To Vang and shorten barrel???

C

Coop de Ville

New member
Good morning all.

I have an 870P that came with a 20" IC bore and rifle sights. Since, I have installed Wilson Trac Loks and the speed feed #4 Giles tac sling. The gun shoots well and patterns ok with S&B 00 buck (12 pellet). By ok I mean 10"-12" circle at 10 yards.

I am thinking about sending it to Vang so that I can cutthose patterns way down... apparently it helps for slugs, too.

I was wondering if taking the barrel down to 18" would be advised or not. I have heard that the shorter barrel will help patterning because there is less deformation of the pellets. Is this true?

I'm also concerned about losing velocity... wondering if I would still get full powder burn in the 18"....

I have owned the 870P in the 18" version and it really does handle a lot better for me, even though it's only 2".

Thanks, -Coop
 
Pellet deformation is dependent upon:

1) How hard the shot is - amount of antimony in the shot, and the use of nickel or copper to assist in less deformation.
2) Constriction / Choke. One can debate various "types" of choke design. [ Swaged, Jugged...etc]

Different chokes like different stokes.
 
Buy some decent buckshot loads first, before you spend all that $$$ on an already perfectly useful barrel. Shooting S&B out of a Vanged barrel will likely get you about the same results as you are getting now. If you want/need genuine scattergun performance (with emphasis on the 'scatter') then S&B is most definitely the load to use.

I get 12-15" patterns at 25 yards out of a factory 20" IC 870 barrel with several different loads. Try something else, like the newer Federal low recoil law enforcement stuff. Chances are you will be surprised at how tight it patterns.

Tight patterning buckshot= hard lead pellets, plated pellets, pellets cushioned with buffering material and good wad systems. S&B has none of the above- dead soft lead pellets, unplated and unprotected at launch and on the trip down the bore. Good if you want open patterns, not good if you don't.

Otherwise Hans is a really nice guy and could use the business, if you are gonna spend more money on an already perfectly functional barrel you'd just as well spend it with him. 8^)

lpl/nc
 
You may just want to consider buying a barrel from Vang. As I understand it, he may or may not be able to "Vang" your barrel. I know he was unable to do mine.

Secondly, by the time he does all the mods, a new second barrel may not be that much more.
 
Couple of things

Low recoil Tactical LE ammo will tighten up patterns considerably. Remington LE, Win. Ranger, original Federal Tactical.

New ammo by Federal, such as LE 132-00 9 pellet load and LE 133-00 8 pellet load now incorporate the FliteControl wad that produces 4" patterns at 15yds, and 7 to 9 in. patterns at 25yds! The Hornady TAP produces similar patterns (the same wad is used in both loads). Federal is plated shot. TAP is lead. The choke has no effect on the pattern size, since the wad slips off the shot column a little down range. You can get Federal from Ammoman and TAP from Northwest Loading Supply.


Shortening the barrel neither gives significant velocity loss nor guarantees better patterns. Pattern could be better or worse.

There's nothing wrong with Vang, but if you want tighter patterns, it isn't necessary with the new ammo on the market. Vang barrels do produce less recoil, and the ported versions even less than that. Their back boring system procuces excellent results with slugs and gives tighter patterns with all buckshot loads.

Low recoil ammo with 00 buck still has plenty of penetration and the low recoil provides for faster follow-up shots. I already mentioned tighter patterns. Full power buck loads always blow the pattern up compared to low recoil stuff.
 
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