Garminator

I recently aquiredan 870 from a buddy of mine & was wondering what I needed to do to it to turn it into a turkey gun (I've never hunted turkey before). I'm assuming that it has a standard length barrel (whatever that may be) and i'm not sure about the choke (probably whatever comes from factory). Any help would be great, you guys always seem to come through for a fellow hunter. Be safe & God Bless.

RIStrutStopper

If it has the rem-choke choke tube system, then you'll need to get an extra full turkey choke. Every gun is different, so what works best in my 870 might not work as well in yours. I would get a few different ones and try patterning from 20 to about 40 yards with different choke and turkey load combinations. Last year I used a star dot choke tube, this year I bought a ventilator but haven't tried it yet. Before that I used a remington extra full turkey choke (non ported). If the gun is shiney, you will want to camoflage it. If its dull (like the express models with dull stocks and matted barrels/receivers) you don't really need to camoflage it. You'll probably want to either add fiber optic rifle type sights to the rib or get a scope mount and put a scope on it. Another option might be a red dot type scope. The latest CDNN catalog has 870 scope mounts for $5.99. All you have to do to mount it on the receiver is tap out the pins that hold the trigger assembly in place and use the bolts provided with the mount in their place. That should be a good start. I recently put a composite stock andremington R3 recoil pad (made by Simms Limbsaver) on my 870. That pad takes a lot of the pain out of patterning those magnum turkey loads, but in the field all you care about when you pull the trigger is that bird on the ground, not the pain in your shoulder. I can't say the same about the range though. Good luck with your new gun!

Garminator

Thanks for your help RI, do you have a pump gun? & do you use a scope and if so can you recommend one? Thanks again.

KSdeerhuntr

You dont need a scope or anything mounted on the shotgun to effectively kill turkeys. I have the same gun and use a neon sight bead and pattern my gun real well. I patterned it at 20-30-40 yards and figured that the majority of the pattern hits low and to the right. So when I go hunting and have a bird in sight I place the bead on the top left corner of his head and the six turkeys that I have shot havent fluttered a bit they where alreadydead by the time they stepped into range.

RIStrutStopper

KS is right too, if you're comfortable with just the bead front and know where your gun is shooting, you don't need a scope. I think most turkey hunters either use a scope or fiber optic rifle-type sights though, might be a good topic for a poll on this forum. To answer your question, I do have an 870 pump gun, and I have a fixed 2.5 X sight made by Tasco. Its old and shiney, so I taped it up, and it works good for me. I don't really have any recommendations on a good scope for you because I haven't bought anything recently. All i can say is stick with something low power for quick acquisition and good field of view, a reticle you are comfortable with (mine is duplex, I like it), and good eye relief. I'm sure there are tons of good shotgun scopes out there if you decide thats the way you want to go.

Garminator

Good deal, thanks for your help boys and happy huntin.