Total Noob shotgun question.

LuckyCat

LuckyCat

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Hi everyone-
So I am interested in purchasing a shotgun, specifically a Remington Model 870 shotgun for home defense. I am also interested in trap and skeet shooting. So my question is, can an 18" barrel Remington 870 be used for trap and skeet, or will I be laughed off the field? When I say "used" I know that any shotgun can be used for those sports, but I want to know if this specific firearm will do to start out with, or if I should invest in two separate guns, one for home defense and one for trap?
 
My opinion... If you're looking for a pump to "try and scare the perp away as you rack the shotgun" forget about it.. All that does is give away your position. Go with an semi-auto off the bat and you wont regret it. You can use it for home defense, trap, skeet, and hunting. You're gonna have a hell of a time shooting a pump if you have to land multiple shots shooting skeet. If you want to stay with Remington consider the 11-87 for a light, and cheaper shotgun.
 
Don't worry about being laughed of the field. You won't need two guns for wat you're suggesting. My suggestion would be to buy a 26" or 28" barrel for clays.
 
An 870 is a great gun for home defense. On the trap field... its not pretty but you can sure shoot with it. I started with a Mossberg 500 on the trap field and with some practice, I was beating some people with way more expensive guns. As a beginner and 870 is great. As far as the 18" barrel..... that is good for home defense but will not work on the trap field. You will be very inaccurate with it at long range. I know that Remington has deals where you can buy an 870 with both a short and long barrel in a combo kit. You could also buy the gun with a short barrel and purchase a long barrel after. They are very readily available. If you do use the second option, make sure not to buy a gun with an extended magazine tube, the long barrel will not fit the gun.
 
Buy the 870 with the 28" field barrel and then you can buy an 18" HD barrel for in the neighborhood of $120.00. Also, don't discount the Mossberg 500 when looking at pump guns. I own both and although the 870 looks nicer, I like the feel of and shoot better with the 500. It also comes with 3 chokes as opposed to 1 and costs a little less. Also the Mossberg 500 is available as a "Field/security" combo which includes both an 18.5" and a 28" barrel. Generally, if $ is a concern, a combo package will be a good bit cheaper than buying an additional barrel separately.
Good luck,
Matt
 
My 13 year old son insisted on taking the Remington 870 Tacticool unit out for a round of skeet. The gun has an 18" smooth bore heavy barrel, and a Knoxx recoil reducing stock. Much to my surprise, he was still able to hit 20 or better out of 25. Same gun on the trap field is almost useless, there is no density in the pattern at the hitting distance.

So to answer your question, can it be used for skeet, absolutely, is it ideal, not really.

Last weekend, he did the same but this time with the 19" barreled Saiga 12, his results were a bird or two better than with the Remington 870.

Clays can be shot with pretty much any gun, but to give yourself a fighting chance I would recommend a 30" barrel with screw chokes, so you can swap your chokes to get the proper pattern for the game you are playing. I shoot 28" barrels for skeet, and 32" barrels for trap, but you shouldn't notice any ill effects shooting 30" for both games.

One of the best skeet shooters at our club shoots a Browning BPS pump gun and I have seen him have countless perfect rounds with it.
 
mamy said:
Hi everyone-
So I am interested in purchasing a shotgun, specifically a Remington Model 870 shotgun for home defense. I am also interested in trap and skeet shooting. So my question is, can an 18" barrel Remington 870 be used for trap and skeet, or will I be laughed off the field? When I say "used" I know that any shotgun can be used for those sports, but I want to know if this specific firearm will do to start out with, or if I should invest in two separate guns, one for home defense and one for trap?
Click to expand...

Mamy,
You can do it but here are the drawbacks.

Trap: For trap you will be handy capped by barrel length. Longer barrel = longer sight radius = more accurate. You can get a longer barrel as has been suggested and you should be good to go.

Skeet/ Sporting clays/ Trap doubles: A pump with a longer barrel will handicap you as it is one more thing to think about / do while trying to concentrate on your second shot. More time to pump = the bird further out = more angles to take into consideration.

I have seen several shooters who shoot clays with pumps and do just fine, it is just one more thing to add into the equation and learning curve. One of the most important things for clay games is gun fit. So try many prior to buying one.

Get down to a club and try out trap. Mass Rile offers it to non club members you just have to buy shot there. Wed night is trap from about 5:30 - 8:00 if folks show up. Once you shoot Wed night then you can come on a Sunday AM for sporting clays.

If you want to give it a try PM me and I can arrange details, and can bring some shotguns for you to try. Pump, semi, O/U
 
most organized skeet and trap clubs will not allow you to shoot with anything less than @ 26" bbl..

If you want to try shoot with the short bbl. see if you can find a good spot and somebody to throw the clays for you...
 
My Dad, brother and I shoot informally with Mossy 500 pumps and we can get 4/5 or 5/5 most of the time. It's definitely do-able with a pump, but I'd get a semi or O/U if I was going to shoot more often or at a club.
 

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