At how many yards is a remington 870 sighted in for?

[Shawnmoore81 623]

Dave after certain messages you sent to a certain lawyer you and I are far from every getting along.

 

 

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[MeanderingCuban 8]

Thanks to all that took the time to answer my post. Perhaps I should re-phrase my question a bit better. After Shawnmoore81 stated "If its for home defense I doubt you'll run into droppage issues" I realized that I'm not so much after the distance that the 870 is sighted at. Rather, I realized what I wanted to know is if I have to fire at a target that is perhaps 7 to 15 feet away will the 870 with the 18" barrel place the shot higher than where I placed the bead?

[MeanderingCuban 8]

The answer lays in going to the range, putting out some targets, and finding out.

Vlad G,

 

I agree and each time I go to the range (Range 14 at FT. Dix) I do take my 870 with me and fire it. Now that I am more familiar with it I am deep diving into it's characteristics.  However, the rules at Range 14 will not allow me to place a target at what I would consider to be my home defense distances, between 6 to 25 feet. So I need to find a range where I can setup some targets at this distance and get a feel for what the 870's characteristics will be.

[Poisontail 0]

Oh boy here we go again

Lol

[Jon 264]

Vlad G,

 

I agree and each time I go to the range (Range 14 at FT. Dix) I do take my 870 with me and fire it. Now that I am more familiar with it I am deep diving into it's characteristics.  However, the rules at Range 14 will not allow me to place a target at what I would consider to be my home defense distances, between 6 to 25 feet. So I need to find a range where I can setup some targets at this distance and get a feel for what the 870's characteristics will be.

 

Rojas... where are you located? If you go through NJ's [free!] hunter safety course and purchase a hunting license [$28] you will have access to the state's WMA ranges, which do not have minimum target distance rules(so long as your rounds impact the berm). These are a great resource for patterning a new shotty.

[Jon 264]

Also, please keep this on topic and knock off the pissing match.

[FLHX 1]

 

  However, the rules at Range 14 will not allow me to place a target at what I would consider to be my home defense distances, between 6 to 25 feet. So I need to find a range where I can setup some targets at this distance and get a feel for what the 870's characteristics will be.

 

At Range14 you can put a paper or cardboard target as close as you want. I hope what you say is not a new rule on the rifle side. I shot on the pistol side the other day and they don't have that rule. So you may want to check it out. You can shoot .22 on the pistol side with rifle/pistol but I am not sure about shotgun on the pistol side.

 

They do have some new rules like clays have to be at 25yds or further, so you maybe correct. Sorry to hijack this thread but it was getting a little personel anyway so...be nice!!

[MeanderingCuban 8]

At Range14 you can put a paper or cardboard target as close as you want. I hope what you say is not a new rule on the rifle side. I shot on the pistol side the other day and they don't have that rule. So you may want to check it out. You can shoot .22 on the pistol side with rifle/pistol but I am not sure about shotgun on the pistol side.

 

They do have some new rules like clays have to be at 25yds or further, so you maybe correct. Sorry to hijack this thread but it was getting a little personel anyway so...be nice!!

I will be at range 14 next month and I'll confirm the rules. We are usually in the shotgun / rifle side.

[MeanderingCuban 8]

I did some measuring an in my house if I had to take down an intruder the shotgun would be used at a maximum of 25 feet and a minimum of say 6 feet. I take it that at this close range can I just sight down the barrel and place the shot without worrying too much about the pellets either going too high or low?

[Jon 264]

I did some measuring an in my house if I had to take down an intruder the shotgun would be used at a maximum of 25 feet and a minimum of say 6 feet. I take it that at this close range can I just sight down the barrel and place the shot without worrying too much about the pellets either going too high or low?

 

All shotguns are different. One can not say for certain as shotguns vary a lot. Another option to consider is shooting at the GFH range or Shore Shot, as I believe both allow buckshot to be fired. That way you can place the target at various distances and check the target impact.

