How do I get started hunting?

[BLACKJACK]

After you have the gun, safty training, and good boots lined up, when you think clothes, think layers. You have sweatshirts and other warm clothes, you can layer them on, then put on the camo or red cover up. The most important layer is the one next to your skin, get a set of polypropelene socks, long underware, and polypro shirt. You can work up a sweat and the polypro will wick it away.

[lawdog]

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Back to shells. If you only have a smooth bore I would go with the sabot shells until you can afford a rifled bore. They do work pretty good, its that the rifleing (turns on a barrel which causes the bullet to spin) is on the bullet of the slug instead of the barrel.

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dkhntr, I think you have this backwards. Sabots are designed to be shot through a rifled barrel. The rifling imparts the spin on the smooth plastic sabot which falls off when it spins out of the barrel and the shell inside is then spinning. Shooting a sabot through a smooth bore is just a big waste of a lot of money. The foster type slugs with the ridges on the slug itself are designed for shooting through a smooth bore barrel.

[SCUMFROG]

DrKen:

I just got a combo 870 12g from Gander and I payed $600.00 for it. I got a 28 inch bird barrel and a rifled slug barrel with scope. It's that matte black finish.

[DrKen]

The remington web site lists the suggested retail of a 870 express 12 guage combo with rifled barrel at 489 and with smoothbore slug barrel at 455. The price's I quoted are what they usually sell for on sale. ( I never pay suggested retail for a firearm) I have bought used 870 express 20 ga in like new for 179 at gander a few years ago. Now I would expect them in the low 200's used and then 50-125 for a slug barrel depending on make and whether smoothbore, rifled, plain sights or scope mounts. Seem to remember a Mossie 500 combo on sale a few weeks ago at about 350 and I seem to remember gander having the express combo at about the same. Now if you bought with a cantilever mount and upgraded to a very good scope, I could see 600 easy.

[Maverick]

Check out Walmart they show the 870 Express combo on their HSOforum for $368 for the 20 Gauge and $402 for the 12 Gauge. I know Walmart isn't always the first place you would look but they usually have good deals on what they have, same with Fleet Farm. You can also bring these prices to most other big dealers and they will price match for you. There are 2 different versions of the 870 so don't let that fool you, one is the Express which is the economy model the other is the Wingmaster that has an engraved reciever and blued barrel also the wood is different. They both share the same action so the mechanics and reliability are the same. So if you see a much higher price for the 870 it might be the Wingmaster. I would recomend the Express, good gun, good price.

[BigDaddy]

I do not come from a hunting family. I always wanted to hunt but the folks said NO. The first thing that I did when I turned 18 was to buy an 870 Express. I didn't take the safety class at the time. But I had great friends that showed me the ropes and taught me what to do and not do.

I bought that 870 new for $190. I hunted with it for 10 years. When I upgraded guns, I sold the 870 for $145. I hunted with that gun for 10 years for $45!

Buy good boots. They're important.

Back in the day, I'd cut a hole in the center of a piece of orange cloth and wear it like a poncho for my required orange (we could also wear red at that time)!

I hunted on the cheap, cheap, cheap and you can too.

[SCUMFROG]

DrKen,

That's what I did. I also just picked up a used 870 20g for my son at Joe's for $200.00. It doesn't even look like it was ever used. It is also matte black. Now I need to find a rifled barrel for it. Any one know were I can get a used one?

[bigbucks]

Welcome to the world of hunting, men. I'll chime in on the 870, I've owned 3 of them. One was stolen, the other lost in a river, otherwise I'd most likely be on my first one still. I know people that have had Mossbergs, they're a serviceable gun, but most of them have gotten 870's eventually, due to preference. They're just a little smoother & seem to be balanced better.

If you have any friends or relatives that used to be in the military see if you can scrounge some old camo from them. My Dad was in the Army before I was born & when I was 15 or 16 I discovered this old box of the drab green they used to wear in the 60's. I'm 38 now & still wear some of that old stuff for duck hunting or even bowhunting from time to time. I know a lot of guys that hunt ducks & small game in jeans & an old camo shirt or jacket. If you don't hunt late season, which you probably won't at first, a cheap pair of knee high rubber boots may get you by hunting potholes & small sloughs, especially if you can find someone to hunt with who has waders, a dog, or a boat. I used to hunt squirrels, rabbits, & grouse in an old pair of tennis shoes all the time.

