What can I shoot out of my 870

S

stallion114

New member
I got a basic 12 ga REmington 870 shotgun. I use it mostly for trap shooting and sporting clays. But i also figure as of now it is my goto home defense gun (other option is a 10/22 with a 30rd mag). My question is can i shoot buckshot out of that barrel without any modifications to the gun? And also im pretty sure i cant but ill ask anyway, can i shoot slugs?
Also for trap shooting ive always just used the cheapest gameshot i could find, but recently bought a case of target shot. Whats the difference between the 2. And could someone explain what # shots mean like 6,7 00, 4, etc. And does it have any effect on the amount of powder or velocity,?
Sorry i know thats a lot of questions, and ill appreciate any responses i can get.
Thanks,
Tony
 
I'm fairly new to shotguns, but from the information I've gathered from other forums and other sites, you can pretty much shoot anything that can be chambered with a pump action shotgun. Pump shotguns are pretty forgiving when it comes to different types of ammunition.
 
NOthing wrong with your questions-

1/ Yes, you can shoot buckshot out of the gun. I strongly suggest that you try a variety of buckshot to see how it patterns. Depending on the choke, it may shoot better or worse depending on if the buckshot has filler in the load. If it has a bead , you will also get a better idea of how to "aim" with buckshot.

2/ Yes, you can shoot slugs, providing the choke is not extra full. Your accuracy will suck with a full choke. I wouldnt ever shoot slugs with a screw on choke, too much risk of damage.

3/ Game loads are heavier than target loads, thus they have more recoil, and often more velocity.

4/ The shot number is the shot size. The smallest commonly avalible is #9, then goes down to #1. 4-6 is your bog standard field load for rabbits/ducks etc, while 2-3 is better for geese. You then hit BB, which is bigger still, then buckshot, which also gies down in numbers 4 to 1, then you have the 0 buckshot 00 which has 9 pellets, and 000 which has 8. The shot size usually doesnt effect velocity, thats an effect of powder load and load weight.

Hope this helps.
 
+1 on thanks for these answers. Also a noob, I was staring at shotgun ammunition down at Walmart just tonight, wondering what the specs on all the various light target loads meant and what a drachm might be. So thanks stallion for posting the question; this thread is very useful to me too.
 
Pleasure.

I cannot stress enough how important it is that you pattern your guns. Basically, get a variety of cardboard, and fire whatever loads you plan to use, and see what the pattern is. Not only is it a heck of a lot of fun, but highly imformative. For example, you will see how your gun goes with buckshot, and at what range the pattern "lets go". Its funny stuff, buck, and will put all the pellets into a very small area until somewhere around the 20 yard mark when it will "let go". If you plan to use your gun for HD, you simply must do this, if only to dispell any myths about the cone of death that hollywood would have us believe. You will also see what shot your gun likes. If you plan shooting small birds, if their are gaps in the pattern the bird could fly through you need to change your shot or load.

One last thing I forgot- you have different size shot shells. 2 and 3/4 is standard but 3 inch magnum is avalible. YOu can fire standard in magnum chambers- BUT NOT THE OTHER WAY ROUND!!
 
and what a drachm might be.
Click to expand...

Zippy.... I will assume you mean "Dram". Dram is a volume measurement used in the days when black powder was used in shotshells. It was used as an indicator of power (target, game or magnum) of loads much in the same way we now use the velocity to determine how "powerfull" a loading is. It really has little use in todays loadings except as a comparative for those that grew up shooting BP loads and want to know how the two match up. I am not familiar with the balistics of BP loads but for illustration purposes lets say a 1 1/4 oz BP load using 2 1/2 drams of powder produced 1100 FPS velocity. The BP shooter probably was not aware of the velocity produced by his load so when looking at a smokeless load with a velocity of 1100 FPS he had no idea of how that compared to his BP load. By listing both the dram equivalent and velocity of a smokeless load on the box the shooter would now know how it compared to his BP load. Since a very large portion of the generation that grew up with BP loads has passed I am not sure why the designation is still used.

Stallion ... I don't shoot trap so I'm not 100% sure but I think the target shot often uses a chilled (harder) shot and there may be a difference in velocity.
 
3 1/2" is also possible for trap and skeet...although we load our own...haven't found any in stores yet...Aside from trap, a 3 1/2" will serve you well all around, (deer, turkey, ducks, geese, etc.) and you won't regret it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top