modified choke
 

I'm looking to get a 20g nef single shot for my son this spring but the gun has a fixed modified choke. Is there anyway to change that or is it possible to still achieve a decent pattern out to 30yards?

RE: modified choke
 

A couple years ago I was going to get a gun for my daughter. My boss told me to try the one(20ga NEF)he had gotten for his son. Holy cow, My 12ga 870 kicks like a mule, but that thing was worse. I ended up getting her a 20ga 870. It works fine for her and was less than $250 w/sites and a slingon it as well.

But if he can handle the kick, it should pattern well enough at 20-30yds. Personally I didn't like it. It was a very loose pattern.

RE: modified choke
 

I got a 12g nef for my son a few years ago and it was very nice to carry for him, but I handloaded very light loads for trap shooting or upland game. It was very tough to shoot with factory slug loads, and would not have been manageable with turkey loads either. I agree with deerdust, use a heavier gun!

RE: modified choke
 

My dad has an old 870 with a modified chock and it will out shoot some 12 ga turkey guns.

RE: modified choke
 

My oldest son killed his first turkey with a 20G single shot with a modified choke at 20 yards.Its max wasn't much over 25 that I felt comfortable with.My other two boys shot 12's when they killed there first birds(12years of age)and they handled them quite well...:)

RE: modified choke
 

I own a NEF single shot that groups good out to twety yards but if you want more proformence out of the gun your can go to Hr1871.com and get a barrel with a full choke for like 42 more bucks.

RE: modified choke
 

My wife has the same gun & choke combo. Here is a pattern using Hevi•Shot® at 30yds; you be the judge. http://thehunterslife.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5466

RE: modified choke
 

dawei, if you could put the pic in here for them to see, it would bemuch better. Otherwise you have to actually join the forum and log in to see it.
Thanks

RE: modified choke
 

This is the pattern from Dawei's wifes 20 ga

RE: modified choke
 

deerdust is right - please shoot that gun if your son is small in stature. Those single shot can really kick.....worse possible thing yo can do with a young hunter if they can not handle it.

Start with very light loads. Low brass dove loads would be a good choice or if you reload use only 1 oz of shot in a light trap load. Goin right to a turkey load may be too much for any youngtser starting out. Build up to it.

We have a few youth models we have used in both pump and semi-auto at o9ur Hunter Education classes. As you might imagine the semi-auto kicks less than thepump and thepump will kick less than a single shot. It is all matter of force and what the gas from theround used as it helps with the action. For signle shots the gas is just for propulsion of the shot.

Just foodfor thought.

Now a SSwith a modified choke will do just fine at 30 yards based on the post deerdust did for you. Then try for a set-up where your youth hunter has a few visual ques such as a stick in the ground to help judge distance.Make it fun.

Good luck

JW

RE: modified choke
 

Ps - I use the same target every year. My rule of thumb more than 8 pellet holes in the neck vertebrae, skull only determines my lethal range.

I sight in the gun holding at the base of that picture and that is where the feathers stop and skin starts. that is the very bottom center of my circular pattern.
Does a couple of things you might want to consider;
1. I see the head the whole time I am holding on the bird. I am holding on the base of the neck.
2. Puts the dead center of my circular pattern in the middle of the neck.
3. Once I shoot the my pattern Allows me to cover the whole head.
4. Gives me a consistent area to target on the bird every and each time I have it in range.

After all with our tight patterns with these high speed loads to me it is just like we are shooting a slug. Aim at the whole bird you will miss it -Aik at one tiny little consistent spot helps you focus.

By using this method I have yet to miss a bird. Not saying someday I won't but since I became deadly serious as to why I missed before and did some research - I find it unlikley it will ever happen again.

JW

RE: modified choke
 

Thanks for the advice guys, would a pump 20 gauge be better then a single shot? I want my son to be able to hunt deer with the same gun.

RE: modified choke
 

I would prefer a pump over a single shot.

RE: modified choke
 

I use a modified choke sometimes on my 20 gage pump. At 30 yards it will pattern a softball with 6s, with 7.5s it will take a squirrel right off a branch 100' up, if that ain't good enough then nothing will be. Keep your yardage under 40 yards and you should do just fine.

RE: modified choke
 

Both my 12ga and 20 ga 870's are pump and I would hunt with either one, although the 20 is what I got for my daughter to use. I just added a recoil pad from Sims Vibration Labratories like this.

RE: modified choke
 

I think a pump 20 gauge would be a much better choice, that's what I started on. You can load it down to shoot light loads to get him started and then you can load it up for 3 inch turkey mags and you have a 35-40 yard turkey gun. With the fixed modified choke, my father had a shotgun barrel that he wanted to get cut and threaded for a choke tube (it was a fixed smooth bore slug barrel that he didn't use) but the steel was too thin. The gunsmith scored the inside of the barrel which he said tightened up the shot like a choke would. It shot pretty good and I took a bird with it that year, i don't know if anyone else has heard of this.

RE: modified choke
 

Also added a fiber optic site on hers like this one from SVL. My 12 ga has 2 balls and I just stack my balls as I have done for years and shoot like I know how. End result has always been a dead bird flopping. I did paint my forward ball bright white, since it has yellowed with age. LMAO:DIt sounds funny, but I am serious about my balls. Just never felt the need to add a site to my 12ga.

RE: modified choke
 

Sounds like a recoil pad may be in order. Won't matter much what pattern you get if the youngster develops a bad flinch.

I have heard that federal "flight control" shells,or something like that, help keep patterns tighter with more open chokes. Try them if you don't like the pattern you get.

RE: modified choke
 

Thanks for posting the photo deerdust!

RE: modified choke
 

No problem David.