AStone
Member
Sulaco, thanks for the info. I feel better about my '870P' with each passing day.
Nem
Nem
Why an 870P instead of Wingmaster?
- Thread starter farscott
- Start date
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farscott
Member
Update
While my 870P has arrived at my local dealer, I have not yet picked it up due to the schedule being full. I hope to get it before Christmas.
I did find time to pick up an 870 SP in a private deal. Holy smokes!! This one is a keeper. It is a 1989 (per the code stamped on the barrel) 26" Special Purpose with the parkerized finish and the oil-finished walnut stock. Even better, it looks like new. The previous owner told me he only ran a box of shells through it, and it looks like that is all he did before putting it up, based on the finish of the action bars and bolt. The stock looks very dry and does need some oil, so I will rub some oil into it before I take it afield. The action is very smooth, and it is a joy to work.
The gun is missing the sling and two of the three RemChoke tubes (all I have is IC) it was supposed to have when it left Ilion, but I can fix that. Heck, I have three various flavors of full chokes that came with my 870 CT, so all I really need is a modified and extra-full for turkey. And I can make do with IC, especially for skeet.
The best part is that I am out of pocket less than what a new 870 Express goes for around here.
While my 870P has arrived at my local dealer, I have not yet picked it up due to the schedule being full. I hope to get it before Christmas.
I did find time to pick up an 870 SP in a private deal. Holy smokes!! This one is a keeper. It is a 1989 (per the code stamped on the barrel) 26" Special Purpose with the parkerized finish and the oil-finished walnut stock. Even better, it looks like new. The previous owner told me he only ran a box of shells through it, and it looks like that is all he did before putting it up, based on the finish of the action bars and bolt. The stock looks very dry and does need some oil, so I will rub some oil into it before I take it afield. The action is very smooth, and it is a joy to work.
The gun is missing the sling and two of the three RemChoke tubes (all I have is IC) it was supposed to have when it left Ilion, but I can fix that. Heck, I have three various flavors of full chokes that came with my 870 CT, so all I really need is a modified and extra-full for turkey. And I can make do with IC, especially for skeet.
The best part is that I am out of pocket less than what a new 870 Express goes for around here.
axeman_g
Member
good
Glad to hear your happy. Always makes me a sad to pass on a gun to a new owner, but it does lighten the load a little knowing it has gone to someone that will really cherish and use it the way it should.
What you have there is the gun the took the brunt of my discovering that I cant shoot 26" barrels worth a darn. That is the only non 28" shottie (besides a HD barrel) that I had left.
FYI... I never had the sling or other tubes. I picked the gun up from a guy outside a Eastmans show in '98 or '99.
Enjoy it and lets go shooting together sometime.
Glad to hear your happy. Always makes me a sad to pass on a gun to a new owner, but it does lighten the load a little knowing it has gone to someone that will really cherish and use it the way it should.
What you have there is the gun the took the brunt of my discovering that I cant shoot 26" barrels worth a darn. That is the only non 28" shottie (besides a HD barrel) that I had left.
FYI... I never had the sling or other tubes. I picked the gun up from a guy outside a Eastmans show in '98 or '99.
Enjoy it and lets go shooting together sometime.
farscott
Member
No problem about the sling and tubes; I must have a few slings around here someplace. And I already am looking at chokes for it. I am quite pleased with this 870.
Give me some time to get it ready for me, and I would love to go shooting with you. I hope to break it in today with a few rounds of skeet.
Give me some time to get it ready for me, and I would love to go shooting with you. I hope to break it in today with a few rounds of skeet.
farscott
Member
Well, I finally got to try the 870 SP and the 870P after full teardowns and cleanings. I also rubbed some Old English into the wood on the SP since it has been rainy here, and the wood needed some TLC. The 870 SP was a lot of fun on the skeet field with the IC choke that came installed, and the 26" barrel works well for me. The 26" barrel makes for a gun about at long as my 28" Citori that I usually use for skeet. As a result, the 870 SP swung well for short-statured me.
I also picked up a used Rem Choke in Modified for the 870 SP for $10 at the friendly local gun store. Patterned it at 35 yards with the help of a friend, and I ended up with what appear to be full patterns with AA 7 1/2's with the MOD choke and IC patterns with the IC choke. Interesting results that made me glad I patterned the choke. I do need to try other loads to see if softer shot will give me modified patterns.
The 870P is another matter. To be quick about it, my skeet scores with it are really bad. I guess the short barrel and ghost ring rear were playing havoc with me. I did not get the chance to shoot any "serious" loads through it as the weather was a bit chilly and wet, but I hope to do so this week.
I also picked up a used Rem Choke in Modified for the 870 SP for $10 at the friendly local gun store. Patterned it at 35 yards with the help of a friend, and I ended up with what appear to be full patterns with AA 7 1/2's with the MOD choke and IC patterns with the IC choke. Interesting results that made me glad I patterned the choke. I do need to try other loads to see if softer shot will give me modified patterns.
