Range report/barrel review.

[tote4570]

I sent the barrel on this 870 super magnum to a member of this forum and he shortened it from 28" to about 18 3/4", rethreaded for remchokes, and installed a new bead.

I finally got it to the range to test it out and found it shoots good to POA. Here are the spreads I got:
Improved Cylinder choke.
0 buckshot-13 1/2"
00 buckshot-12 1/2"
000 buckshot-12"
Modified choke.
0 buckshot-11 1/2"
00 buckshot-11 1/2"
000 buckshot-9"
Full choke.
0 buckshot-12"
00 buckshot-11 1/2
000 buckshot-9 1/2"

I fired a few slugs and they went POA also.
Range of all shots was 15 yards.
Ammo was 2 3/4" Remington express for 0 & 000 buck. The 00 was a mix of Remington 2 3/4", and 3" Remington and Winchester.
Thanks Kp321 for doing a good job on the barrel and having quick turnaround.

 

[Al Thompson]

Interesting, thanks for posting.

 

[Fred Fuller]

It's good to experiment.

Keep trying different brands/loads of buckshot. Some of the newer premium loads with FliteControl wads out of the more open chokes (CYL or ImpCyl) might surprise you, if you are looking for tighter patterns.

Thing is, find a combination of load and choke that gets you the patterns you are looking for at the ranges you want, and stick with it.

Did you get the forcing cone lengthened while you were at it? Back in the days I was experimenting with such things, it seemed to me that extending the forcing cone did more to improve and even out buckshot patterns than about anything else I could have done.

I like tight patterns myself (not everyone does). I spent some money trying to tighten up different barrels over several years around the turn of the century (late 1990's/early 2000's). I found a kindred spirit in sumdood named Mark Penman (http://www.thegunzone.com/people/laissezfirearm.html). I never got the chance to meet him in person but we did swap a good bit of email. Mark was doing interesting stuff back then, like taking the soft lead buckshot pellets out of S&B shells and putting in hard lead, plated pellets of the same size (00), and patterning the two different loads to show the difference hard pellets made in patterns.

The current situation with shotguns, chokes and buckshot, which allows us to almost tailor the patterns we want within reasonable ranges, has been a long time coming. Enjoy it...

ETA -some of Penman's stuff (too bad his site is gone now too)

http://www.thegunzone.com/1201fp.html

http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=2477040&postcount=8

 

[Fred Fuller]

I'm pleased to have found an archive of some of Mark's material at http://www.no-treason.com/archived-site/laissezfirearm/ - some good shotgun stuff from the older days...

 

[tote4570]

Thanks

 

[Texaszach]

Just curious what the price was for something like this?

 

[tote4570]

$50 plus shipping.

 

[Virginian]

Most gunsmiths will not re-install RemChokes in shortened barrels because RemChokes are thicker than some others and require more outside barrel diameter. I had it done on one I had shortened 2". It was below the "minimums", but in 20 years, zero issues.

 

[tote4570]

I can't remember where I found it, but there is a minimum outside diameter that the barrel has to be to accept remchokes. I believe it was .85.