Mod my 870 tact for trap/skeet or buy O/U?

[bingley]

After I posted my shooting goals for next year, I started thinking about how to get into trap or skeet shooting. In terms of equipment, I have a Remington 870 Express tactical with an 18.5" barrel, & XS Ghost Ring sights. No chokes. On another thread a poster (Limpy?) kindly advised me to avoid shooting trap with such a short barrel. (I'm not sure why short is bad for trap.) I'm pretty ignorant about what I need, so I put it to the shotgunners of the forum, should I modify my shotgun or just buy a new over/under shotgun?

For modifying, it seems I'll have to get a new barrel (what length & what sight?). Will I have to take off the rear sight mounted on the frame? (It looks like it's just secured by three screws.)

My last goal is to enjoy the guns I have rather than getting a new one. But IF I were to get an over/under, what are the decent, affordable ones?

Thanks for your advice. I really don't know anything about this sport, so I'd appreciate any help you can give me.

 

[voodoo304]

I have only shot skeet for fun never in competition, so I'm not an expert. The advantage of a double barrel is faster follow up shots. Whereas racking a pump could take you off target for a second. For just getting started or if it's just for fun, I think the cheapest route would be buying a new barrel for the 870.
A 28" with bead sight seems to be a standard (correct me if I'm wrong). The longer barrel just keeps a tighter group of shot on the bird.
We use an old Remington semi-auto with 28" barrel and bead sight with great success.
Good luck! It's a lot of fun and very addicting.

 

[Lancem]

Having seriously shot skeet for a few years I would say that you would be handicapping yourself with the 870. Skeet is fast and to shoot by the rules you are going to have to be one fast pumper to get those doubles in. In any case you are going to want a short barrel 26-28" and an open choke. An O/U or auto is choice here because follow up shots are just a trigger pull away, O/U shotguns give most a better sight picture for second shots since you typically fire the lower barrel first, which being low on the gun gives you more of a straight back recoil keeping the barrel out of the sight picture.

Trap is a long range shoot, I think you would be fine with the 870 here, longer the barrel the better and full choke is what you will need for trap.

 

[rabbitdave]

Son and I use an 870 express with the 28" barrel for trap and it works well for fun. He can switch it over to the slug barrel quickly which is great. You should be able to keep the rear sight on and change the barrel and just go have some fun shooting trap. Skeet, follow what is suggested. Pumping is a pain to keep on target.

 

[HUFFMANWG]

Which one?

This is just my opinon, But a over/under would be better for trap/skeet. Having shot both on a regular basis for 10 years+. Started with a pump,then went to a auto,which isa must an a job to take apart an clean. The o/u is the most maintance free. Just my 2 cents

 

[smythe012]

I think the answer comes down to how much money you want to invest. If you want to keep it minimal, then a new barrel for your 870 will suit your needs for trap. However, what Lancem says about a pump and skeet is correct. If you start to shoot more than trap, you should look at a semi-auto or O/U. I own two Stoeger 2000's and absolutely love them. I use them for both trap and skeet and haven't had a single issue. They come with 5 different chokes and cost less than $475 new.

I also just bought Stoeger's Condor Competition O/U set up. I think I'm going to be really happy with it. That cost me less than $700.

Whatever you decide, have fun. Clay shooting sports are an absolute blast.

 

[citrigin]

I agree, if you get more serious about it an O/U is a great gun to have. Until then, You can learn a lot about technique by getting a 28" barrel for the gun you have.

 

[citrigin]

For what it is worth, a lot of the semi-auto shotguns I have seen have problems cycling lighter loads. That is the only reason for recommending the O/U over a semi-auto.