Another new shotgun thread - 07/13/18
Looking to get back into informal target shooting - trap, skeet and some sporting clays. No big time 10,000 rounds/year shooting, more like a couple/three boxes maybe twice per month. Haven't done much shotgun shooting at all in probably 20 years although I used to be on skeet and trap leagues and have done a fair amount of bird hunting over the years.
I've only owned four shotguns in my life and two didn't stick around long at all, my main one for the last 52 years was/is a 12 gauge Rem. 1100. When I was a kid I didn't know about this choke for this application and another for that, I just used the 28" Mod barrel for everything - trap, skeet, rabbits, quail, ducks, everything. Anyway, I got deadly with it mostly because we got the fit right the first time. Now even as soft shooting as that 8 1/4 pound 1100 is, age takes its toll. The last time I shot a round of sporting clays two years ago it felt heavy and recoil was more than I remembered, although the 1300 fps loads were surely part of that.
Anyway, I was thinking of a 20 gauge 870. I know the lighter weight and non-gas operated action will increase recoil but after hefting one in a store I like the livelier feel. Mainly, though, it fits just like the 1100. I'm LH and any shotgun with cast for a rightie doesn't work at all, I'm looking down the side of the barrel. Most other guns with neutral cast still mount a bit low so I'm looking over the barrel. But with the 870, I bring it up and the eye is looking straight down the barrel. I know folks like the older Wingmasters for quality and with some 11 million of them floating around it looks like a used one in very good shape can be had in the mid-$300 range. They have a reputation for going and going so I'm not skeered of one 20 years old or older.
So after that long winded lead in, I guess what I'm asking is, is there any reason not to get a used 20 gauge 870 for informal target use?
I've only owned four shotguns in my life and two didn't stick around long at all, my main one for the last 52 years was/is a 12 gauge Rem. 1100. When I was a kid I didn't know about this choke for this application and another for that, I just used the 28" Mod barrel for everything - trap, skeet, rabbits, quail, ducks, everything. Anyway, I got deadly with it mostly because we got the fit right the first time. Now even as soft shooting as that 8 1/4 pound 1100 is, age takes its toll. The last time I shot a round of sporting clays two years ago it felt heavy and recoil was more than I remembered, although the 1300 fps loads were surely part of that.
Anyway, I was thinking of a 20 gauge 870. I know the lighter weight and non-gas operated action will increase recoil but after hefting one in a store I like the livelier feel. Mainly, though, it fits just like the 1100. I'm LH and any shotgun with cast for a rightie doesn't work at all, I'm looking down the side of the barrel. Most other guns with neutral cast still mount a bit low so I'm looking over the barrel. But with the 870, I bring it up and the eye is looking straight down the barrel. I know folks like the older Wingmasters for quality and with some 11 million of them floating around it looks like a used one in very good shape can be had in the mid-$300 range. They have a reputation for going and going so I'm not skeered of one 20 years old or older.
So after that long winded lead in, I guess what I'm asking is, is there any reason not to get a used 20 gauge 870 for informal target use?