[hereford]

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!!!!!

[JonM]

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

[orangello]

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.

[user4]

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

[stalkingbear]

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.

[robocop10mm]

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.

[ofitg]

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).

[UnderFire]

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.

[RMc]

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.

[robocop10mm]

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.