The 870P is another matter. To be quick about it, my skeet scores with it are really bad. I guess the short barrel and ghost ring rear were playing havoc with me. I did not get the chance to shoot any "serious" loads through it as the weather was a bit chilly and wet, but I hope to do so this week.
AStone
Member
Farscott, I'm a bit confused about your comments in that paragraph.farscott said:
Are you asking your 870P to be something it isn't, a skeet gun?
That's like asking a pit bull to retrieve pheasant, IMO.
Let's go back to your original post for a moment:
From that, I inferred that you wanted a skeet gun, but weren't sure if it would do well as an HD gun, so were considering an 870P as well.
IMO, if you wanted one gun that would serve both skeet & HD, the SP would have worked, but the P wouldn't, at least without putting a longer barrel on the latter.
It just seems unfair to criticize the 870P for it's lack of skeet ability when it's not designed to do that.
I'm betting that if you look at it instead as a superb HD/SD gun, you'll not find a better one.
Am I missing something?
Nem
farscott
Member
No, the 870P is not a skeet gun, and I do not intend to use it as one. I used it for a few rounds of skeet as part of my transisition from the Ithaca M37 to the 870. For me, I need lots of muscle memory with the 870 system before I trust myself to use it seriously.
The 870 SP is a better skeet gun, but my training was helped by using the 870P in its place.
The 870 SP is a better skeet gun, but my training was helped by using the 870P in its place.
Dave McCracken
Moderator In Memoriam
" ...but my training was helped by using the 870P in its place".....
Congratulations, you've just had a Satori. Practice with one 870 equals practice with all.
GR sights at skeet doesn't work for me either. But I can shuck my "Serious" 870s very well after shooting lots of clay doubles.
Keep it up. You'll have fun getting deadly.....
Congratulations, you've just had a Satori. Practice with one 870 equals practice with all.
GR sights at skeet doesn't work for me either. But I can shuck my "Serious" 870s very well after shooting lots of clay doubles.
Keep it up. You'll have fun getting deadly.....
dfariswheel
Member
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2002
- Messages
- 6,653
Somewhere in my pile of books is a photo of a group of St Louis police Detectives on a skeet or trap range with Remington 870P Police 18" barreled shotguns.
Back then, this was acceptable training for the Police gun.
In my old gun club, back in the late 60's, the local FBI man gave training for local cops and sheriff's deputies at the range.
One part of the shotgun training was shooting at a few hand thrower clay birds.
You could tell the hunters in the crowd. The 870 seemed to open itself the instant they fired.
Training is training. Anything that lets you actually shoot and operate the gun is GOOD training.
Back then, this was acceptable training for the Police gun.
In my old gun club, back in the late 60's, the local FBI man gave training for local cops and sheriff's deputies at the range.
One part of the shotgun training was shooting at a few hand thrower clay birds.
You could tell the hunters in the crowd. The 870 seemed to open itself the instant they fired.
Training is training. Anything that lets you actually shoot and operate the gun is GOOD training.
AStone
Member
Well, now that I think about it, this makes sense for training to hit running BG's.dfariswheel said:
Now, if someone would just invent roboskeet that could change directions in mid flight like an out-of-work fullback that has turned to crime ...
farscott,
Great find on that SP, too. I have one made in the 80s, but it has synthetic stocks. It's a great gun.
As for shooting skeet with them, it is great practice. (Well, I don't know about doing it with ghost rings - haven't tried that.) Shooting clay-after-clay does ingrain the muscle memory on the manual of arms on the gun.
By the way, what gun shop do you like in your area?
Good luck on the 870s.
Great find on that SP, too. I have one made in the 80s, but it has synthetic stocks. It's a great gun.
As for shooting skeet with them, it is great practice. (Well, I don't know about doing it with ghost rings - haven't tried that.) Shooting clay-after-clay does ingrain the muscle memory on the manual of arms on the gun.
By the way, what gun shop do you like in your area?
Good luck on the 870s.
farscott
Member
Steve,
On the north side, I like Pannell's Firearms in Woodstock and Nick's Guns (formerly Ed's Guns) in Marietta. I also like to look at used handguns at Adventure Outdoors in Marietta. On the south side, I like Ed's Pawn in Stockbridge. Of them all, I do the majority of my business at Pannell's. Pannell's has the best shotgun selection, anything from 870's to H&H doubles, and I have been doing business with Bob Pannell since 1995.
On the north side, I like Pannell's Firearms in Woodstock and Nick's Guns (formerly Ed's Guns) in Marietta. I also like to look at used handguns at Adventure Outdoors in Marietta. On the south side, I like Ed's Pawn in Stockbridge. Of them all, I do the majority of my business at Pannell's. Pannell's has the best shotgun selection, anything from 870's to H&H doubles, and I have been doing business with Bob Pannell since 1995.
richardschennberg
Member
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2005
- Messages
- 199
Overly large fiber optics, ghost rings, or rifle-style sight can be a distraction. HD guns work fine for Skeet, but you must focus on seeing the bird until it breaks.
Richard
Schennberg.com
Richard
Schennberg.com
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