For deer hunting to get by cheap, just buy the biggest orange hooded sweatshirt or vest you can still move in, & pull it over your snowmobile suit, bibs, or whatever other warm clothes you already have. Buy a blaze orange stocking cap for $5-7, any gloves you can shoot well with & keep your hands warm will do, they don't have to be orange. Chemical handwarmers & toe warmers are cheap & will help keep you warm. Remember to take a zip lock bag with to put them in as soon as you're warm enough not to need them anymore & they'll go to sleep to be easily reawakened when you open the bag again. Trust me it works, I've restarted them from one bow season to the next. This will cut the cost of those about in half as, most will work easily for a couple of 2-4 hour hunts.

[half2fish]

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Welcome to the world of hunting, men. I'll chime in on the 870, I've owned 3 of them. One was stolen, the other lost in a river, otherwise I'd most likely be on my first one still.

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how did you manage to put one in a river?

[abens1078]

he was washing it and it slipped from his hand....Sorry half2fish, I had to.

I'm guessing we will get to read a funny duck hunting story.

[DrKen]

Try Cabela's bargain bin, It's easy to get a smoothbore but the rifled ones are tuffer to find. If your shots are 50 yd or under, try the std barrel with IC or Cylinder choke and foster style slugs. A lot of the 20's I've tried shoot under 4-6" groups set up like this. Over 50, definitely a rifled slug barrel. One of the advantages of a 870 is the wide variety of makers for barrels, scope mounts, chokes etc. The gun is used by a ton of people and has proven itself under every condition. the same could be said of the Mossie 500. My gun safe currently has 5 shotguns, 2 are 870's, one express, one wingmaster that are my son's guns. When we went looking for guns for them that is the gun I recommended they get. Myself, I shoot a Browning and a Ithaca, both pumps but try and find a 20 ga rifled barrel for a browning bps 20 ga. I hunt deer with a rifle so it's not a big deal but I felt the boys should have the most reliability and versatility possible thus the 870.

[bigbucks]

Okay here's the story behind the missing 870:

My father-in-law & I were canoing down the, "I forgot the name of it" River near Annandale hunting rabbits, okay yes ducks. It was early October, mid-week, during the first week of the season in the fall of 95 I believe. It had rained a lot, like most of the previous week, but it's a fairly shallow slow moving river, so it was no biggie. We came to a bend where there was a tree sticking way out parallel to the water about 2' above the surface from the inside of the turn. We realized the current was taking us towards it (too late), so we paddled like crazy, but brushed up against the tree with the bow. I tried to pull us along it to get around it, but the current took us sideways & then tipped us. As Murphy's law would have it, it was probably about the only place in the whole stretch we canoed that was well over our heads. We went in the drink & down went our guns. He was able to stay with the canoe & right it in shallower water a short distance down stream. I scrambled out along that tree. We recovered my hat & a small cooler down stream, but the rain jacket I wasn't wearing also went down, I still have the pants. Man were we cold, fortunately it was a nice fall day & we hadn't started until late morning I believe, as we had about an hour of paddling to get to where our recovery vehicle was. We had shot at some ducks prior to that, & missed, had a wad stick in the end of my barrel, which we'd cleared, & somehow messed up my safety so it wouldn't work, all in all a "great" hunt.

My father-in-law went back with his nephew a week or two later, this time in a 14' boat, with a big magnet & a big treble hook. His nephew drops the hook in & on the first try pulls up father-in-law's beretta, by the sling. They tried for probably half an hour for mine (no sling), with no luck. His gun looked terrible, but with lots of oil, it still worked fine.

[half2fish]

awsome story. i think i would like have to cry. lol. sorry to hear about your gun. that would suck. but it is cool that you got the other gun back.

[sdghsdgj]

It's been awhile since I took the safety course, could you guys give me a rum-through of all the types and combos of barrels and what their uses are?

[bigbucks]

I'm not positive what you're asking, but I think you're questioning about chokes when you say barrels, generally they're just changeable tubes in the ends of the barrel these days. I'd say most of the shotguns made in the last 15 years or so will have them, maybe longer. Here's some general guidelines, at least from my perspective on chokes, but you'd still want to test them with the individual gun.

Full- tight pattern- turkeys, pheasants if shots will be long & you can use lead- There are special extral full chokes specifically for turkeys too- I haven't felt that was necessary. I suppose if I didn't already have a regular full choke or it didn't hold a tight pattern I probably would buy one of these.

