[cuervo]

I bought an 870 that came with a Turkey Choke (labeled Extra Full).

Would this be too tight for deer and should I back down to a full?

And, is #4 Buck too small for deer, should I go larger?

tia

[zinj]

Unless regulations force you to use buckshot get some slugs and an Improved Cylinder choke. You are more likely to get a clean kill.

If you must use buckshot you need to buy several sizes and run them through your gun on paper. Also, I can almost guarantee that the turkey choke will result in blown patterns. Buckshot usually patterns tightest through a Modified choke, though you should test Full and Improved Cylinder chokes just to check.

[Matt304]

I must say that buckshot is not a good choice for deer if you can use slugs, especially #4. Use 00 at minimum, at close ranges. I never did like buckshot for hunting deer-sized game and up because you are just throwing a few big bb's onto your target and hoping you landed them in the right places. More deer are wounded by them and they often run further. Just use a different choke that is rifled, and try your luck with some sabot slugs if you can. You will be more confident and more effective.

[darkwing]

A couple of yrs ago I had the chance to go duck hunting on a pond where wild pigs were at. The game wardens told me no pistol or rifles while duck hunting and no slugs. So I carried Tungsten BBs for the pigs. At 40 yrds 8 bbs in a potato sized target with an 1.75 penetration of soft wood. The game warden said that would work fine on a hogs head. Never got a chance to try it out but I think the smaller shot to the head would work better than a couple of random hits by larger shot.

[hockeybum]

depends. if ur walking use buckshot cause its prbly gonna spook by the time u get close enough to it, so its gonna be a moving shot.

u cant use slugs out of a interchangeable choke barrel, blows the threads right out...

[Pete409]

u cant use slugs out of a interchangeable choke barrel, blows the threads right out...

Bull Marlarkey! Just put in a Cylinder, Skeet, or IC choke and shoot all the slugs you want.

[rcmodel]

Bull Marlarkey! +1

You can shoot slugs through any screw-in choke, including Full & Extra-Full, without harming a thing.

Accuracy will probably be better with a more open choke, like Pete409 just said.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j219/rcmodel/KTOG/1224.gif
rcmodel

[627PCFan]

Not to throw a wrench into the works here but I have had EXCELLENT patterns with copper plated OO 3 1/2" through a .675 turkey choke (SBE II). If we could drive deer with dogs in MD, wouldn't think 2x.

[cuervo]

Thanks for the input.

I was planning to go rifle shooting but had a sudden change of plan and had to go in an area that only allowed for buckshot.

I already had the #4 and the turkey choke and a modified. A friend lent me some #00 to use and recommended a full choke so I ended up keeping the turkey choke on there.

It didn't much matter since we saw only one doe and she was too far off for me to want to try with a shotgun. I've since bought some #00 for myself and swapped out to the modified choke after doing some other reading around.

[CajunBass]

I've always used No. 1 Buckshot through a modified choke. Every deer I ever shot, and it's been more than a few, with it never got their feet back under them after the first shot. It might have taken a second shot to turn the lights out for good a couple of times.

[gp911]

I'd highly recommend some patterning time with the various loads and chokes, as some guns will really surprise you, as per the OO-thru-turkey-choke post above. The best choice is what you find works best in your gun, as there are exceptions to every rule.

gp911

[DAVIDSDIVAD]

Bull Marlarkey! +1

You can shoot slugs through any screw-in choke, including Full & Extra-Full, without harming a thing.

Accuracy will probably be better with a more open choke, like Pete409 just said.


rcmodel


I had a guy explain to me today that this is not true, but since he's kind of an ass, I'm more likely to believe you.

Umm, no. Not true at all. Firing slugs from a choked barrel will gradually expand the choked section of the barrel, which can eventually destroy the barrel. The increased operating pressure inside the barrel can also put dangerous stresses on the action. It's VERY bad for your shotgun. Shooting slugs through a full-choked shotgun is a recipe for broken internals and/or a burst barrel.


