Tomahog

Rhino Choke & Nitro Ammunition's Hevi shot load worked up specifically for
an .870 Mine works GREAT!

Big Al C

I have a 870 Express with the 21" barrel and I really love it for turkeys and deer (using buckshot, not slugs). I use a Briley extended choke made for Hevi-Shot and I get really good patterns out to 40 yards or more. The Briley choke came from Bass Pro and if I remember correctly it cost about 28-29 bucks, so not that expensive compared to some others out there. The Hevi-Shot is expensive though, so I am thinking about going back to a Kicks G.T. and Winchester Supreme Hi-Vel shells. With the Hevi-Shot I like #6, but with the lead I use #5.

Power

Shot the Hevishot 3" #6's and not impressed so far. It patterns exactly like the Winchester Supreme #6's. The Winchester is shooting 2oz. vs. the Hevi's 1 5/8oz. but the price difference isn't worth it as far as I can tell. The main differences was much less kick with the lighter load (duh) and probably faster (more energy).

Now if I could figure out how to try a bunch of different chokes in my 870 I'd be happier.

Big Al C

Power, I dont know what choke you were using when you tried the Hevi-Shot, but I have read in several magazines and talked to two guides, and everyone seems to agree that for H-S you need to use a more open choke to get it to perform best. The Remington choke you mentioned probably has a constriction of .665, and that is too tight for H-S. If that is what you used to try the H-S then you might want to try something looser.
Although it wont hold up very long shooting H-S, you could try the modified choke that came with your gun.
I know what you mean about trying all the chokes, it gets expensive and frustrating in a hurry.

Power

I did shoot both loads through a standard screw in choke for my 870 and the patterns both went out the window. It was a Trap Full choke and both patterns barely hit the target at 35 yards. I didn't try the modified choke but I might put one more through it just for sake of argument.

Canadian Hunter312

i bought an undertaker choke for my 870 and a box of winchester 3 1/2" high velocity #6's 2oz load and some kent 3 1/2" #5's 2 1/4oz load. at 40 yards the kent shells would be pretty much useless against a turkey while the winchesters put between 7-10 pellets in the head/neck bone each shot. should be good enough for a turkey i guess....

next year im gonna get a wad wizard or patternmaster choke and some nitro hevi shot and see how that works.

ch312