Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints buck shot chokes rem 870

I picked up a rem 870 tactical for turkey / coyote / beaver / bedroom closet duty and it comes with a removable cylinder bore choke.

What chokes work well for #4 and #o buck shot?

I've had good luck with Pattern Master and Federal Premium 3 inch #4 copper plated buck. If I was you, which I am not :), try a regular full choke first. Use copper plated buck shots like the Federal loads above and see if it patterns consistently enough for you. At the end of the day, go out and pattern as many premium loads as possible. Each choke and load combinations will pattern differently. There is a sticky over at Predator Masters forum on this very subject.

Bedrooms requirements may be much different from coyote pattern requirements.

For the bedroom, I'd go to cylinder bore and for tight patterns at distance it would be a Patternmaster.

You might try some of the ammo with the Flite-Control/Versa-Tite wads in the cylinder choke.

I've got a Rem 870 Tactical with the cylinder bore that puts the Hornady Critical Defense 00 Buck into 7" pattern at 15 yards.

Edit:
The bedroom duty would be cylinder bore that came with the gun.

Coyote duty would be what patterns buck shot the best

turkey would probably be a extra full cylinder. I assume buckshot wont pattern well in a extra full choke.

It does for me

I like 12 gauge 3 in. Lead BB. A little smaller the # 4 buck, but real good on varmits. I use a full choke. Hasbeen

As a coyote hunter, I tried a hand full of chokes in the Rem 1100 and 11/87. The Carlson's turkey choke produced 100% patterns of Rem 3" #4 Buckshot in 20" circle(40 Yards) which I thought was pretty awesome till I tried the 3" Rem 00 and 000 that all went into 15" circles, all at 40 Yards!!!!

Note, I started at c ylinder bore, then Modified, then improved modified, then Full, then extra full, then the turkey chokes.

These patterns produced are very tight patterns, maybe too tight for your applications.

If I were preparing for a zombie apocolypse, the std full choke would eat up a zombie at 40 yards.

I would highly recommend a very good recoil pad, a limbsaver because these 3" shells really kick.

For home defense I'd just stick with the cylinder.

For varmints and what not I would look hard at the the chokes Keith mentioned.

I've had great luck with Carlson's extended stainless chokes. For larger shot sizes like T, #4 and 00 I have had the best luck with Improved Modified.