[UltraMag1981]

Hi, I just bought the Remington 870 SPS-T Thumbhole...I plan on using it for ducks, aswell as turkeys. The question I have is will the 23" barrel work well with the proper choke for ducks? ... people say that you need atleast a 26" for ducks but the guy at the gun shop said that its all in what choke you use! I was going to get the regular 870 in camo but i couldnt resist the feeling of that thumbhole stock :D What are your opinions???

Steve

[mattw]

with birds and trap and skeet i like to use the longest barrel i have as long as it isn't longer than 30" for HD or blasting i like an 18.5

thats the great thing about 870s though.. you can get any barrel you want for pretty cheap.

[HSMITH]

If you have choke tubes you can get a duck killing pattern from any length barrel. The problem lies in short barrels being easy to stop. Your 23" barrel is going to require a concerted effort to follow through and not stop the swing until the duck has folded and is coming down. Follow through and all is well, start peeking and all is lost.

I like long barrels, the longer the better and it really doesn't matter what game is hunted or played. Long barrels help me fight the tendency to peek and see if I hit the target or not.

[Scoupe]

Nah, the ducks don't care what length barrel you use. If you have the right range and the right lead, they'll fold up when you hit 'em.

23" is fine, but your hunting buddies will appreciate a longer tube from the noise standpoint. Longer (heavier) barrels do indeed promote smoother swing and better follow through as well. As a two-eyed shotgunner, the length doesn't seem to affect the often mentioned "sighting plane" for me.

When I go duckin' I grab what I've been hitting best with and what I won't feel too bad about if it takes a little bath that morning. In my safe that could be anything from 23" to 28" barrels.

[TrapperReady]

My advice would be to practice a LOT with your shotgun before you use it on critters. Personally, a thumbhole stock and 23" barrel would be far from my first choice for shooting birds on the wing. However, if you shoot a bunch of clays with it and limit your shots to what you are comfortable with... then it should work.

[UltraMag1981]

Thanks guys. Iam going skeet shooting tomorrow after work! I have about 120 shells to shoot, I should know after that if I made a good choice or not.:D

Steve