RIFLED BARRELS
 

is it worth buyin a rifled barrel for a rem. 870 20 gauge?

RE: RIFLED BARRELS
 

ive got one for my 870 12 gauge but i think itd be better if you had a bigger gun

RE: RIFLED BARRELS
 

thats what i was wondering. im still trying to get my first deer after hunting for 4 years and its getting depressing so i dont know what ill do.

RE: RIFLED BARRELS
 

Get a rifled barrel for that 20g 870.Install a decent scope and it will do as well or better than any 12g out to 150 yrds. If I'm tellin you a lie I'll buy you somethin nice:D

RE: RIFLED BARRELS
 

Rifled are better for slugs, but as long as you pattern it, shouldn't much matter..

RE: RIFLED BARRELS
 

For what reason don't you like the setup you have now? Are you not able to pattern well with it? Let's dig into what you have now and see if that will help you out at all. Rifled slug barells will certainly help your groupings and the overall distance you can shoot, but if your not shooting the shell that your gun likes and if your not steady when shooting...a rifled slug barell isn't going to help much.

RE: RIFLED BARRELS
 

i have a saddle mounted scope and a smooth bore barrell on it. it just doesnt get me the distance that i need where i hunt.

RE: RIFLED BARRELS
 

20 gauge will take a deer just fine. Rifled barrel should give you increases distance over a smoothbore. The accuracy should theroetically inprove also, but that's up to you the shooter more than anything else.

RE: RIFLED BARRELS
 

I took two deer last year with my .20g with rifled barrel. Shot one out at 85 yards and it dropped it like a bad habit.

RE: RIFLED BARRELS
 

What kind of accuracy and what kind of distances are we talking about? In almost every case a rifled barrel will be more accurate than a smoothbore. However I want to make sure you don't have unrealistic goals in the first place.

How does your current gun shoot? What kind of groups are you getting and at what distances?

And if you do get a rifled barrel get a cantilever scope mount. This will let you mount the scope directly to the barrel instead of to the reciever. It is a more accurate way to mount the scope since the barrel in these guns are not fixed to the reciever. When you take the gun apart to clean it do you re-sight it in? Because you should. It is very possible for the impact point to shift when you remove the barrel and put it back on. Heck if the barrel is loose enough in the reciever it could shift from shot to shot. I highly doubt that is the case though.

As far as a 20 vrs a 12, shoot whatever you like. Obviously a 12 will have more power than a 20, but they will both kill deer just fine out to 100 yards with the proper ammo.

Keep in mind a rifled barrel will not make you a better hunter. It will just make the gun more accurate. Depending on how your gun shoots though it could double your effective range.

Paul

RE: RIFLED BARRELS
 

When shooting slugs I personaly like a rifled barrel with a scope. But like everyone else is telling you it won't make you a better hunter. Sounds to me like you need more scouting time and better stand placement. Most deer are shot with in 50 yards so distance shoulden't be an issue. Hunting is suppos to be fun and has many parts to it not just shooting a deer. Get out in the woods and fields find those deer runs follow them try to figure out why the deer are using that run and when books and vidios can give you a few tips at first but belive me when I tell you its all foot work to get down and durty. Its all fun and all parts of the puzzle and when a hard worked plan comes together you just feel that much better about it. Good luck and stay with it. It took me 9 years to get my first deer so I know your fustration but it seemed like after the first one they all started comming. And its been 25 years since that first one and the excitement is still there for each and everyone since. One thing I did do all the way back to that first deer is keep a log of each deer I have ever shot I write stuff like weather, temp. how I was feeling exactatly what happened. And reading back the other day most of my deer came on a day I really didn't think I was going to see a deer. It was one of the best idias I ever had. Keep your head up and get to work and have a ball. Mike

RE: RIFLED BARRELS
 

i cant shoot over 50 yards with the setup i have. it just wont pattern past about 55 yards. i shoot winchester super x slugs out of it. any suggestions on slugs would be great. i hunt in a blind set up in tall grass by a small creek that runs along a field. i have been hunting this setup for 2 years and the deer just dont come within about 80 yards of the creek. there is a group of about 12 of them and there is a really nice 8 pointer.

