870 gained weight? (or mid-life crisis!)

[knzn]

Just got back from a great weekend of pheasant hunting. Met some old friends and made some new ones. We all met at a hunting camp/outfitter and for me it was like being pampered at a five star hotel. Biscuits and gravey, scrambled eggs and hash browns for breakfast, Stew and sandwiches for lunch and pot roast with all the trimmings for supper. Complete with three kinds of pie for desert.
Oh yeah, the hunting. Great dogs. Great guides. A guy on a four wheeler bringing water to us and the dogs, and a bird basket to haul the birds so we didn't have to pack them around. Clean the birds? Nope, didnt have to even get bloody. That was taken care of too. I almost felt guilty.

Oh yea, the birds. As many of you probably know by now this was at a controlled shooting area as called by the Kansas State Wildlife and parks. So there were pleanty of birds. I resisted the idea of hunting at a place like this in the past, but the lure of being with a bunch of old buddies and a weekend away was too much to resist. Yes they were pen raised but I couldn't tell it. Some held tight, and some ran ahead of the dogs.

To the subject at hand. At days end, this old (soon to be a Grandpas') arms were tired of carrying my old 870. I got it brand new when I was a freshman in High School in 1972 and am quite attached to it. And except for a brief affair with a Beretta 390 to shoot sporting clays with I have been faithful. But like I said, at each days end my arms just plain hurt. Hard to admit I am (A)- that out of shape, or (B)- that our of shape!

So, what do I do now? Hunt shorter days? Nope, the legs still got it. Look for a lighter gun? Well, as you can see it has crossed my mind. I don't even know what the choices might be. I guess a 20 gauge would be lighter, and I have always liked the idea of some day finding a nice old Savage Fox. I don't even know if that would make a noticibly lighter gun than my old 12 gauge 870.

Ok, open for suggestions.

 

[BEARMAN]

If you go to a lighter shotgun ,go in a smaller cartridge. I have a light S X S Hammer 12 that I use in Cowboy Action Shooting and every now and again a hunting load gets mixed with my 7/8 oz loads, boy do you notice the difference in recoil. Your hunt sounded like a time to remember.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Shoot the 870 more. And/or, use weights to build up your muscles. If indeed you're an older male, you need some exercise to maintain tone and strength anyway. Not to discourage another gun purchase, but you're seeking a hardware answer to a software problem.

Some decades back, I explained to Wonderful Wife how much I needed to put together a superlight hunting rifle setup. My old pre 64 Model 70 with Leopold 4X scope ran 9 lbs. Wife eyed my ample paunch and stated skipping second helpings and desserts would do more good than skeletonizing the magazine and turning down the barrel. As is her maddening habit, she was right.

With a bit of work, I could hog out some wood from the stock on Number 6, swap the forend for one of the old coontail style and get the thing under 7 lbs. But dropping a half pound there won't do as much good as one would think. The resulting shotgun will handle differently, and it handles well now.

FYI, swapping for a Fox might save you .5 to .75 lb. You'd save as much swapping for an Ithaca 37.

If I bought back a certain little French/Belgian SxS I used to own that runs 6 lbs, 5 oz, I'd not use more than an oz of lead in it. The Rule of 96 again.

 

[MrTuffPaws]

I just handled a Win 1897 clone. I swear that it was lighter than my Rem 870 Express Youth 20ga.

 

[Matthew Gross]

You could get the 870 backbored by Briley or some similar outfit. Don't know how much wieght backboring actually cuts off - but I have seen plenty of people who complain about heavy 34" trap barrels seek backboring as a solution. Might be expensive, too - I'm not sure though.

 

[turretG]

My Winchester 1300 Stainless Marine is quite a bit lighter than my Remington
870 I might choose the Winchester if I was going to carry it all day

 

[Spinner]

Well, far from being an expert, my take is that yes you could get yourself a lighter gun and it would be easier to carry and swing, but ....

The buts are that its going to kick you more. Now you might be quite happy to trade a higher level of felt recoil for an easier day of gun carry, but to be honest I don't enjoy recoil and I don't know anyone who really does (except for macho idiots and those too stupid to feel pain). I can cope with a bit of recoil, that's fine, but I shoot better with a gun that doesn't boot me like a cantakerous mule every time I pull the trigger. I know you can build up your recoil tolerance and recoil is not likely to kill you, but it is generally accepted that people shoot firearms best when the recoil levels are lowest.

A 20 gauge gun may well be lighter to carry than your 12 ga 870 but 1 oz of lead leaving the barrel at the same speed will kick more in a lighter gun (the 20 ga) than it will in a heavier gun (the 12 ga) .... and probably won't pattern as well to boot. Recoil does induce fatigue ... which leads to poor form, which leads to increased felt recoil, which leads to flinch (which leads to the dark side ... hmm like Yoda I am sounding ).

