Parker

Any grease is good. Birchwood-Casey makes one for choke tubes, Permatex Anti-Size is good also. I've used both. Invest in a good choke tube wrench as well. Some supplied by the gunmaker's are okay, some are designed better than others too. I use a universal wrench sold by Precision Reloading called the Royal Choke Tube Wrench. With this any stubborn tube can come out and you won't mar the end of your barrel in the process.

Yes. RemChoke was introduced in '86, 1100's and 870's ( & 887's & 11-87's) since that time all utilize the RemChoke system. Some other premium models utilize choke tubes with the Pro Bore system which is suited for overbored barrels. (Pro Bore's are threaded at the muzzle end.) PS - Nice cross-reference chart Vlad. Thanks

A good read on bullet twist, RPM, and a twist rule formula: http://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/calculating-bullet-rpm-spin-rates-stability/

I have heard of folks waiting 18 mos. to two years in Nassau and Suffolk counties. LongIslandFirearms has a good forum as well for info. http://www.longislandfirearms.com/forum

I'm sure you've been to these websites, but they are a good reference for the love you're about to feel in NY. Best of luck. http://www.scopeny.org/safe_act/#safe http://programs.governor.ny.gov/nysafeact/gun-reform

Looks like a weapon that fires blanks can mean trouble when used the wrong way as in this nitwit's case: http://www.northjersey.com/news/passaic-man-charged-with-impersonating-a-cop-1.1303687

I was "that" guy pulling into Whittingham after 10AM.

2nd for PB Blaster. That is a bugger to get off, but once done it's easy. You'll be just as frustrated assembling it later trying to get that dust cover in place as you slide the bolt back in!!!

The trick to pheasant hunting the WMA's to avoid the jazbo's and batchagaloop's is to get there after 10:30. Those 5:30AM folks are usually arguing over a parking spot and jostling for a spot on line before the march across the gates of Hades to follow the tracks of the stocking truck. (That's not bird hunting, that's insanity.) Most of the parking lots are empty by noon. You'll have the whole place to yourself sometimes if you go late. If you have a good dog, you'll find birds all afternoon. I like peace and quiet. I stopped going to the obvious spots in Black River because too often I'd never fire a shot. My dog would always recover wounded birds that were missed by those "$7,000" bird dogs. Whittingham, Walpack and Assunpink are my favorite spots at certain times and different periods of the season.

I'll bet it's been twenty years since since I used the Walpack shotgun slug/muzzleloader range. Haven't been to any others for rifle but have used the Black River shotgun range for clays quite a bit over the years. Both ranges attract all types of characters.

I get the centerfire rifle restriction, the effective distance of danger of a centerfire round jives with the "densely populated" line we always hear about New Jersey. Sad, but we just can't trust people to be responsible. Most states have the same restriction for running hunting dogs. A bit has to do with game mating and nesting in the off-season. You can run dogs in New York up until a certain date, early-April is the cutoff if I remember correctly. Jives with woodcock, grouse, and turkey mating seasons. (Biologists don't want game harassed in the off-season should they be nesting.) You need a hunting license too unless you are on private land in New York.

The designated ranges at the state's WMA locations are technically called "Hunter Training Areas." They were set up to allow the use of firearms that you can legally hunt with in the state to "train." Lawful use of of Hunter Training Areas require you or one member of your party to be in possession of a valid New Jersey hunting license. Since handguns are not a viable firearm legal for hunting in New Jersey, it would stand to reason that they might be excluded. Centerfire rifles are excluded as well, despite their legal use for hunting in limited applications in the state. I don't know why anyone would think that handguns are allowed. Keep in mind that some ranges have been closed due to EPA restrictions in the last few years, while others have had limits placed on their use thanks to complaints from neighbors due to "noise." I would hate to see more closed due to misuse. Note: There are designated "dog training areas" in some of these same WMA's. It is only in these areas that you can train and run your hunting dog on specific dates in-season or out-of season. You can't let your dog run just anywhere on state WMA land except during certain times of the year either. PS - The dog also needs to be "properly licensed" in addition to the dog owner. New Jersey...............where fun goes to die.

I can't speak for other areas, but New Jersey Administrative Code has specifics for use of blanks on WMA properties that are specific for "dog training." (I.E. Take your pointing dog out, train them on live birds, shoot your blank gun to duplicate live fire, train them to acclimate to live fire, steady to shot, etc. There are also bird and retriever launchers that fire a primer or blank for types of marker and retriever training for retrieving breeds.) The statement under training for NJDEP Div. of F&W; "Starter pistols, dummies launchers and other noise making devices, which are not capable of firing a projectile that could cause harm, may be used."

I feel your pain. I always recommend folks buy a good used gun if possible, made around the time when folks took pride and care in what they produced. The "cheaper, faster, better" mantra is one reason a noble industry has been ruined.

I never experienced the phenomenon of "stiff extraction" however began to read about it on many internet shotgun forums in the last decade. It seems when the quality of ammunition construction dipped (I.E. brass bases changed to steel bases washed with brass, copper or zinc/nickel) which also seemed to coincide with cheaper, price point shotgun offerings that lacked the final-finish quality of their predecessors. Both began somewhere in the 90's. My '84 870 chamber exhibits no roughness or "bumps" that need grinding or polishing. Not my easiest "shucker" compared to an Ithaca M37 or Winchester M12, but it is still smooth and has never given me a problem. I also have a collection of brass-based hulls which I have hoarded over the years that I reload with. I reload steel RGL's too, but I've never had a problem with any gun I've used them in. The "newest" shotgun I own is twenty years old. The oldest is more than hundred, and I still use them all with no problems with any ammunition I've fed them. The quality of shotgun fit and finish from the major gunmaker's today for the average person's wallet doesn't compare to what was available years ago.

