Shotgun newbie questions.

[trimation]

Just bought my first shotgun yesterday. I got a Remington 870 HD. Wanted to get something for bedside that didn't have the wall penetration capabilities of either of my sigs.

Couple of questions. First, just out of curiosity, what is the effective range of an 870 with an 18.5 inch barrel? I know this depends on ammo used. Secondly, what is a good load to use for bedside, and no I do not reload?

Third, from perusing the shotgun board I have noticed the term "three gun shotgun" or "three gun shotgun competition", what is this?

My fourth, and final question: what are some good accessories for my 870? It is completely stock, no pistol grip, not sure if I even want one. Can I get a tube extension for it to increase the amount of shells held?

Thanks in advance.

Trimation

 

[SDC]

If you're worried about "wall penetration", you should probably stick with #7 1/2 birdshot; most anything larger will go through your walls just as surely as anything from your Sigs will, but in free flight (at least at the distances you'll see in most homes), it acts like a big pre-fragmented slug about the size of your fist. If you ever DO feel the need for something that can reach out further, you can try 00 buckshot (out to maybe 50 yards) or past that, some slugs.
3-gun competition is a LOT of fun, and you should give it a try if you get a chance; generally, it's a series of shooting competitions set up to test how fast and accurately you can shoot a rifle, handgun, or shotgun (sometimes all three in the same stage).
You should be able to add a mag extension to your 870, even if it has the newer style of "locking dimples" that Remington has on their mag tubes (if you take the mag cap off, and you see a black plastic "star" with teeth that latch into the mag cap, that's the newer style). If you DO have the newer style, you can still add an extension, you'll just have to swage, file, or dremel the little tabs out of the inside of the tube. HTH.

 

[trimation]

Thanks SDC. If it does have the newer kind is it legal for me to modify it to add the extension here in California?

 

[SDC]

I honestly don't know about California law, but if there's a law against anything gun-related, it'll probably be in California ; someone else here should be able to help you on that one.

 

[SASS#23149]

To find out the effective rang,and have some fun too,pick up some 'head-sized' melons and head out to the range...IF they allow fruit shooitng.
aim careful for center of ......melon......and see what happens at different ranges with different sizes of shot. Hmmmmm,take lots of melons!!
If it's cylinder bore,the range will be comparitively short...but look at all the fun you'll have finding out for sure.!

 

[trimation]

What is a cylinder bore? Is that when the bore has no rifling?

Trimation

 

[SDC]

A "cylinder bore" is when the barrel doesn't have any "choke", or constriction in the barrel; the amount of choke determines how much the shot pattern will spread out, but at most self-defense distances (less than 20 feet), the amount of spread isn't going to be enough to make a difference regardless. Your barrel SHOULD have the choke marked on it ("CYL"= cylinder, "FULL"= full, "MOD" = modified, etc.), unless you've got screw-in chokes on it.

 

[Captain Bligh]

Most shot gun barrels do not have rifling, unless of course, they are rifled barrels intended for shooting slugs. Non rifled barrels come with designations revealing they have been manufactured in such a way to influence the dispersal of shot. You will see choke designations such as "full, modified, improved cylinder, and cylinder." Full choke gives a very tight shot dispersal. As you go up the spectrum, shot dispersal widens so your shot basically covers a wider area.

As for your question about what your 870 needs to be a good HD gun, I'll give you a minimalist point of view about what I did to mine. I bought a basic 870 with a 28 inch barrel so I could use it for hunting. Then I bought an 18.5 inch barrel to keep on the gun when I wasn't using it for hunting. That's my only modification. I think the only thing you really need for a HD gun is a short barrel so you can manuever more easily in tight spaces. I believe magazine extensions and other additions to primarily be "fiddle factor" for those that want to fiddle with their guns to make them look mean or uniquely theirs. If I ever have to use a shotgun for HD purposes, I suspect that one round may well do the job and I'd be surprised if there were many situations that required more than three rounds. I'm not LEO and therefore unlikely to be in a prolonged fire fight. Just my opinion, for what it's worth.

RJ

 

[trimation]

Good info.

What choke setting is best to have it on for HD settings.

One other question, if I wanted to do a bit of clay shooting would it be cool to get another barrel for it or should I just get a shotgun dedicated to clay shooting?

What length do I need?

Trimation

 

[Brian Dale]

What choke setting is best to have it on for HD settings?

Any will work; at inside-the-house distances, CYL will give you a slightly wider pattern than tighter chokes, but it isn't worth getting too worried about any SG barrel's choke at those distances. It's a good idea to pattern your gun (see Dave McC's "Patterning 101" here) with different loads to see what patterns your gun gives you with a few different types of ammo.

... would it be cool to get another barrel ... or another SG [for clays] ?

Of course; it's always cool to get more stuff. The consensus I've seen here, though, is "take what you've got; just go out and shoot it." Another barrel, when you want one, is a less expensive route than a new gun. There are lots of beautiful guns on any clays course, but before you let yourself be convinced that you need one, do a search here for "Dave McCracken" and "TB" - some folks do pretty danged well at busting clays with their 870s.

What length do I need?

A longer barrel helps to smooth out the swing and follow-through. That's a "nice to have" rather than a "must have," IMO. Take my advice with a grain of salt; I'm a guy who shoots clays as practice for bringing birds home to the kitchen. If somebody like Dave McC, sm, PJR, HSMITH, (it's a long list - those who know more than I do) tells you different, listen to them.

My vote: spend money on ammo and range fees first, then make judicious choices about what to buy, later on. There's a wealth of choices.

 

[trimation]

I have shot clays once before with my friends Winchester. I believe it was a model 12. I did pretty good and it was a lot of fun. It is something that I believe I could get into. I really do like the looks of the over and under shotguns but I know that they can be really expensive for a good one. Any good brands or brands to stay away from?

 

[Dave McCracken]

We have scads of info on this in the archives and under the floaters at the top of this forum. Try a search under 101 and my name.

Do a few hours of research and have fun...

 

[J.M.]

I've done some interesting testing as over penitration is a very real consern in my neighborhood.


Doing some barrier testing I set out a piece of 3/4" plywood and alternated 10 layers of denim and cardboard.

Starting with the weakest...

Agila mini shell # 7 1/2 bird shot @ 4 yards - punched hole through plywood and blew me away when the payload ripped through 7 layers of denim and cardboard.

Standard 1 1/8 oz #7 1/2 trap load @ 5 yards - punched hole through plywood and blew through all 10 layers of denim and cardboard.

Heavy field load 3 1/4 dram, 1 1/8 oz #6 shot @ 5 yards - punched hole through plywood and blew through all 10 layers of denim and cardboard.

All of these loads were fired through a cylinder bore 20" bbl.

All loads tested failed to pass through the plywood at a range of just 8 yards.

This tells me that at relistic home defence ranges (3-5 yards max in my home) any of these loads has enough power do some serious damage to an intruder even if I need to shoot through a door or wall to get there. They however will not shoot through two walls, or through most of the neighborhood like almost any solid round will.

I just changed my home defence round from my trap load to the heavy field load.

Buckshot (BTW) seems difficult to stop with plywood and denim - even at greater ranges - very powerful, but not approiate for my indoor uses.
Forget about slugs. - JM.