Made it to the range yesterday and took my dad along to try out the 870. The lightest loads I was able to find (in a hurry) was some 1 1/8oz Winchester Universal loads(picked up 100). Got to the range, told the guys there I wanted to pattern and then shoot some single clays. They didn't want me patterning, due to the fact the target frames were just re-built last week, but didn't care if we shot clays.
I started off the first box of shells. Half way thru the box I had only nailed 3 and that's with a "softball" my dad tossed out in front of me. Man, I looked like a complete idiot! But, hey I was having a good time. Dad finished off the first box and didn't do much better than I did. Gave it a rest while I helped dad sight in is '06.
While I was helping dad sight in his rifle, I relized why I didn't do better. I was "aiming" instead of pointing. Second box of shells I did much better, broke 11 clays, I can't say how many clays dad "launched" for me, just how many I broke. Lets just say out of 25 shells 11 of them broke a clays.
Third box of shells, I was gaining some confidence, not much, but gaining none the less. Got a pretty good grasp of "leading" from another guy at the range, as he gave me a quick impromptu lesson before he left for the day. We took turns taking shots and he gave me some pointers when I was up. Learned alot, took a breather, let things cool down and checked the choke tube to make sure it was still snug in the muzzle.
Things cooled down and I was ready to apply what I had just learned. Let the slaughter commence! The confidence level was in the stratosphere! Dad was getting the hang of the hand thrower and was really "launching" those clays now. I was bustin' 'em quite regularly, I decided if I missed with the first shot I would see how fast I could get I second shot off. I was only able to hit one with a quick follow-up, not bad for a newbie. On the second quick follow-up, went to eject the round and the slide wouldn't come back
, done went and messed things up. I gave it a few minutes to cool down before attempting to clear the spent shell. It cooled down and for GPs, I decided to try the slide again before I took any drastic measures, bingo, eject one fired hull. Finished off the box without any more IIM (idiot induced malfunctions). Out of the last 25, 22 broke a clay, a marked improvement
!
Overall I really enjoyed shooting the 870. With target loads it has less recoil than my '06. Now, I got to get to the store and get some more shells.
Later,
Dave
