New Turkey Hunter with Gun Question
 

Hello all,

I am an avid deer hunter both gun/archery and I have finally decided to try Turkey hunting after listening to all my buddies how great it is. I have a question regarding my shotgun. I have a Remington 870 express. My question is do I have to get a new barrel or is there anything I have to do to modify it for turkey hunting? just trying to figure out what I need to do in order to prepare for the Spring.

Thanks!

How long is the barrel? I hunt with an old Rem 1100 with a 28" bbl and I wish it was shorter sometimes. If you have a RemChoke bbl you might want to invest in an after-market turkey choke. Shoot you existing choke/chokes first with different loads to see how they pattern, before you spend money on the after-market chokes.

I'm sure there are people in the forum with more experience than me with turkey hunting that can give you more info. You will get some illustrations from these people as to what they think a good pattern for your shotgun is.

Good luck!

We wait out your answered questions before we jump in here :biggrin:

Barrel is 28in with standard modified Rem choke

superotto80- welcome to the disease for which there is no cure....you don't want one either.
As for the question and your info. I have hunted with a 28" barrel on my Nova. It worked well. The issue is the swing radius- if you are in a wide open area then the barrel isn't as big an issue, but if the brush and woods are tight, you have a swing problem.
My other concern for you is the choke. I am sure the Rem Choke is ok, but I would seriously concider an after market choke. The best thing for you to do (IMA) is get a couple of chokes- one being a SSX for the Rem., there are 100's of opinions on this, but for the money (under $40) you can get a great choke (The place I got mine sent it cleaned of grease and answered any question I had). Then get a cross section of shells (3's, 3 1/2" and shot sizes 4, 5, 6 and companies. I have had great luck with Federal, but other guys like Rem or Winchester) the piont is you have to find what your gun likes. Fire those at 20 and 40yds to get a base line for all the chokes you have. The one that gets the best pattern and pellets in the kill zone is your combination. Also what sight do you have? If you have open sights and want a good cheap fix, triviz sights by HiViz are great. More of a tech head? I LOVE my EOTech I got from my late brother. It was his on his SWAT entry weapon (AR15) WOW, but it is $350 new. Hope that helps a bit.
Also what part of the country are you hunting. I have met a bunch of guys when i started that helped me is so many ways that lived close. Keep that in mind too.

Thanks for the response. Just to give you guys an update I am currently looking at the Rem SSX choke (thanks firelt72). Also Firelt72 I am from NE Pennsylvania and I do have a couple of buddies who hunt so they will help. They are going to have to show me the ropes when it comes to hunting for turkey.

I'll help you out.

Get this choke. For the money you won't beat it.

http://www.gunpartscorp.com/catalog/...ilator&catid=0

And buy you about 3 boxes of the Hevi-13 3" 2oz #7's.

You will thank me later.

Here's a pattern form my 870 Express with that choke and load.

http://www.hunt101.com/showphoto.php...=&ppuser=23790