The demise of the all-brass base shotshell to brass-washed steel combined with a rough chamber is the culprit. "Economy" shells today exhibit this. Quality (I.E. more expensive) target loads still use an all-brass base.

FYI - Dave Chanda, NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife Director and expert turkey hunter, will present a free Wild Turkey Hunting Seminar at the Pequest Trout Hatchery and Natural Resource Education Center in Oxford this Saturday, March 21 at 1:00 p.m. The seminar will cover turkey feeding habits and food sources, equipment selection, preseason site selection, and calling strategies. Immediately following the seminar members of the NJ Chapter of the Wild Turkey Federation will conduct a turkey calling clinic. To register call 908-637-4125; see http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/peqdirct.htm for directions. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I have a pair of old Knight & Hale "fighting purr" push calls. I just noticed they changed the desgn of them so can't vouch for the newer style. Quaker Boy makes a simple push call as well. I usually would get my calls from Midwest Call Supply. They also have some good deals during their year-end close-out sales. They'll be happy to send you a catalog: http://www.midwestturkeycall.com/index.asp

This looks like a busy week in New Jersey as "responsible" people (I.E. Everytown, MAIG, spiritual leaders & MDA) come out of the woodwork to talk about "gunsense." http://www.northjerseypublicpolicy.org/guns_safety_and_solutions

Push button calls are the easiest to use and master, box calls give you good volume, "pot calls" made from slate or glass are another way to mix things up. Mouth calls take practice to master but are the ticket for when birds get in close and calling hands-free is needed, unless you're in a blind which would hide any movement. Don't forget your locator calls like an owl or crow. I practice calling in areas that are closed to hunting, including my local neighborhood, that has a population of turkeys. You learn quickly what they will respond to. If you have a guide that's a good thing. :Learn from him.

+1 Teky0101- Buy a few loads to test. I note that today's factory loads place an emphasis on speed, with a slight reduction in payload size (I.E. 1 3/4 oz. pushed @ 1300fps.) so that pellets have the necessary energy at all ranges. Spend an equal amount of time afield scouting for and patterning birds. It's easy to locate their tracks now.

A good deal for both parties.

You don't need 3 1/2" shells, and you just might find that 3" shells will pattern nicely through your 3 1/2" chamber. Try a mix from Federal, Winchester and Remington. There are others out there as well and non-lead loads are also popular. http://www.gameandfishmag.com/hunting/turkey/10-great-turkey-loads-2014/

Much emphasis is placed on the question "what is the best turkey load to use" when it boils down to limited selection of shot sizes 4,5 & 6 as the best to use. "Best" because these shot sizes provide a payload that provides a balance of dense pattern efficiency in the right payload weights, and retained energy on target for a quick kill at the normal ranges you would typically take a turkey. Find a load with a pellet size that retains 2.5 ft./lbs. of energy at the range you want to hit a turkey in his vital section, and you have found your load. What has blossomed in the last twenty-five years are specialty turkey loads. I think it's a great advertising gimmick, since their components started as re-packaged loads that mimic the old lead duck & goose loads from the pre-steel days when lead ruled the waterfowl flyways. A combination of hard lead shot, copper-plated or nickel-plated often nestled in buffer, makes for a tight-shooting load, and one best suited for turkey. The heavier-than-lead shot/non-lead loads are the latest craze these days. However, I find it difficult to stomach paying more than $5 a shotshell simply because it's labeled a turkey load. If you are going to turkey hunt, as much emphasis should be placed on the hunter to exercise proper concealment, when and how to call, finding and patterning birds in varying weather conditions especially during the weeks of the segmented seasons in New Jersey. The first week is usually easy; birds haven't been shot at or called to much and they can be easy to take if they are responding. As the season progresses, more hunters have traipsed through the woods, the birds have heard every call thrown at them, and they tend to go call-shy and are more difficult to take. They have this great ability to vanish when they are pressured. I took my first turkey about twenty years ago, at a range of less than 20 yards. At that distance, I realized that I didn't need to wallop him with a 1 7/8 oz. buffered load of copper-plated #5's. That was overkill. A HV pheasant load of #6's would have produced the same result. Do some patterning of various "turkey" loads, but work on your turkey hunting skills as well. If you get the game within close range, you'll realize you don't need much to kill them. It's a thrill to have a turkey come within twelve feet of you, unaware of your presence, as he's gobbling his head off. If folks are using small shot (#9's) in a 16 ga. (fellow on the 16ga.forum has a great post on the subject) or only 1 1/8 oz. to 1 1/4 oz. of lead shot from a 20 ga. to kill turkeys, you will realize that don't need those 3 1/2" turkey-smitter flamethrower loads in a 12 ga. to do the same thing.

Thanks for that clarification on "NOS." I'll commit that to memory. An 1100, with a modified fixed choke and no vent rib is probably less desirable in today's age that it was in 1974 when lead shot was still legal for waterfowl before the steel shot mandates. And while the plain barrel is lighter than the vent-ribbed model, the absence of choke tubes might be a turn-off to some buyers today. Those older Remington 1100's are still very good guns.