The 870 is a good shooting 20 ga. I would go with .562 Hastings, a .550 Pure Gold, & a guy by the name of Clark Bush set a world record at the NWTF still target shoot with 32 pellets in a 3" circle at 40 yds. I will get his email address if you want one of his chokes.
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"It's not what you take but what you leave behind"
I always used the factory modified choke with the 20 cause i never shot more than 25 yards with it and still kept plenty of pellets in the kill. Ill probably get yelled at for that, but its just what ive always done.
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Taste the cold, feel the music.
from Jim Bell
Thinking of getting a 20 870 gauge Express to use as a backup for spring and as a fall gun. Does anyone else use this gun and if so what is your choke and shot combo?
Jim
As I get older (will be 56 in 6 weeks), the hills steeper, & the miles longer; I use a 20ga; and a Mossberg® by choice for several reasons:
"˘ I got tired of the heavy weight of a 12ga & the heavy recoil of the same. The 20ga is about 1½ lbs lighter & the recoil significantly less.
"˘ While I'm right-handed, I'm left eye dominant & thus shoot a long gun left handed. The ambidexterous top-tang safety was a big plus for me. Additionally the Winchester® & Remington® guns only have a 2 year warranty & the Mossberg® has a 10 year warranty.
"˘ Remington® guns require Remington® chokes. With in gauge however Browning Invector®, Mossberg®, SKB®, Savage®,Weatherby® & Winchester®chokes ARE FULLY INTERCHANGEABLE!
"˘ A Remington® 870 Express, on sale where I Iive costs $269.99+tax & comes with one choke, no sling or swivels. Conversley for $50.00 less I got a Mossberg® with three chokes, slings, and swivels. (You get the picture).
I'm not knocking the Remington® or Winchester®; it's just for me, the Mossberg®offers more for less money. The Mossberg® is not a cheap gun; it's an inexpensive gun, there's a big difference between the two. Now as to patterns & performance; chokes & ammo, this is what I have found & direction I'm heading (20ga Mossberg® specific):
The tubes shown in red are the ones that I have. All are rated for Hevi"˘Shot® with the exception of the Carlsons®. My son & I have experimented with many load & choke combinations (his gun is a Winchester® 20ga pump). What we did was use the same, exact, choke tube in my Mossberg® and his Winchester®. Clearly understand I DO NOT MEAN TWO CHOKE TUBES EXACTLY ALIKE; I MEAN WE USED THE TUBE IN MY GUN THEN PUT IT IN HIS GUN. My Mossberg® has a 26" barrel; his Winchester® a 28" barrel. We used 3" Mag Remington Hevi"˘Shot® 1ÂĽoz #4, 5, & 6 shot & 3" Federal GrandSlam® 1 5/16oz #4, 5, & 6 shot. Our findings were:
"˘ All chokes, in both guns, WOULD NOT PATTERN #4 SHOT IN A DENSE PATTERN SUITABLE FOR TURKEY HUNTING.
"˘ The same choke & shot combination DID NOT PERFORM THE SAME IN IN EACH GUN. (I'll cite below)
"˘ Conventional wisdom states that Hevi"˘Shot® needs a more open choke than lead shot. WE DID NOT FIND THAT TO BE TRUE. "˘ Hevi"˘Shot® doesn't always pattern "tighter" than lead.
My son's Winchester® has a definite preference for #5 shot. The absolute best load and choke combination for him wasCarlsons® .575" Turkey Choke and the Federal GrandSlam® 1 5/16oz #5 copper-plated shot. My Mossberg® with any of our chokes DOES NOT pattern #5 shot as well as my son's Winchester®. My Mossberg® is at is absolute best with #6 shot and the Hastings® .570" Choke Tube. Using Hevi"˘Shot® or Federal lead it consistently puts 27-29 pellets in a 3" circle out to 40 yds. (With the Hevi"˘Shot® it's always 27 pellets! Using Federal lead shot it's 28-29 pellets). My best target is before me from last year's tests. It reflects 61 pellets in the head & neck with 16 pellets in the brain & spine using Federal GrandSlam® 1 5/16oz #6. (This target DOES NOT reflect the 3" circle). I stated earlier the same choke doesn't perform the same in different guns; let me illustrate. When I shot the Federal® lead load of #5 shot with the Carlsons® tube I got 17 pellets in the 3" circle on the target. When my son used the same combination in his gun he puts 25pellets into the 3" circle. When I use the Hastings® .570 tube & Federal #6 shot I put 29 pellets in the 3" circle. Using the same combination in his gun my son put only 11 pellets in the 3" circle. SAME CHOKES & SHOT YETTHEY PATTERN FAR DIFFERENTLY. Thus you can see why my son uses the Carlsons® choke & lead 5's and I the Hastings® choke & lead 6's.
What I my son & I hope to do in the next couple of weeks is try Winchester Double-X Magnum loads & see how they perform with the above chokes; (#5 & 6 shot only). Additionally I will purchase two more Hastings® Tubes, .566" & .562" & see where those tests take us. If we run out of Hevi"˘Shot® due to our testing oh well; both of us have proven performers in the Federal Grand Slam loads.
Sorry to ramble on so but I hope his answers your question. Lastly take a look here:
Only two defining forces have ever died for you:
1. Jesus Christ
2. The American Soldier, Sailor, Airman, & Marine
One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.
Only two defining forces have ever died for you:
1. Jesus Christ
2. The American Soldier, Sailor, Airman, & Marine
One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.
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