barrel will out perform the shorter 99.9% of the time....it's just physics.