870 barrel question

[simplicity]

I just bought a 870 express super mag 3.5 inch vent rib barrel with thumb hole stock in all camo. My question is  remington makes a rifled caniliver base all camo barrel in 3 inch chamber. Will a 3 inch chambered barrel fit on a 3.5 actioned 870 basically are the barrels interchangable between the 3 and 3.5 inch receivers? and if not has anyone tryed shooting 3.5 inch  00buck through the extra full turkey choke? Does it work? or ruin the choke? Rifles and handguns I know but shotguns I'm still learning. Thanks for the info.

[SHOOTALL]

NOT 100% sure on bbl switch  , but have shot 00 and 4 buck thru. Turkey tube with  no ill effect ! but to be honest the pattern wasn't that good . have found improved mod to give the best pattern .

[simplicity]

Thanks Shootall, I found out that a 3 inch barrel will fit with no problems on a 3.5 receiver just you can't shoot 3.5 inch shells in it (common sense) so anyone else that needs to know that answer there you go. Main reason why I was asking is I think my favorite hunting ground might become shotguns only so I had just picked up a 870 turkey gun and was thinking about a rifled barrel for it and remington makes a camo barrel in the same pattern that I already have and was just trying to weigh all my options. Thanks again for the reply.

[woodchukhntr]

If you're looking to mount a scope or red dot, Millet makes 1" scope rings that mount on Remington ribs if you don't mind set screw marks on the rib.  It allows the use of a pistol scope or a 1" red dot.  I have them on my 12 ga. 870 for deer & turkey hunting.  I have it sighted-it in with slugs.  Midway has them as part number 618803.  I like them because they allow you to use the standard stock since the sight is so low.  If you use a saddle mount, the scope or red dot is mounted higher and requires a raised comb stock.

[SHOOTALL]

IF you go with a rifled tube in your turkey bbl. with tru glow sights as some do i found the flush tube to be more accurate than the extended tube . the tube with straight rifling is good on buck shot as is the improved mod. Son likes the straight rif. tube with # 4 buck .
if ya go with a rifled bbl. the rem or Hastings work ok .
Check out the TAR HUNT web site on shooting slugs

[Big]

Simplicity-

If you want to hunt deer with your 870, use a rifled barrel with a cantilevered scope mount if you can afford it.  This is usually a rock-solid set-up which enables you to switch barrels easily and without losing your sight-in.  I have a Hastings barrel for my Remington 11-87 that has worked very well.  Much cheaper is a saddle mount, but you'll lose your sight-in if you take the barrel off to clean it (it'll never go back on exactly the same each time).  I have a B-square mount and Leupold scope on my 870 with a smoothbore slug barrel (the scope does not sit too high), as a dedicated slug gun; I clean it with the barrel in place so that I don't have to sight it in all the time.  This set-up has worked great on deer, as well.

The other gentleman might have had a good experience with rings that clamp onto the rib, but I have not.  I tried a scope mount that clamped onto the rib of my girlfriend's 11-87 - there was no way to tighten the screws enough to make it stay put.  It moved all over the place, scratched her rib, and got her all mad at me for trying it (got my money back for it, from Brownell's, I think)

[Big]

Oh, one other thing,

After reading your original post, I would have to say not to shoot 00 buck through a super-full choke.  I'm not exactly sure that it's unsafe, but there's no reason to do it, so why take the risk?

[SHOOTALL]

the reason to shoot 00 buck thru. a full or xxfull choke is to achieve a tight pattern . As most know the interior bbl dimensions vary from one bbl to another and often it is necessary to use a tight tube to get the desired pattern .
I have a super x-2 that shoots a tight pattern with a IM choke and a 870 that shoots a super tight pattern with XXF tube .
the XXF tubed gun will shoot Federal copper plated 000 buck in a pattern that a ball cap will cover at 35+ yards . The SX-2 has a back bored bbl and the 870 a tight bbl . so i feel that's why a choke tube marked XXF works in the tight bbl and a more open tube works in the SX-2. Choke is the amount of restriction in relation to the bore of the bbl a short distance from where choke begins . Just because a tube is marked XXF doesn't mean it is for every bbl .
when i use the turkey tube ( XXF) in the SX-2 it won't pattern buckshot well at all with the exception of #4 buck , all the rest throw a pattern a deer could walk thru.
We are forced to hunt in some areas with buck shot and have tried everything to gain distance , with a good setup , 40 yard shots are common .