Looking for a gunsmith who specializes in turkey gun pattern improvements.
I am in need of having work done on my 20ga 870.
Please share any recommendations and why use them .
Thanks in advance, Andre'.
William at Sumtoy
I agree William at Sumtoy. But you could try polishing your barrel this may be just what you need. It's not to hard, there is a thread on here Amon how to do it.
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What are you shooting now and what sort of improvement are you looking for. I have 2 870 20's and have shot TSS 9's in both guns with a .555, .565, .570, .575, and now .585, from cheap chokes to high end chokes. All of them performed great, just depends on how tight of a pattern you want at 20 and 40. I settled on the TruLock .585. Little more forgiving at 20, and definitely still really good at 40. Apex 9's, Federal 9's, and the Rob Roberts Custom Shop 9's, all were great.
My guns however did not like anything non-tss. Longbeards were HORRIBLE, 5's and 6's.
What choke you have now? What shell you have? How have you cleaned the gun? Most guns just need a good shell and choke. Very few need alot of money spent on them. Most time it is just to make someone money :z-twocents:
^^^^^
This guy right here !!!
He's turned a couple of my 20's into pure POISON.
Quote from: SumToy on January 27, 2022, 08:31:57 AM
What choke you have now? What shell you have? How have you cleaned the gun? Most guns just need a good shell and choke. Very few need alot of money spent on them. Most time it is just to make someone money :z-twocents:
Good morning and thanks for the reply...
In regards to the chokes I have shot: yours in .562, Carlsons, Truglo, Hevishot and a few others all in different constrictions, working opening up to .585.
Currently shooting the Rem. factory choke full as it is throwing the best pattern, but still not where I would like it I still got too many holes or gaps in the pattern in my opinion .
Shells, I have shot everything from Fed TSS #9 , FED HW, Apex and quite a few others ...
Pretty much get the same results , not an even pattern in terms of density .
In terms of cleaning, I have polished the bore twice . Did it to letter as per the link or pin on the forum.
At this point not sure what else to do other than get it to a G-smith that can identify the issue what ever it maybe , lengthen forcing cone, match a custom choke to shells/ barrel or simply tell me the current barrel ain't gonna cut it...
I would much rather figure a less expensive route but this one has be stumped
Again any advise is appreciated...
Well like everyone else has said. William at Sumtoy give him a holler.
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Thanks... Will do
Do you have any pictures of your patterns at 40 yards? Are you shooting at a LARGE target face so that you can see the full pattern? I've always propped up a full size 4x4 pallet at 40 yards, and covered it with poster board so that I could see the entire pattern, determine which was best, and to make any POI changes with my red dot. I can't believe that Apex and none of those chokes are giving you a good pattern.
I will tell you, my pellet count went down when I polished my barrel on one of my 870 20's, I wish I hadn't done it.
The Primos Tightwad (.570), Remington Super Full (.572 I think), Indian Creek 570, Carlson .575, and TruLock .585 all throw awesome Apex patterns out of both of my 870's.
I think I have another Remington Super Full that you can try if you want, it's brand new in the package. I'd like to see your current patterns though, and make sure you're getting the entire pattern on paper, regardless where it is on the paper. You can always adjust it with optics to get it centered, but you need to be able to see the WHOLE pattern first.
The choke is the most critical improvement to put on any turkey gun ...besides the ammo itself
Sumtoy makes some of the most high performance chokes money can buy
Quote from: twyatt on January 28, 2022, 08:02:52 PM
Do you have any pictures of your patterns at 40 yards? Are you shooting at a LARGE target face so that you can see the full pattern? I've always propped up a full size 4x4 pallet at 40 yards, and covered it with poster board so that I could see the entire pattern, determine which was best, and to make any POI changes with my red dot. I can't believe that Apex and none of those chokes are giving you a good pattern.
I will tell you, my pellet count went down when I polished my barrel on one of my 870 20's, I wish I hadn't done it.
The Primos Tightwad (.570), Remington Super Full (.572 I think), Indian Creek 570, Carlson .575, and TruLock .585 all throw awesome Apex patterns out of both of my 870's.
I think I have another Remington Super Full that you can try if you want, it's brand new in the package. I'd like to see your current patterns though, and make sure you're getting the entire pattern on paper, regardless where it is on the paper. You can always adjust it with optics to get it centered, but you need to be able to see the WHOLE pattern first.
X2
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Thanks guys I've been going over all with William @ Sumtoy
Appreciate all the advice ...
Quote from: SumToy on January 27, 2022, 08:31:57 AM
What choke you have now? What shell you have? How have you cleaned the gun? Most guns just need a good shell and choke. Very few need alot of money spent on them. Most time it is just to make someone money :z-twocents:
Not trying to high jack the post, but about cleaning do you recommend cleaning between each and every shot on the range, or just running a snake between shots, or just cleaning every three to four shots, etc? What has worked best for your shop as far as cleaning in trying to get a gun to shoot?
Second question - Beyond how often to clean, what do you find is the best product to clean a gun with between shot/shots?
Final question - And does the barrel need to be perfectly dry (any residue - oil, etc.) or just clean in your experience to throw its best pattern?
Quote from: mountainhunter1 on March 12, 2022, 02:03:28 PM
Quote from: SumToy on January 27, 2022, 08:31:57 AM
What choke you have now? What shell you have? How have you cleaned the gun? Most guns just need a good shell and choke. Very few need alot of money spent on them. Most time it is just to make someone money :z-twocents:
Not trying to high jack the post, but about cleaning do you recommend cleaning between each and every shot on the range, or just running a snake between shots, or just cleaning every three to four shots, etc? What has worked best for your shop as far as cleaning in trying to get a gun to shoot?
Second question - Beyond how often to clean, what do you find is the best product to clean a gun with between shot/shots?
Final question - And does the barrel need to be perfectly dry (any residue - oil, etc.) or just clean in your experience to throw its best pattern?
We clean it good with denatured alcohol to get all the oil and crud out to start.
Then we just run a brush down it after every shot if you testing that way you keep everything the same.
Then it is more of what the gun likes as to when you clean but If you make it shoot clean you can keep it clean. You know hoe clean is but not how dirty to dirty is.
You'll be cleaning a lot with a non chrome lined barrel like the OPs 870. Denatured alcohol is your friend like William said. You can buy it by the gallon at a hardware store , and it's much more economical than a solvent . Personally I shoot 3 times between cleanings. That's just what I do. Second shot is always the best pattern typically . Don't know why , but that's my 870. I do still use solvent on final cleanings . But I always follow up with alcohol to cut out any remaining oils from the solvent .
If I got to baby one this much....especially a 20 gauge....I would not keep it.