shotgun barrel

surveyormorrowj

I want to put a slug barrel on my mossberg 500. What will be the difference in accuracy and distance between a rifled barrel and a smooth barrel. Thanks Jeff

surveyormorrowj

what are the advantages/disadvantages of having a 30 inch barrel on a remington wingmaster 12 gauge. found one in great shape for $315.00 , is this a good choice for turkey/ducks ? thanks.

Tailgunner1954

Pros: Longer sight plane and forces you to maintain your swing
Cons: heavier and harder to get swinging

makindu

For turkeys, it will work fine. However, most States now require STEEL SHOT for waterfowling, and your 30 inch Remington barrel is most likely a FULL choked barrel. The tightest choke recommended for steel shot is MODIFIED. In other words, for safety's sake, you should never shoot steel shot out of a full choked barrel (excessive pressure on the sidewalls of barrel due to the tight constriction and the hardness of steel shot). It is perfectly safe to shoot lead out of your full choke barrel, though. Hence, perfect for turkeys in most States.

only winchesters

Hello survey: Well I'll assume that for $315. you mean a complete gun, not just a barrel!! For a complete gun, no that isn't a good price, the fact that it has a 30in. barrel with a fixed choke, tells me it's about 20 years old or older, Rem-Chokes became standard about 1987/88 time frame. Older fixed choke Remingtons generally bring about 25% less than one with Rem-Chokes.

Waterfowllers and turkey hunters for years liked longer barrels, simply because most shots are in the 30-50 yard range and as stated the longer sight plane gives you a smoother swing.

Yes it's true that for waterfowling you have to use NON-TOXIC shot. However there are plenty of others to choose from than just steel that would work just fine in that old Remington, such as Bismuth and Tungsten/Matrix, however it is more expensive than standard steel. Also remington web site says if the gun was made after about 1977/78 time frame it's ok to shoot steel out of it. However it may not pattern well out of a Full choke, also I wouldn't use anything larger than #1 shot, (No BB,BBB, T, or F shot).

Regards Dave

gotstolefrom

only winchesters put it in perspective.
870 WINGMASTER MAY refer to the older make guns with blue metalwork and high gloss furniture, fixed choke bbl, a nice looking gun. If used for hunts, the 'good looks' go fairly quickly, but that's OK....just not $ 300+ OK.

The newer models as 870 EXPRESS with flat black metalwork, synthetic stock, and choke tubes stand up well to the duck blind environment. You can find a 12ga 3" EXPRESS here for less than $ 300 nearly any day.

If the piece is a virginal older model that you just must have, you are paying premium bucks for it.