Buckshot Question
 

I've got a Remington 870 Express with a rifled barrel for slugs. Is it ok to shoot buckshot out of this barrel as well?

THANKS!!!!!:)

rifled barrels are for slugs. the manual will detail what can be shot through your particular gun

Shotgun Owner Manual - Centerfire Manual - Rimfire Manual - Remington Owners Manuals Link to the downloadable owner's manual.

I've been told that rifling causes poor patterns with shot loads, but i didn't hear that in connection with rifled shotgun barrels. I think it was a discussion of pistol caliber shotshells or maybe it was that Judge pistol that shoots .410 shells.

I've always heard NO. You will damage your barrel.

It won't cause any damage to your barrel BUT you won't get acceptable patterns due to the rifling in your barrel. I'd suggest you get a plain barrel with or without choke tubes if you want a good pattern any further than 10 yards.

Most likely patterns will not be as good as with a smooth bore. Shot, even buck shot does not like to have any spin. How much worse depends. I do not believe you will damage the barrel. You may get additional fouling that will degrade the slug accuracy. Keep it clean.

I tried it with a Mossberg 500, using a rifled barrel. The patterns were about four times wider than what you would expect from a smoothbore barrel.

Using OO buckshot, the pellets formed a pretty good circle around the center of the target, with no hits in the center.

Using #4 buck, the "doughnut" pattern was less pronounced, with a few hits near the center. Might be a good choice for home defense (ie, indoor distances).

You have a slug gun, probably has a 26" barrel. Keep it that way. If you want to use shotshells get yourself a smoothbore barrel. There available everywhere for the 870 series.

This buckshot will pattern tight from a rifled barrel.
 

The biggest buckshot loads on the market are the 12 gauge Dixie Tri-Ball 3" and 3.5" rounds by Dixie Slugs ammunition company.

www.dixieslugs.com

The three .60 caliber hard cast 325 grain pellets are nestled inside a steel shot type wad and will pattern tight in a rifled barrel slug gun or a full/xfull smoothbore. How tight, try 3 to 5 inches at 40 yards.

Y'all have piqued my interest. This sounds like an interesting handloading project. I have found Dixie's receipe for these rounds. I am considering getting a mold for these and loading some of my own.

I will post my results.