[Black Majik]

Hey all..

I took my new home defense shotgun (not yet since I haven't put a lot of rounds through the shotgun yet. Once I'm sure the gun is very reliable it'll serve HD role) out yesterday to do some shooting and function testing. Everything worked great with #7 birdshot except that POI was higher than POA.

We were shooting at clay discs, and I would have to point the bead of the shotgun at the bottom of the clay disc (at 10 yards) in order to completely shatter the clay bird.

The bead is mounted directly on the barrel, the barrel was professionally chopped by my gunsmith.

Now, I do have a ext. magazine tube with a clamp. Would an overtightened clamp cause the gun to not shoot POA?

Thanks for everyone's help. I'd appreciate it.

[arcticap]

I'm not certain your gun is shooting high at all. A clay bird is relatively small and needing a 6 o'clock hold on it to destroy it completely isn't a full enough description to evaluate your shot pattern. Normally a person would shoot at a large sheet of paper with a 30 inch circle at various yardages to proof test their choke. You should at least be using some larger sheets of paper with an
"X" in the middle and evaluate the results for consistency, then repeat until you can determine what % of your shot is going high or low. You can also mark your targets into quadrants and count the pellets in each section. Trying this out at more than one distance may give you another indication of just what directions the shot is spreading to. At some distance that shot is going to be coming down and buckshot or slugs are heavier. Also, different shells have different powder amounts (drams), velocity, and amount of shot.
More experimentation along with some kind of physical record of the shot pattern and an evaluation would help you to better analyze your own results.

[Dave McCracken]

I doubt it's shooting THAT high. Read the floater on Patterning and do likewise. Then you'll know how it shoots and not till then.

Since this is a HD piece, pattern at the longest possible shot in your dwelling plus one yard. Use the ammo you plan on keeping in the weapon.

[Fred Fuller]

"The bead is mounted directly on the barrel, the barrel was professionally chopped by my gunsmith."

My guess is, you need the bead mounted on a base rather than directly on the barrel. The short production barrels are issued with the bead-on-base setup, that raises the bead in your 'sight picture' and thereby depresses the muzzle. BUT before you worry about adding a base to the bead, try shooting the gun without the mag extension/clamp on board. Shotgun barrels are pretty thin, it could be... . And you always want to try the cheaper alternatives first when diagnosing a problem when the solution is not immediately clear.

Good luck with it,

lpl/nc

[Texian Pistolero]

I suspect Lee is right.

I have a factory 18 1/2 inch for my black 870,

and there is a SUBSTANTIAL base (3 or 4 mm).

but test all the options mentioned above.

It might work fine with buckshot.

When I hunt/shoot clays, I put on an old 28 inch ribbed barrel.