Ok fellas looking at getting a rem 870 for my daughter an wife in the youth model. What do y'all think about having the barrel magna ported to reduce recoil along with adding Simms pad also. My daughter turns 7 in December and plan on taking her during youth week this coming spring. Thanks for any input.
Don't have the gun Magna-Ported; doing so will make the gun substantially louder, which you don't want w/ a short barrelled shotgun, may adversely affect patterns, and is too expensive for the benefits. I would do a thorough interior polish of the barrel and choke tube. The most important factor w/ young shooters is making sure the stock is not too long and fits properly. A Simms pad will help w/ recoil, but make sure that your daughter practices w/ the lightest 20 gauge loads which you can find, shoots a lot, and becomes comfortable w/ the shotgun. YOU sight the gun in w/ turkey loads replicating your daughters POA/POI. so she doesn't develop a jerk or flinch reaction from heavy turkey loads. Probably the best thing which you could do would be to have the trigger worked on. Most of the Remington Express shotguns which I have handled "out-of-the-box" have had horrible heavy trigger pulls w/ substantial creep which is extremely detrimental to young and experienced hunters alike. Most importantly, "Make it fun!"
The new pads r3 from remington are really good , so a simms isn't necessary . Not sure if youth comes with one now though? Agree with decoy krvr on the rest.
Also Clark may have a stock you might consider. Has good pad , cheek piece and is adjustable. Heavy also which will help with the recoil.
You might consider the 2 3/4" Federal HW 7 load, a lot less recoil than any 3" 20 i am aware of.
Quote from: owlhoot on October 29, 2014, 06:31:16 PM
You might consider the 2 3/4" Federal HW 7 load, a lot less recoil than any 3" 20 i am aware of.
X2! The easiest way to create a manageable recoil shotgun and still have the wallop to completely dismantle an old tom. Take it up to the 3" shell when they get used to the gun.
Agree on all counts. Recoil and noise are a big factor with kids and women folk. Porting won't help you that much. Set it up with pads and shoot lighter loads. Get em ear protection too. A red dot type site is great for starters. Takes the guess work outta being more accurate. And if they need it, get em a good raised cheek pad so their head is solid on stock. I built a BIG one up outta foam and camo tape for my niece. Ugly but really, really helped her shoot better.