Picked up my first gun...questions now

nbd13

nbd13

New member
Hey guys,

Well after taking the advice of everyone on the board.....

I picked up a used 12 gauge Remington 870 express completely stock.

So my question is where do I go from here?

I have read that I should pattern the gun and understand this, but should I change the choke and what type of amino should I pickup?

Anything else I should do? Since I am only 23 I had to take a hunter safety class that the state of IL requires. I already did that and have my hunting license. So, I am all set to go.

Thanks,

Nick
 
nbd13 said:
Hey guys,

Well after taking the advice of everyone on the board.....

I picked up a used 12 gauge Remington 870 express completely stock.

So my question is where do I go from here?

I have read that I should pattern the gun and understand this, but should I change the choke and what type of amino should I pickup?

Anything else I should do? Since I am only 23 I had to take a hunter safety class that the state of IL requires. I already did that and have my hunting license. So, I am all set to go.

Thanks,

Nick
Click to expand...

An improved cylinder choke is an all round good upland game choke for today's pattern-holding shot shells. A ounce and a quarter load of no. 6 shot in a 2 3/4 inch shell is great and it will be fine on quail too. Get 'em about anywhere. Have fun hunting.
 
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I would go shoot a couple of rounds of trap first. Trap is nice as it is always the same so the repetition will help you get use to shouldering your gun. Next I would shoot a couple of rounds of sporting clays. The varying targets will help you all around to become a better shot. This will help take some of the frustration out of missing birds. I shoot sporting clays once a week in the of season to try and stay in shape. I can only imagine how bad of a shoot I would be if I didn't as I still miss way to many birds.
 
Yes, pattern each choke with teh load you plan to shoot. Sometimes the pattern is off for the differnt chokes. i have found over the years that I shoot IC/Mod in my double barrels, and mod in the single barrel. I can open up when needed, but going tighter my shooting goes downhill. Since, I have upgreded to a fixed choke dbl, which I had borred to IC and mod. This is my go to gun unless it is raining.
 
Ditto on the Trap and the Sporting Clays. Get into doing that as much as is allowable and affordable. It's extremely fun and the camaraderie is excellent as well! Get used to the shotgun and know that bird hunting isn't always that easy but it is fun.
You've picked a great shotgun. I started out on one and still have it. I use it on occasion too for waterfowl when I get the time for them. Be good to the shotgun too and it'll perform for you round after round.
 
Thanks everyone. I do plan on getting out and shooting some clays before I attempt any bird shooting in the field.

I am headed to bass pro shops today so I will look into the improved cylinder choke as well.

Anyone have any suggestions on what I should pick up to clean the gun with?

Thanks again,

Nick
 
About any brand of 'gun scrubber', powder dissolver, bore cleaner,.. IMO.. and a "Boresnake" to match your caliber...:)
...and "Rem Oil"....
 
Hey Congrat's on picking up the new gun.:10sign: I to had the good fortune of receiving a 870 for a graduation / birthday present from my father. Good gun and once you get use to it you can shoot them almost as fast as a auto loader.
Buy any gun cleaning kit for shotguns with a brush for 12 ga bore. Learn to break it down all the way and give it a good cleaning and lube and it will work flawlessly for you. Air compressor and tooth brush works great to get all the seeds and dirt out of the nooks and crannies.

Just a heads up there is a difference in chokes, lead and steel. You donâ??t want to shoot steel through a lead full choke. It can damage your barrel. Now days they are labeled some how so you know if they are good for both. Good luck and welcome to the sport.:thumbsup:
 
I'm a huge fan of the Boresnake. Get one of those and use it to clean your shotgun. Generally any type of gun cleaning solvent will work to, I prefer the Hoppe's No. 9 but anything works!!.
 
Hey Congrat's on picking up the new gun.:10sign: I to had the good fortune of receiving a 870 for a graduation / birthday present from my father. Good gun and once you get use to it you can shoot them almost as fast as a auto loader.
Buy any gun cleaning kit for shotguns with a brush for 12 ga bore. Learn to break it down all the way and give it a good cleaning and lube and it will work flawlessly for you. Air compressor and tooth brush works great to get all the seeds and dirt out of the nooks and crannies.

Just a heads up there is a difference in chokes, lead and steel. You donâ??t want to shoot steel through a lead full choke. It can damage your barrel. Now days they are labeled some how so you know if they are good for both. Good luck and welcome to the sport.:thumbsup:
 
nbd13 said:
Hey guys,

Well after taking the advice of everyone on the board.....

I picked up a used 12 gauge Remington 870 express completely stock.

So my question is where do I go from here?

I have read that I should pattern the gun and understand this, but should I change the choke and what type of amino should I pickup?

Anything else I should do? Since I am only 23 I had to take a hunter safety class that the state of IL requires. I already did that and have my hunting license. So, I am all set to go.

Thanks,

Nick
Click to expand...



when i saw the title.. i thought, hopefully the next step would be is to go shoot it. lol...

hope you figured out what you needed and enjoy!! I remember the OLD Remington 870 shotgun i had for the police dept. that thing was so old, we havent even used it in years.. rotted away. but they are damn good guns. I have a 1187 Remington now.. which would be an auto verison of the 870... right? anyways.. enjoy!!!
 
Thanks again for the replies.

Also, could someone give me a quick explanation of how to exactly pattern the gun? Is it an easy as it sounds, just shoot different types amino at paper targets and see how the patterning is?

What am I looking for in the pattern, tight disbursement or more spread out? If it matters, mainly hunting pheasant and quail.

Thanks again,

Nick
 
nbd13 said:
Thanks again for the replies.

Also, could someone give me a quick explanation of how to exactly pattern the gun? Is it an easy as it sounds, just shoot different types amino at paper targets and see how the patterning is?

What am I looking for in the pattern, tight disbursement or more spread out? If it matters, mainly hunting pheasant and quail.

Thanks again,

Nick
Click to expand...

The choke determines the size of the pattern and the range. Full choke=tight pattern, long range; no choke ("cylinder" choke tube)=large pattern, shorter range. Shot size also impacts range. I recommend an "improved cylinder" as the best choke for a one barrel gun for pheasant, quail, and other upland birds if you're using lead shot shells. I have no experience with non-lead shells but have read that their patterns are denser (smaller diameter). Moreover, shooting non-lead puts more pressure on the barrel and more open chokes than used on lead shot shells are recommended, and never a full choke.

Patterning means shooting into a big piece of cardboard with a big dot drawn on the middle of it from about 30 yards, a typical upland shot distance. Put your bead on the dot, pull the trigger, and then see how the shot patterns around the dot. My Browning Citori, for example, puts about 60% of the shot above the dot and 40% below. That allows me to point so that the whole bird is visible above my bead giving me more visual data. The shot pattern on the cardboard will also show the diameter of your pattern with that choke at that distance.

When I patterned my new Citori recently, I was surprised at the density of the patterns with improved cylinder (first shot) and modified (second shot) chokes. I've decided that at least until the pheasants are spooked and shots are longer range I will shoot through skeet (the least amount of choke) and improved cylinder chokes. Sometimes late in the season we go for quail only because the pheasants are spooked out and in that case I shoot no. 8 shot through cylinder (first shot) and a skeet choke.
 
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