RE: RIFLED BARRELS
 

Well in that case a rifled barrel might help you. Or maybe change your blind location or alter the way you hunt. Hard to say without knowing why the deer will not come closer, but 80 yards should be doable with a good rifled barrel and the proper ammo.

As far as what to use, you really need to play to see what your gun likes. The bad thing is it gets expensive, especially with sabot type slugs.

My H&R ultra actually shoots really well with the Winchester rifled slugs. Fouls up the barrel something awful after 3 or 4 shots, but they group around 1-2 inches at 100 yards for the first two or three shots.

80 yards is pushing it for a smoothbore though, some guns can do it, most can't.

I have two buddies, one uses an 870 and the other an 11-87. Both with cantilever barrels. There guns shoot pretty well with winchester super X sabots. I would also give lightfields a try and some of the newer pistol bullet type rounds. Like federal barnes expanders, remington copper solids and the winchester platinums. You could try some of the faster offerings, but I wouldn't get your hopes up. It seems to be hit and miss for accuracy in guns with slower twist rates, which most rifled shotgun barrels are.

Paul

RE: RIFLED BARRELS
 

Oh, you know what, I was talking about 12 gauges. You might have better luck with the faster rounds in a 20 gauge. They have a faster twist rate than the 12's do. They are pretty much like shooting an inline Muzzle Loader without all the mess. Very simular bullets and velocities.

Paul

RE: RIFLED BARRELS
 

Personally I wouldn't buy one. the slugs are twice the cost and you have the inital cost of the barrel. I have taken several deer with a smooth bore full choke (not adjustable). Do you currently have a choke in your 870? if so, what one are you using? try using a different one. you can also buy a rifled choke that is designed to mimic a rifled barrel....a lot cheaper.

RE: RIFLED BARRELS
 

yep a rifled choke is cheaper, it is also no where near the length of a fully rifled barrel which means it will not impart as much spin on the bullet. My opinion is if they worked so great more people would have them and they would be easier to find. Me personally I have neve seen one in a store.

If you are shooting a smooth bore with a full choke with good enough accuracy to hunt to 80 yards and beyond you are in the minority for sure. I do agree though, if you have interchangable chokes try a few others to see how they work. A full choke would not be my first suggestion though.

And like I said, you don't have to shoot the ultra expensive bullets out of a rifled barrel. They just have better ballistics and don't foul up the barrel.

Paul

RE: RIFLED BARRELS
 

Maybe you should look into getting a 870 combo if you haven't bought anything yet. I bought a Rem. 870 combo with bird barrel and rifled. Couldn't be happier. Hopefully I canget adeer or two where I'm going to be hunting this fall. Still have to try the sabots in myrifled barrel. The season is coming quick.

RE: RIFLED BARRELS
 

Go to WalMart hunting section, ask to see their special order gun catalog, order yourself a H&R Ultra Slug Hunter single shot in 12 or 20 ga. and put a $100 Nikon scope on it. In 20 Ga, the gun itself I believe runs about $160.00, which may be less than just the 870's barrell. With the right sabot slug, I can consistently put each slug in a business card at 120 yds.I also own the 12 ga version, and the ballistics chart on Winchester's Partition Gold's box touts a 6" drop out to 200 yards. Havent shot mine that far, but at 150 yds it'll put em right in there. Be warned, the 12 ga, shooting slugs pushing 1900 fps will knock your fillings loose, while the 20 ga in comparison feels like a bb gun.

RE: RIFLED BARRELS
 

i have a modified choke in it

RE: RIFLED BARRELS
 

i would take that money and buy a new gun that already has a rifled barrel. Then you have the best of both worlds and you got a new gun out of it.

RE: RIFLED BARRELS
 

I got an870 20gacombo for my son with the rifled barrel and put a saddle mount on it. Shoots sub3 inch at 100 yds, but the saddle mount is a pain when shifting to birds. Since you have the gun, I'd recommend a cantilever slug barrel with your choice of scope. I and my son both use a bushnell holosight (not cheap but great in the woods, mine's on a Benelli Nova 12ga, with cantilever slug barrel). You can get the remington cantilever barrel with a 2-7 scope installed for about $200. E-bay has had a couple in 20 gage just this last week (actually there is one on there now for $220).

If you do go for a new barrel though, go for the cantilever. By the time you add a saddle mount with a plain rifle sight barrel, the cost is about awash and it's a pain to shift to birds.