Shotgun questions

[Michele]

I know absolutely nothing about shotguns, so please be nice!

I bought my son a Remington 870, I think its 28".
He's since moved back to NY so he won't be shooting it much if at all.

Obviously this gun is not friendly for me, being its huge for me to handle. I suppose I could shoot it from the hip if I needed to but, being its mine I would like to be able to use it rather than keep it just for home defense.

Questions:

Can the shotgun be modified (stock) so I can use it?
Can the shotgun be modified (barrel) so I can use it?
Now, if it can be modified to make it more my size, would the "kick" be more severe being the gun will now be smaller?
Should I just sell it or trade it for a more female friendly (smaller) shotgun?

Thanks boys!

[SauerGrapes]

Do you want a shotgun? You can buy low power loads for it. May be get a 20 gauge? Not sure what you want to shoot. Trap?

[Guns4Fun]

I don't know your size but I’ll assume you are small?

Yes, you can buy another shorter barrel for an 870, they have a lot of accessories. Plus, you could buy a stock that collapses and looks just like an ar-15 collapsible stock with pistol grip and all.

I don't know but my son started right off shooting a 12g and he was probably 10 years old -- so if a small 10 year old can shoot a 12g -- you certainly could too. However, 12g with 00 buck does kick like heck. If your plan is just a HD shotgun then by all means it is livable. However, if you plan to shoot it a lot, plan to have a sore shoulder if you use 00 buck shot.

[Michele]

Being I already have this shotgun, I was hoping to modify it rather than get rid of it. The gun was only shot twice. Once by Lycanthrope the day we picked it up to break it in somewhat, and once at a group shoot when my son shot trap. That is the extent of use. So really, its not even broken in yet.

I would really like a 20 semi however, like I said above, I already have this one. Seems like a shame to give it up.

I wouldn't use 00 buck except for in the house and probably the last thing I would be concerned about would be a kick. The kick would be something I would definitely get over.

I would like the gun to have double duties. Home defense as well as shooting trap.

Modify or ditch?

[Guns4Fun]

Being I already have this shotgun, I was hoping to modify it rather than get rid of it. The gun was only shot twice. Once by Lycanthrope the day we picked it up to break it in somewhat, and once at a group shoot when my son shot trap. That is the extent of use. So really, its not even broken in yet.

I would really like a 20 semi however, like I said above, I already have this one. Seems like a shame to give it up.

I wouldn't use 00 buck except for in the house and probably the last thing I would be concerned about would be a kick. The kick would be something I would definitely get over.

I would like the gun to have double duties. Home defense as well as shooting trap.

Modify or ditch?

Modify. Especially if you want dual purpose. Keep the 28" barrel for trap and get an 18" for HD. Again, i don't know your thresh hole for recoil but using target loads for trap shooting isn't bad at all to me or my son.

The only thing that will get to be a pain in the butt will be changing it over from one duty to the other.

My son and I shoot trap every other week and we have dedicated o/u shotguns for that. Because we shoot every other week, it would get tiresome for us switching barrels back and forth.

[Michele]

Modify. Especially if you want dual purpose. Keep the 28" barrel for trap and get an 18" for HD. Again, i don't know your thresh hole for recoil but using target loads for trap shooting isn't bad at all to me or my son.

The only thing that will get to be a pain in the butt will be changing it over from one duty to the other.

My son and I shoot trap every other week and we have dedicated o/u shotguns for that. Because we shoot every other week, it would get tiresome for us switching back and forth.

Now, if I changed the stock to fit me, would the barrel still be to long? Would the gun be awkward? Unbalanced? Would changing the barrel and stock increase the kick?

Can I shoot trap with a shorter barrel?

Ah, if nothing else, for home defense, I've got 30 round mags full and ready to go for my AR.

[SauerGrapes]

I have an older 870 wingmaster. Takes me 60 seconds to remove the barrel. Go ahead and change the stock. you will need the 28" barrel for trap. Too long for HD though. Grab another barrel for HD. Sounds like you got enough fire power for HD though.

[Michele]

I have an older 870 wingmaster. Takes me 60 seconds to remove the barrel. Go ahead and change the stock. you will need the 28" barrel for trap. Too long for HD though. Grab another barrel for HD. Sounds like you got enough fire power for HD though.

I know its way to long for home defense. Can I use a couple of inches shorter for trap?

A couple of inches to a female IS a big deal no matter what you men might think.

[Lycanthrope]

It depends on what you want to do with it. Changing barrels on an 870 is a 2 minute job. A HD gun could easily just have a 18" barrel with cylinder bore....with either a bead front sight or rifle sights. For wingshooting AND HD then you really want choke tubes. Remmy makes a 21" barrel in that configuration.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct...tnumber=399781

Shortening the stock is easy.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct...tnumber=152890

This one has a recoil pad installed.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct...tnumber=210128

Try to handle my 22" 1100 at the next group shoot. If you can do that, you can make the 870 work easily since it will weigh less and have a shorter stock with the options above.

Lycantryitouthrope

[Michele]

Thanks Lycan, I'll give it a try.

I guess some modifications can be done to make it friendly for me.