Rifled barrel w/buck for HD?

[huduguru]

Shot my new 870 the other day w/rifled barrel. Federal buckshot
spreads like crazy with this barrel! It seems like it would be great
for home defense because of the erratic spread. What
do you guys think? I mean ranges of no more than 10 yards or so.

[Dave McCracken]

Not a good idea. Rifled barrels are for slugs, period. Get a smoothbore, the 18" bead sighted one will do what you need and not cost a bundle.

[huduguru]

Thanks for the reply Dave. Have you got an extra you
want to trade? See the accesories for sale/trade forum. ;)

[Dave McCracken]

Not at the moment, sorry. Also, I tend NOT to sell 870 stuff.

[bpisler]

Huduguru
Big five sporting goods has the winchester 1300,8 shot,20" barrel with a bead front on sale for $219.00
If there's one in your area it's worth checking out.Another option is a replacement barrel www.midwayusa.com carries a good selection of 870 barrels.

[TimRB]

"Shot my new 870 the other day w/rifled barrel. Federal buckshot
spreads like crazy with this barrel!"

Dave is right; the rotation imparted by the rifling to the shot causes it to scatter excessively once it leaves the barrel. That said, I'd be curious to know how well it *does* pattern. I've never fired a shotgun with a rifled barrel, so I have no idea.

It seems like it *could* be satisfactory in certain limited and short-range home defense situations. I doubt it could work at 10 yards, but maybe at two or three yards? This might be adequate for indoor HD.

Tim

[bpisler]

My 870 is remchoked and i stuck in the rifled choke just for fun.Firing federal 3" 15 pellet 00 buck i got 20" patterns at 10 yards.The patterns were very consistent with no large holes.However with a mod choke they were only 9" with the same load.

[Lee Lapin]

Tim,

Problem is that the rotation of the shot charge imparted by the rifling usually opens up an area where the middle of the pattern should be that is empty of shot. They call 'em 'donut' patterns for that reason. If that's what you want, go for it- likely that's what you'll get.

I am a charter member of the tight pattern club, which I know is counter to what other people want in their HD shotgun, and this statement is offered as an explanation of my complete bias on this subject, not as a demand that you conform to my views in the matter.

Stay safe, y'all-

lpl

[huduguru]

Actually, I just traded the rifled barrel for an identical
20" with rs but a smoothbore. Had a gentleman e -mail
me and we did a swap. I want the smoothbore 20 in. to
be my do everything barrel. By the way, it is an improved cylinder.
How much does it cost to thread it for Rem Chokes? :)

[Lee Lapin]

huduguru,

My favorite barrel gnomes at Colonial Arms in Selma, AL (my hometown fwiw) charge about $100 to install choke tubes depending on several variables. They are stone professionals and I have trusted them with lots of my tubes for years without being let down once. Check their web site for details.

Were I you I'd try the barrel on patterning paper as is before modifying anything at all, and see how it does with a variety of ammo brands and loads. It might do what you want without further attention (or more importantly, further expenditure of funds...).

If those experiments are unsatisfactory, the first thing I would do by way of internal barrel modifications would be to have the forcing cone extended. Over the years and in a variety of barrels, this has been the most consistent mod I have found in producing even patterns. Though it does not often produce marked improvements in tightening patterns, it will generally improve pattern size to a measurable degree- a few percentage points usually. Again you want whoever does this to be knowledgeable enough to be sure there is sufficient 'meat' in the barrel for this operation to be safely done.

I was glad when Remington switched over to factory IC chokes in their short barrels, I wish they would offer the MOD fixed chokes to the general public on a regular basis also but... . I have stopped bothering to install choke tubes now that the factory barrels come with IC chokes. I still get the forcing cones extended but that's it for me now. I find the IC barrels (the half dozen of them I have messed around with at least) to perform more than adequately for HD needs as well as most others.

Of course, YMMV and I have little reason to criticize you for doing what I spent a number of years and several hundred dollars doing myself...

Stay safe, y'all-

lpl/nc