It sounds to me like you've picked up your trusty 870 and carried, mounted, swung it and shot it all day ... and that's not something you usually do (shame on you!! ). There are muscles involved that you're not usually using so they're feeling fatigued (which leads to ...., etc). This is the equivalent of a couch potato suddenly jumping up and doing a 10 mile run .... you are going to be tired at the end of it and probably sore for a day or two after.

Much as I hate to say it (and I really need to follow my own advice here too), you need to condition your body for the stupid things you make it do ... like toting a shotgun about all day. If you don't, then its likely the old bod will be saying "hey, you made me work today!". I agree with Dave .... you need to condition your body to shooting .... and the best way to do that is to get out with your gun more and shoot.

Let's say it all together now ... "Buy ammo/use up/repeat"

Of course, if you're looking for an excuse to buy a lovely little 28 ga upland SxS then far be it from me to deny you the excuse you need. You'll also need to spend some time getting used to the new gun so you'll need to BA/UU/R

Spinner

 

[knzn]

Not to discourage another gun purchase, but you're seeking a hardware answer to a software problem.
If I bought back a certain little French/Belgian SxS I used to own that runs 6 lbs, 5 oz, I'd not use more than an oz of lead in it. The Rule of 96 again.

As to the hardware answer to a software problem, I plead guilty. I have not heard "The rule of 96" before. Could you explain?

 

[Dave McCracken]

Back when the Brits had an Empire, they made wonderful shotguns for aristocrats. They found out that if a shotgun(Properly fitted to the user) weighed 96 times the shot charge, it carried nicely but didn't punish the shooter.

Example. shotgun firing the useful 1oz load should weigh 6 lbs. That little boxlock I mentioned weighed just a haor more than 96X, and I never noted the recoil...

 

[VG]

Sir, you don't say how old you are or how out of shape you are. But a conditioning plan would solve the problem in many happy ways. There are no truer words than "Use it or lose it."

But wearing lighter boots would have more benefit at lower cost.

GI's go into battle these days with helmet, body armor, water, rifle, ammo, grenades, first aid gear, often a radio, and extra ammo for crew-served weapons. So they're carrying about 40 lbs of gear - stripped down for assault. Count your blessings! Waterfowl don't shoot back!

 

[Johnpl]

Have you ever hefted the 870 Special Field? I had one in 12 gauge and although (per the scale) it was not much lighter than my conventional 870 with a 28 inch barrel, it seemed much lighter, with the straight English style stock, the shortened fore-end, and the 21 inch barrel. It was easily held with one hand, as the other hand was used to ward off brush, etc, in the grouse woods.

 

[jlwatts3]

Hunter's Helper

Look on Cabela's for the "Hunter's Helper Gun Sling"

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...e=index&rid=&cmCat=MainCatcat20712&hasJS=true

 

[TrapperReady]

Get another gun because you want to. Get in better shape because you need to.

About 4 years ago, I made the sudden and somewhat ridiculous decision that I wanted to run a marathon. Now, my serious running days were several years behind me, and I was in no way prepared for the challenge. I trained sporadically and barely enough (my longest training run was no more than 16 miles... and I only ran that distance once). While I finished (running the whole way), I was beaten and miserable.

Over the next year, I trained hard. I dieted, lost weight, established and followed a fitness plan which included both aerobic and strength training. That marathon, run in the fall, was easier and much quicker. Funny thing... the hunting that fall was easier than it had ever been. I was keeping up with flushers going warp-speed after wary roosters. I was making better shots, since I wasn't winded... and I never really noticed the weight of the gun.

Now, for the past couple years, I've not trained as hard... and a long day in the field feels... well... like a long day in the field. There have been times my arms feel wooden, and I find myself taking more breaks "to let the dog rest" (yeah, right).

After this weekend (gun deer season opener), I'll be back in the gym and either pounding the pavement or hitting the treadmill more frequently. Otherwise, this hunting stuff can seem like work.

 

[Kar-el]

Gentlemen, this man has just suggested that he has an inclination to buy another shotgun-who are we to argue?

Yes it wouldn't hurt to work out, that is always a good idea.

If you are looking for an "excuse" to buy another shotgun let me give you an idea.

I just picked up an Ithaca Model 37 featherlight that was made in 1947. I lugged it around all day hunting pheasant last Friday and when I handed it to my 19 year old hunting partner who carries a 870 (I'm 40 and now the designated "Old Fart") his response was "Is this all the gun you can carry?"

He's just jealous.

Seriously, though, If your looking for a light gun to carry in the field all day the Ithaca is great. I also have a 20 guage SKB O/U with a 26 inch barrel that is nice and light and you can carry it broken open over your shoulder and load when the dog gets "birdy".

There are many other options for a light field gun. I wouldn't feel undergunned with a 16 or a 20 guage. I don't feel they kick too hard, at least I don't notice it when I nail the bird!

So don't listen to these guys giving you options that don't involve buying another gun-Just Do It!