Modified- medium pattern- I use this for pretty much everything by turkeys- steel for waterfowl holds a tight enough pattern you don't really need full- heavi shot might not- (I think they spell it that way.)

Improved Cylinder- very open pattern- clay pigeons, grouse, quail, doves, hungarian partridge, woodcock, snipe, rails, etc. small easy to kill birds (but hard to hit) any game you expect most of the shots to be pretty close- maybe 20 yards or less

As far as slug barrels there's basically smooth bore & rifled. These days most people seem to preferred rifled which are more expensive & somewhat harder to clean. You'd want to buy the more expensive sabot slugs with this type of barrel. You'll likely get tighter accuracy at longer ranges. I personally have an old smooth bore & it shoots the cheapest rifled Federal & Winchester slugs great out to a 100 yards or so, so I've seen no need to change. I believe the 870 Express combos you see still come with a smooth bore, my Dad's did anyway 10 years or so ago. From what I've been told rifled slugs, also called Foster style slugs I believe, are what you should shoot out of the smooth bores & sabots out of the rifled bores.

[sdghsdgj]

combo? I looked at the spring expo ad for Cabela's and it only had one barrel on it, it was a pump?

[bigbucks]

I thought someone else had mentioned the 870 Express combos, that's what I was referring to. They're a pump with a bird barrel & a slug barrel. I'm not sure, but I think they come with just the modified choke tube & then you can buy the others when you need them, if you do. I would recommend if you get a slug barrel spend the $20-25 for a set of Tru Glo sites, they're really simple to change yourself. As far as barrel length you can probably get a 26" or a 28", not sure if they still make a 30". I've had all three, both the 26 & 28 are fine, but I like the 26 the best. I personally wouldn't buy another 30" barrel unless I got the gun in great shape for say under $200 or something like that. It's just that much heavier & doesn't swing up as nice.

[sdghsdgj]

oh so the combo means it comes with inter-changeable barrels?

[hanson]

Alot of guys are pumping the 870 here.

I will agree. I bought my 870 Wingmaster 12 gauge as my 1st shotgun. I still have it and use it all the time. Its about 12 years old now and looks as good as new with a few dings and scratches from the duckboat. Oh well.

If you don't have the cash, get the 870 Express and get out this fall and start hunting.

You can learn a heck of a lot out in the field and bring your experiences back here and share them. Folks will be able to help with questions you have at that point and you will continue to learn.

[sdghsdgj]

whats the difference between the express and the regular?

[DrKen]

Mechanically, they are the same shotgun but the express is the less expensive versus the wingmaster. This is because the express comes with a matte finish, plain wood, no checkering and no engraving. The wingmaster has high-gloss bluing, fancy wood with gloss finish and engraving. That adds a couple of hundred to the price but does not improve functionality. In fact, you may be afraid to use it cuz its too purty. Ever seen a grown man cry when he has scratched his stock putting the gun down? The express is a darn good gun for the money, the wingmaster is something when you can afford the extra. Hope that helps.

[96trigger]

Winchester 1300 speed pump combo, if your smaller, the youth ranger edition. The 870 is a great gun, but I do believe that the trigger assemblies are a little different on the wingmaster than the express.

Any pump, the mossberg 500, Rem870, or Win 1300 will be great starter guns. If may be better to buy the gun with the slug barrel and then buy the bird (vent rib) barrel. I have found the vent ribs to be cheaper than the slug barrels. Good luck.

[fishnhooks]

Alot of great advice people!. I would also start maybe with the combo. As time goes on and you want to go more expensive or get more specific for the different types of hunting that you do(ex. deer, birds), you will always beable to bring ol'trusty with as a spare in case something goes wrong with your fancy dancy one.

"hooks"

[lawdog]

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I will agree. I bought my 870 Wingmaster 12 gauge as my 1st shotgun. I still have it and use it all the time. Its about 12 years old now and looks as good as new with a few dings and scratches from the duckboat. Oh well.

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Hanson that's like brand new for an 870!!! Its hard to even believe, but the 870 I have my open sight slug barrel on was my dad's. I put that barrel on and changed it over to synthetic stocks, but its still the same gun. You wanna talk durable?!?!?!

DAD BOUGHT THAT GUN USED IN 1952 or 1953 he can't remember which!!!!!!!! That baby is over fifty years old!!!

[hanson]

lawdog-

That was the best investment I ever made. I bought it with my paper route money back when I was 14 or so. That was a lot of money for a little guy.