Question About Scoping a Shotgun
08-05-2016, 08:09 AM
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Winston County, AL
Posts: 84
Question About Scoping a Shotgun
I've got a Remington 870 Express. I also have a Nikon ProStaff Shotgun scope and one of those removable saddle mounts for it. The problem is that the saddle mount doesn't fit flush against the top of the gun, and even with the shortest scope rings I can find the scope is too high off the gun for reliable aiming. I want to know if I can take it to a gunsmith and have it tapped and drilled for rings but in such a way that I can completely remove it all for dove hunting/skeet shooting/etc. I have both a smooth and a rifled barrel, and I can think of instances I'd want the scope with both, or not have it with both.
I just want to know if it's even possible. Oh, and what kind of hardware should I be looking for?
I just want to know if it's even possible. Oh, and what kind of hardware should I be looking for?
08-05-2016, 08:33 AM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Illinois
Posts: 3,695
Yep, you can drill and tap, or have it done, your receiver for a rail. It's not hard to do at all. Just make sure you get your positions and measurements spot on as there is no room for error in the project. Here's a very good instructional link to the project at hand. If you doubt in ANY WAY your abilities to do this yourself, take it to a competent gunsmith and have them do it.
http://www.rem870.com/2013/10/30/dri...t-ring-sights/
http://www.rem870.com/2013/10/30/dri...t-ring-sights/
08-06-2016, 06:00 AM
#4
Spike
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 8
Scoping a shotgun question
Dear Barefoot:
I have two deer hunting shotguns that work very well, and one is with a "shotgun style" stock as your is. For that one I have been very happy with a low mount dot sight on the saddle mount like yours. There are various manufactures but on excellent one is the Burris tiny (about 1 oz) Fastfire. It's so low that even with the saddle mount it lines right up with my eye with a normal cheek placement. If you want a telescopic sight that will be higher. The Fastfire set up is so quick and sharp I never considered a scope on a smoothbore, and I get less than 2" groups at 75 yards with the Truball. Oh, it's an 870. Otherwise consider a cheek pad for your stock. The problem is you don't have a rifle type stock so yours is too low. This is the fastest and easiest sighting deer gun combo for me. Even though we've gone to rifle at least temporarily in Indiana, I'll keep this one for multiple purposes as it's 20 inch smooth barrel and unexpected accuracy will serve other purposes. I hope this helps. It did for me.
I have two deer hunting shotguns that work very well, and one is with a "shotgun style" stock as your is. For that one I have been very happy with a low mount dot sight on the saddle mount like yours. There are various manufactures but on excellent one is the Burris tiny (about 1 oz) Fastfire. It's so low that even with the saddle mount it lines right up with my eye with a normal cheek placement. If you want a telescopic sight that will be higher. The Fastfire set up is so quick and sharp I never considered a scope on a smoothbore, and I get less than 2" groups at 75 yards with the Truball. Oh, it's an 870. Otherwise consider a cheek pad for your stock. The problem is you don't have a rifle type stock so yours is too low. This is the fastest and easiest sighting deer gun combo for me. Even though we've gone to rifle at least temporarily in Indiana, I'll keep this one for multiple purposes as it's 20 inch smooth barrel and unexpected accuracy will serve other purposes. I hope this helps. It did for me.
08-06-2016, 06:33 AM
#5
Spike
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 8
Scoping a shotgun
Deer Barefoot:
A second post to avoid confusion. I hope this info helps. I made several mistakes in my decades of equipping myself for shotgun deer hunting. My second deer hunting shotgun is designed for that purpose, it's also an 870 but it has a high rifle style cheekpiece and 20 inch rifled barrel with a barrel mounted cantilevered scope mount. (Even drilling the receiver will not put your telescopic sight low enough with the shotgun butstock, in my opinion, and your scope will be too far back, again my opinion and experience.) The high cheekpiece puts your eye right centered in the scope. Choose your scope carefully, because a drawback of a scoped shotgun is the recoil, and a cut nose and eyebrow is a common occurrence. I chose a Nikon unit with a 5 inch eye relief and hold over range marks, which is perfect for me. Very comfy to carry, and to shoot quickly, just like shooting a rifle for me, and this particular one shoots 1 3/4 inch groups at 100 yards all day, which I understand is common nowadays. It amazed me, but I'm old. (Well OK, so I can't stand the recoil all day, but you know what I mean
So, another option would be to replace your stock with one of the Remington deer specific butt stocks and keep your saddle mount. Personally I like the saddle mount, after I filed off a bit of the edge just behind my trigger finger so it quit cutting me. Another option would be to buy an assembled and zeroed unit similar to mine from someone in a state that just went to rifles. That happened to me, so now I can and do shoot deer at 300 yards with the 30 cal. A rifle is no improvement over the "deer" shotgun at normal ranges of 150 yard or so. I'm going to find a good home for my set up "deer" shotgun cheap, since it's an extra one. You could contact me if you want to see photos of what this type of setup looks like. I hope these ideas help save you from some of the mistakes I made searching for the perfect shotgun solution.
A second post to avoid confusion. I hope this info helps. I made several mistakes in my decades of equipping myself for shotgun deer hunting. My second deer hunting shotgun is designed for that purpose, it's also an 870 but it has a high rifle style cheekpiece and 20 inch rifled barrel with a barrel mounted cantilevered scope mount. (Even drilling the receiver will not put your telescopic sight low enough with the shotgun butstock, in my opinion, and your scope will be too far back, again my opinion and experience.) The high cheekpiece puts your eye right centered in the scope. Choose your scope carefully, because a drawback of a scoped shotgun is the recoil, and a cut nose and eyebrow is a common occurrence. I chose a Nikon unit with a 5 inch eye relief and hold over range marks, which is perfect for me. Very comfy to carry, and to shoot quickly, just like shooting a rifle for me, and this particular one shoots 1 3/4 inch groups at 100 yards all day, which I understand is common nowadays. It amazed me, but I'm old. (Well OK, so I can't stand the recoil all day, but you know what I mean
So, another option would be to replace your stock with one of the Remington deer specific butt stocks and keep your saddle mount. Personally I like the saddle mount, after I filed off a bit of the edge just behind my trigger finger so it quit cutting me. Another option would be to buy an assembled and zeroed unit similar to mine from someone in a state that just went to rifles. That happened to me, so now I can and do shoot deer at 300 yards with the 30 cal. A rifle is no improvement over the "deer" shotgun at normal ranges of 150 yard or so. I'm going to find a good home for my set up "deer" shotgun cheap, since it's an extra one. You could contact me if you want to see photos of what this type of setup looks like. I hope these ideas help save you from some of the mistakes I made searching for the perfect shotgun solution.
