Fun with my 14.5 870

[Greg Bell]

Hey guys,

I was playing with my 870 over the last few range trips and I got some interesting results.

IMG_7423 by stoiclawyer, on Flickr

1. This AIM surplus 14.5 inch barrel with XS sights is well zeroed at 100. I was able to consistently shooting pretty cheap "Slugger" 10z Remington slugs at 100 yards...

IMG_7231 by stoiclawyer, on Flickr

I think those are pretty dang decent groups considering these are cheap slugs. The damage done to a person at this range would have to be pretty impressive.


2. I blasted 9 pellet Flite Control at 100 yards. Every shell had 1-3hits. I had to aim at neck level to consistently get 3 pellets on the plate. BUT several times I had multiple pellets hit the head. Still, it seems like, if you have a SBS and have to fire at someone at 100 yards, you will almost certainly hit them. I am not saying this is ideal, but the idea that buckshot is useless at range seems to be overblown. Interestingly, I fired some cheap S&B 9 pellet and it had similar results at that range.

3. I blasted some 9 pellet flite control at 20 yards. Weirdly, I got better results out of my Beretta 1301 but this was still pretty impressive.

IMG_7426 by stoiclawyer, on Flickr

4. Finally I blasted some 9 pellet flite control at 10 yards. Again, not as good as I got out of my old 1301. However, this was about 60% as large as the S&B 9 pellet.

IMG_7432 by stoiclawyer, on Flickr

Nothing shocking here. But still, the old Fudd cannon still has a lot to offer.

[Lon]

If your AIM barrel was like mine, it has a MOD choke. Which isn’t really optimal for the FC stuff. Mine didn’t pattern that great the one time I took it out (it’s gone now). Have you checked the slugs at 25? Mine hit pretty high at 25.

[LJP]

Lon beat me to it… the 870 14.5 barrels typically have a modified choke that doesn’t play well with FC. I’ve had better luck (patterns) with the Hornady Versatite wad. I run Hornady BLACK or Hornady CD in my 870 SBS. I did send my barrel to Vang Comp, just because. Last class I took I used some old school Speer Lawman buckshot and got excellent results (patterns). Mine has the DEA XS Sights and I had good performance with Winchester slugs at 50 yards.

[GJM]

One caution, I seem to recall some reports of slugs coming back at the shooter, when using stationary as opposed to falling/moving steel.

[Greg Bell]

I snuck out today after work to try out some other rounds.

Here is Federal "premium" personal defense 9 pellet at 21 and 30




Does anyone know what the difference is? The box just says personal defense copper plated buckshot but is appears to have the flitecontrol wad.

I also tried out some hornady critical defense 8 pellet....







As far as the slugs. I was shooting at 100 yards but I will switch to my swinging targets just in case.

[Greg Bell]

Lon beat me to it… the 870 14.5 barrels typically have a modified choke that doesn’t play well with FC. I’ve had better luck (patterns) with the Hornady Versatite wad. I run Hornady BLACK or Hornady CD in my 870 SBS. I did send my barrel to Vang Comp, just because. Last class I took I used some old school Speer Lawman buckshot and got excellent results (patterns). Mine has the DEA XS Sights and I had good performance with Winchester slugs at 50 yards.

Hey. Have an extra one of these barrels. Would it be worthwhile to send it to Vang? Would the Mod choke play well with the Vang mods?

[Dorsai]

Hey. Have an extra one of these barrels. Would it be worthwhile to send it to Vang? Would the Mod choke play well with the Vang mods?

I'm interested in the answer too. If no one knows, I have that barrel at Vang for porting and I should have it back in time for the Thunderstick Summit in a month.

[LJP]

Hey. Have an extra one of these barrels. Would it be worthwhile to send it to Vang? Would the Mod choke play well with the Vang mods?

Vang Comp… mine does well with the Vang Comp modification and Modified choke. But it will still have the modified choke. The only real downside is cost, and that’s a decision only you can make. Tom Givens once told me that he had to send three short barrels to Hans to get one that would shoot to his satisfaction. I’ve been happy with mine with the goal of being able to grab just about any buckshot off the shelf and get acceptable results. There is a definite correlation with between pattern size and the quality of buckshot. What the VCS mod gets you is the ability to use almost any decent buckshot and still get acceptable patterns for defensive use. I have two barrels worked over by Vang and will probably soon have a third. For me it’s worth it, but that is a very individual choice.