[DeerSlayer 241]

I did some measuring an in my house if I had to take down an intruder the shotgun would be used at a maximum of 25 feet and a minimum of say 6 feet. I take it that at this close range can I just sight down the barrel and place the shot without worrying too much about the pellets either going too high or low?

with an 18" barrel on that 870 and 00 buck 2-3/4" or 3" shell's, if you point at a doorway everything in that doorway is dead. I keep my home defense 12g loaded with heavy bird shot for the first 2 shells then 000 3" buck after that. Buckshot can easily travel through walls into rooms with my family in them. Bird shot at close range is deadly but not as likely to go through as much or as far as buckshot. Not just that but with a pistol grip on my 500 buckshot hurts my hand when I shoot it. 3" #4 nitro mags or heavy dove is a little more forgiving. First rule in hunting with a firearm is "know your target and beyond" same rules apply in home defense. 00 buck can go through sheetrock, sheathing, siding, and into your neighbors house or windows. Bird shot probably can also but less likely to kill someone innocent at a longer distance after traveling through obstacles. Just my .02

 

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[Jon 264]

with an 18" barrel on that 870 and 00 buck 2-3/4" or 3" shell's, if you point at a doorway everything in that doorway is dead. I keep my home defense 12g loaded with heavy bird shot for the first 2 shells then 000 3" buck after that. Buckshot can easily travel through walls into rooms with my family in them. Bird shot at close range is deadly but not as likely to go through as much or as far as buckshot. Not just that but with a pistol grip on my 500 buckshot hurts my hand when I shoot it. 3" #4 nitro mags or heavy dove is a little more forgiving. Sent using Tapatalk 2

 

This statement is full of inaccuracies. At close range the buckshot will hit like a 2" shell, and must be aimed. You can easily miss as the shot does not have time to spread at all.

 

Also, birdshot is for shooting little birds, not people. Birdshot will not penetrate far enough on a person who is trying to kill you. Use buckshot.

[DeerSlayer 241]

This statement is full of inaccuracies. At close range the buckshot will hit like a 2" shell, and must be aimed. You can easily miss as the shot does not have time to spread at all.

 

Also, birdshot is for shooting little birds, not people. Birdshot will not penetrate far enough on a person who is trying to kill you. Use buckshot.

I wouldn't want to be shot with birdshot from 6' away. Ive seen the results from 40 yards away on a bird, one pellet in the right place = dead bird. At 6' = dead zombie.

 

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[Parker 213]

I did some measuring an in my house if I had to take down an intruder the shotgun would be used at a maximum of 25 feet and a minimum of say 6 feet. I take it that at this close range can I just sight down the barrel and place the shot without worrying too much about the pellets either going too high or low?

 

At seven yards, buckshot will pattern anywhere from a 6" to 9" spread, depending on load, choke, etc. At 6', the pattern could be 2", so it is very easy to miss your target unless you are familiar with your gun and sights.

[Jon 264]

I wouldn't want to be shot with birdshot from 6' away. Ive seen the results from 40 yards away on a bird, one pellet in the right place = dead bird. At 6' = dead zombie. Sent using Tapatalk 2

 

Birdshot does not penetrate far enough to hit the vitals on a human being. I wouldn't want to be shot by a .177 airgun, but that doesn't mean I'd use one for defense.

[GRIZ 3,369]

Rule of thumb is pattern size with no choke is an inch per yard as Parker noted.

 

There are other factors that influence the spread of the pattern as discussed previously but at the short ranges involved in SD shooting the pattern size is governed by the choke.

 

Contrary to what some think, the length of the barrel has no (significant) effect on the size of the pattern. An 18" barrel will pattern the same as a 28" barrel with the same choke at any given distance everything else being equal.

 

limited penetration is a concern when using birdshot for SD. Muscle and bone can limit penetration. I had an attempted suicide call once where the guy had a shotgun with the trigger tied to a string and he wound up shooting himself in the shoulder. The #6 shot he used was stopped as soon as it hit bone. Shot that didn't hit bone only penetrated about 3" in muscle. This was with a contact wound. He was almost successful with his suicide as he had taken out about 2" of his brachial artery and when we arrived we could take his pulse from the blood spurting from the wound. We got him to the hospital fast enough and he survived.

 

One consideration many overlook in using birdshot for SD is ricochet. Birdshot will ricochet off many things in your home; appliances, glass, even wood. A bad guy tried to shoot the LEOs serving a warrant with a shotgun loaded with birdshot...through a steel door. Not sure of what angle or how he was holding the gun but he caught enough of the shot to put the fight out of him. He wasn't seriously hurt. Kind of rough to have to admit you shot yourself.

 

Birdshot can work for SD but there are a lot of considerations.

[One_crazy_dude 1]

in my opinion i wouldent want to be shot by anything comming out of a 12 guage, buck or bird shot its gonna hurt.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiqotg_9dOE

 

i like this video.

[Blacksmythe 71]

My 590 shoots spot on at 50yds with slugs more than enough for a normal house. I guess an 870 could too.