16ga.com ~ View topic

Member Joined: 04 Mar 2006 Posts: 76

Any recommendations, or not, on buying a new Remington 870 16 pump. Should i stick to getting an older gun that still is good enough for newer shot like steel and such. I currently have a Fox B SBS in 16 but want a second gun.

I would wait for one of the new Ithaca Model 37's that should be out in a couple of months. Unlike the 870, it will be built on a true 16 gauge frame, and it has Ithaca's proven bottom ejection, which I think is a plus.

Bruce good to see you still around..LOL
Haiwee, what do you think the cost difference will be between the 870 and the 37??
And while I don't shoot any waterfowl, Bruce asks a intresting question, about steelshot. Is steel really a viable option given the other (though slightly more costly) options? Isn't the increase in shell price the price for a more effective(read ethical) method to kill stuff? Also with rumors of more upland areas going to nontox is his and my question becomeing much more relevant

The expensive, hard to find, but very effective (per Larry Brown and Ron Overberg) Kent Tungsten Matrix 1 1/16oz 5s solves the no-tox problem.

Member Joined: 04 Mar 2006 Posts: 76

Thanks for the information everyone. I regularly carry a Remington #1 rolling block that weighs 12 lbs so a 7 lb gun is nothing. In fact i have never liked a real light gun. It looks like that Wingmaster or the new Ithaca may be my choices although the latter will be pricey i suppose.

From what I understand, the new Ithacas will retail for around $650 -- about the same price as an 870 Wingmaster in 16 gauge. As for shooting steel shot through one, the key to steel is muzzle velocity. At high velocities steel is quite effective on decoyed ducks and geese. I have a recipe for a 3/4 ounce steel load that leaves the barrel at 1560 f.p.s. and a 7/8 ounce load that leaves at 1450. At forty yards they have the same stopping power as a standard lead load at around fifty-five yards -- so steel can't perform like lead, but we can get close.

Bismuth, Hevi-shot and Kent's Tungsten Matrix all out-perform steel, but at a significant monetary cost (my bismuth loads run about a dollar per shell and my Hevi-shot loads around a buck fifty, whereas my steel loads run about 25 cents per shell). I agree that factory steel loads, particularly in 16 gauge, are both hard to find and not up to snuff. In short, I believe if you want to shoot non-tox through a 16 you should probably load your own, for two reasons: it costs less, and you can fashion loads that far out-perform factory loads.