I'm not challenging you or anything, but I'd like to explain to this guy why slugs won't harm a full choked barrel.

Care to elaborate?

[Owen Sparks]

In my experience, too tight of a choke tends to deform the pellets and cause flyers. improved cylinder is usually recomended. #1 or 00 works best but only at very close range. Buckshot is a poor choice for hunting because the round pellets have a low sectional density and loose velocity very rapidly no matter how fast they are started.
To be a reliable game stopper, the entire pattern should strike the animal in an area no biger than a dinner plate.
The only way to know how your gun/load will preform is to test on a sheet of paper or a big cardboard box. Unless you are required by law to use buckshot, slugs are a better choice.

[zinj]

I'm not challenging you or anything, but I'd like to explain to this guy why slugs won't harm a full choked barrel.

Care to elaborate?

The guy doesn't know what he is talking about. Slugs are made of very soft lead that deforms easily. The "rifling" on a rifled slug also deforms as it passes through the choke. There is no increased operating pressure, nor does the slug pound the choke flat.

Hell, the fact that ammunition companies even sell slugs tells you they are safe. If a full choke gun could be damaged by a slug then no one would manufacture them due to liability.

[Pete409]

I'm not challenging you or anything, but I'd like to explain to this guy why slugs won't harm a full choked barrel.

Care to elaborate?

First, the diameter of a slug is smaller than the diameter of a Full Choke.

Second, the slug is very soft lead and the "rifling" is easily deformed.

Third, people have been shooting slugs through Full Chokes for about 100 years and I don't know of any documented cases where that has caused any harm to the barrel.

Fourth, if shooting lead through a Full Choke was going to harm the barrel, then shooting lead shot would be even more harmful than shooting a lead slug since the lead shot will have an outward component of force as it's being pushed down the barrel while the lead slug will have very little or no outward force while being pushed down the barrel.

[DAVIDSDIVAD]

Danke, danke: those are exactly the answers I was looking for.

look at his post : Umm, no. Not true at all. Firing slugs from a choked barrel will gradually expand the choked section of the barrel, which can eventually destroy the barrel. The increased operating pressure inside the barrel can also put dangerous stresses on the action. It's VERY bad for your shotgun. Shooting slugs through a full-choked shotgun is a recipe for broken internals and/or a burst barrel.

Also, degraded accuracy from firing slugs through your choke is not just a "whatever" issue. It matters a lot, because the deformation of the slugs as they pass through the choke tube, especially once it starts to become deformed itself from having slugs forced through it, can cause your point of impact to wander, more or less randomly, by up to a yard at a range of 30-40 yards. Which is more than enough to miss a man-sized or deer-sized target.

Also, just an FYI, "rifled slugs" are not actually a substitute for a rifled barrel; those little flutings on the side of the slug don't actually impart any spin to it. "Rifled" shotgun slugs are about as spin-stabilized as a musket ball.

That said, I do agree that a shotgun offers a lot more versatility as a hunting weapon, and that survival in the wilderness is going to involve shooting squirrels and rabbits and birds a lot more than it involves shooting deer and other big game. But it's short range is definitely a drawback in terms of self-defense in anything except pretty close quarters. So really, the answer to this question depends on what the exact conditions of this "SHTF" scenario are. Are the odds of being attacked by another person small or large? How important is small-game hunting going to be to your survival? If I had to survive in the woods for a long period, with little chance of any contact with other people, I'd take the shotgun (actually, I'd take a .22 because I could carry about fifty times as much ammo for the same weight... but whatever). But if armed banditry was a real possibility in my area, I'd want something that wouldn't leave me helpless against anyone more than about 40 yards away. In some situations a rifle will be preferable, in others a shotgun will be preferable. It's silly to argue over which one is "best", as if there is one class of weapon that is ideal for all situations. This is not a question with a single, universally true answer.