first shotgun

[ocabj]

i went out and bought my first shotgun. after the cozy ten day waiting period, i picked up a remington 870 express synthetic 18". it came with the +2 extension already installed via factory.

being my first shotgun and all, plus being a remington, what kind of accessories have you 870 owners been putting on your pump gun? for instance, i was looking into getting a surefire light for it sometime.

what are some good practice loads? i read that many use bird hunting loads because of less recoil.

 

[Dave McC]

At this point,Ocabj, forget accessories and concentrate on training and practice.

A stock, out of the box 870 is an amazingly effective HD tool. It's the operator that needs upgrades the most.

Go down to your local gun shop,chain store,etc, and buy the cheapest 1 oz field loads they have. Something in 7 1/2 or 8 shot will suffice. These also happen to be a good choice for a defense load inside the house.

Then take your shotgun and ammo to arange where you can get basic instruction from a competent instructor. Once you've learned to operate and maintain your shotgun, have tons of fun playing with it until you're comfortable shooting and hitting most of what you're shooting at.

Over on the Shotgun Report, the guys say to shoot a shotgun for a year before modifying or trading it. Their focus is recreational, but ti's good advice for "Serious" shotgunning tyros.

Finally, the Archives here have most any question you may have already answered. Good luck and good shooting...

 

[CMichael]

My day at the range

I got a Mossberg Persuader. I am new to firearms. My wife got me this for my birthday.

I went to the range today. I had a great time. The head of the shotgun division instruced me as I shot trap. His advice was invaluable. He was very patient and gave me great guidance.

I shot five out of 25. I hit one on my first try. Hey I am new to this. Also, I have a disadvantage because my barrel length is 20"

I had humengous fun.

i also want to thank all of you that gave me such great advice.

The guy also said that next weekent he will teach me how to shoot from the hip since it's mainly a home defense weapon.

I had a blast!!!!


Michael

 

[Dave McC]

Glad you had a good time, Michael. Shotgunning can be an amazing amount of fun.

I sometimes shoot trap with my homebuilt parts 870, AKA Frankenstein, with its 21" bbl. Scores at worst run a bird or two lower than with my 870 TB claycrunching target machine with its 30" bbl.

Also, your aim here(pun intended) is to become proficient with your HD shotgun, right? So shoot it as is. Later, buy a backup, long bbled shotgun if you want a target gun per se.

I used to have to hip shoot for qualification, and taught a few hundred COS to do likewise. If it hits the fan,I'm using my shotgun from the shoulder and using the sights at anything over contact distance.....

 

[CMichael]

Longer barrel

I do have a question.

On my Persuader could I simply buy a longer barrel and exchange it when I want to shoot trap or skeet?

 

[Dave McC]

Yes, and lots of folks do exactly that, but...

Unless you luck into a real deal/steal, often the extra bbl costs not much less than another complete shotgun.

Example, say I wanted to use Frankenstein exclusively for trap. The local shop will sell me a 30" trap bbl with Remchokes for about $180. Putting this shotgun together cost me about $140.

New Remington Expresses run somewhat over $200, and many come with that 28" bbl.

I started off with one GP 870. Now I've 4 in 12 gauge, 3 set up as special purpose shotguns for Deer, HD and Trap, and one GP, anything flying shotgun, the afore mentioned Frankenstein.

However, there's still some deals out there. Keep your eyes peeled and your fingers crossed, meanwhile shooting the heck out of your little Mossie.