multi purpose Mossberg 835

[ohiomossyoak]

I recently acquired a Mossberg 835 Ulti-mag turkey model in woodland camo..It has a 24in barrel a choke tube thats a little tough to read Says turkey and _ _ _ _ full.It also had a PG included in addition to the factory stock.The gun has a few bumps an bruises.But overall looks fine an functions great.Most of my questions for the time being will pertain only to this firearm..As i am primarily a bow hunter an own very few firearms.
I want to use it as a HD gun,turkeyhunting,small game(sqrl an rabbit) an maybe short range coyote's(with my buddy along with his Bolt action .223


1st question.Will the 24in barrel on this gun work for all the above?

What choke do i need for HD.Will this mystery _ _ _ full choke work?Also can i shoot 00 buckshot lead out of this choke?

What choke do i need for rabbit/sqrl?

What choke will work best for Coyote?

 

[RandKL]

The turkey choke is an extra tight one. It *can* be used for everythign you said, but it's best for flying birds and turkeys where as small a spread as possible is desirable. It'll chew up buckshot pretty bad and will destroy small game for the most part, but inside the range you're going to use it, it'll still hit. For home defense and buck and small game, you're better off with a more open choke like an IC etc. Small game, use an IC or MOD choke and some larger shot like #4-6. A rabbit hit with a turkey choke and #4 or #6 will lose half the meat at the site of impact.

rich

 

[Messenger Guard]

I have used my 835 in a number of roles. In fact I have killed more game with it than anything I have ever owned. It has the versatility of everything from 2.75, 3" and 3.5". Your least constrictive chokes will be marked CYL or SKEET (essentially open but protects the threads.) These would be best for HD or fast breaking game birds like quail. Your next step up would be improved cylinder (IMP CYL). This would be as tight as you would want to go with slugs and offers slightly tighter patterns than open chokes. Next up would be a modified choke (MOD). Modified chokes are great for longer range small game at greater distances. Modified tends to be my crow hunting choke but also works on squirrels that know about hunting (runners). Lastly the full and extra full "turkey" chokes are effective out to say 50 yards plus with the right loads. The 24" barrel of an 835 is not a detriment to long shots. The old model 12's and other classics from yesteryear needed those 30" barrels to reach out since they didn't use modern ammo. Hope that helps.

 

[tactikel]

OMO, I have the same setup, and you are fine for all your uses. The factory Turkey choke is indeed extra-full (for lead shot only). For HD (buckshot) the MOD choke is usually best. I like #4 buckshot (Winchester 54 pellets) for HD and coyotes-it will take a coyote at 50+ yards. be sure to pattern your gun. For rabbit and squirrel use #6 shot and the mod or IC choke-again pattern you gun at 30 and 40 yards.
For turkeys the 835 is THE gun to tote, if you can find HEVI-13 loads in #7 shot you can kill Turkeys at 50 yards easy.
Good Luck.

PS you can buy a 28" barrel (I have one) and take anything from squirrels to geese with one gun.

 

[ohiomossyoak]

Thanks for the replies everyone.So its sounds like i need to find me a Modified choke tube..Keep the advice coming..