I got a new 870 today.

[eviltravis]

My experience with shotguns is somewhat limited, so the question I have may have an obvious answer to some here. I bought a new remington 870 express magnum today, and I was wondering about chokes. On the guns I've used before there was a thread in choke on the end of the barrel to pattern the shot. The gun I bought today has nothing there, just a smooth bore. Do I need a choke? Some of the threads that I found while searching suggested that a shotgun barrel may be damaged if it is shot without a choke, or that damage can occur with certain types of amunition and no choke. I don't know if this is relevent to my question, but the gun I bought has a shorter barrel, and is intended to be for home defence. Any wisdom on this would be much appreciated.

 

[Marshall-1]

If it has an 18" bbl it is a "cylinder bore". Meaning, it is a very open choke, or actually no choke. Great for home defense. No, you do not need a choke.

 

[sjg26]

You have a Cylinder bore.............

Same as mine---18-1/2 inch barrel - mine came with the +2 shot mag extension from the factory. You will see the barrel stamped CYL on the left-side just forward of the receiver. As a CYL bore, you can shoot shot, buck and slugs- mine shoots point-of -aim/impact out to 30 yds - as far as I've tried to date.
No choke needed at home-defense range.

Now, if you're gonna try trap-------

 

[eviltravis]

Next question

What is the best type of amunition for a home defense aplication?
Can I use slugs in this gun?
It says on remingtons web sight that the gun is intended for personal use, and will not accept law enforcement accessories. Does that mean a mag tube extention won't work on this gun?

 

[Guyon]

eviltravis:

Do a search on this forum for "home defense ammo." You'll get more threads than you can shake a stick at. Happy reading.

Congrats on the new 870.

 

[Abaddon]

Travis

Yes you can use slugs, but I would not if overpenetration were an issue where I lived. Most slugs will easily penetrate the BG and the adjoining walls.

With Birdshot overpenetration is not really an issue at all, but some think that underpenetration could be a problem here. With buckshot overpenetration is not as much of an issue as with slugs, but it could still be a concern. From most home defense ranges it should be pretty irrelevant whether you use birdshot or buckshot. Whatever you use figure out the farthest possible range that you could shoot a BG from and pattern different types of ammo to get an idea of where the pellets will go.

The info on the sight is referring (I believe) to the dimples that are protruding into the inside of the magazine. If you want to add a magazine extension these have to be removed. There are a number of threads on this forum that can help you with this.

Jeff

 

[Dave McC]

Mine the Archives. There's enough good input in there to teach someone to shoot right from Square 1.

Get some 1 oz, 2 3/4 dram eq loads and have fun.