just ordered a rem. 870 marine magnum.

[torque]

Hello all, this is my first post, so take it easy on me. I just ordered my first shotgun, a remington 870 marine magnum. going to pick it up saturday $500 out the door. After debating over which one for about a month I decided on this one. between the mossberg mariner and the winchester 1300 Since I'm new to the shotgun world, I do have a few noob questions.

1. will this gun shoot any/all 2 3/4 and 3" shells? ie: buckshot/slugs/target without any kind of chokes/adapters?

2. which # of buckshot will have less recoil 00,000,etc.

3. how do the managed recoil shells shoot like? do they really not kick as hard?

4. What kind of recoil will I be looking foward to with this gun, since it has the r3 recoil pad on it? the biggest shotgun I've shot before was a 410, and it had no kick to me at all, about like a .22. I used to have a desert eagle .50 pistol, and to me, a .45 kicked harder than that did.

[Dfariswheel]

In order:
1. Your new Magnum Marine will shoot any 12 gauge ammo of 3" or less.
The choke is either Open Cylinder (no choke at all) or it's an Improved Cylinder, which Remington has recently started using on the Express and Magnum Marine models.

Either one of these chokes is about ideal for short barreled shotguns used for buckshot or slugs.

You can shoot ANY standard birdshot, buckshot, or slug through your gun.
The sabot type slugs CAN be fired, but since they're made for rifled shotguns, accuracy won't be very good.

2. Recoil is a matter of shot WEIGHT, and powder charge.
If you shoot a standard load of 00 buckshot, it will have about the same recoil as 000, 1, or 4, since they all have about the same weight of shot.

In other words, if the shot load weights 1 1/8oz, it doesn't matter if it's #9 birdshot, 00 buckshot, or a solid slug.

3. Managed or reduced recoil shells have significantly less recoil while still being effective. This is why a good many people and police departments are using them.

As example, Remington says their Reduced Recoil Police load of 00 buckshot has 40% less recoil.
The manufacturers get recoil reduction in one of two ways.
Method one is to reduce the amount (weight) of pellets.
Instead of 9 pellets of 00, they only contain 8.
Method two is to keep the same number (weight) of pellets, but reduce the powder charge.

Either way causes the shell to produce less recoil.
Many users say that reduced recoils shells in conjunction with the Remington R3 recoil pad makes standard buckshot loads feel like dove and quail loads.

4. Recoil "feel" is very subjective. Some people get pounded by standard loads, others have no problem at all.
All you can do is shoot some ammo and make your own decision.

Reduced recoil WILL be easier on your shoulder.

The worst recoil will be with Magnum shells, and especially 3" Magnum shells.
In shotguns, Magnum means something different than in rifles and pistols.
In rifles and pistols, Magnum means more power.
In shotguns Magnum means more SHOT.
A Magnum shotshell just contains more shot than standard loads.
So, a 3" Magnum won't shoot any farther, or "harder", it just puts out more shot, increasing the chances of getting more hits on target.

In most cases, there is no need to use Magnum shells for home defense, and the reduced recoil shell make more sense.

[torque]

picked it up today, I love it, shot off 2 of the cheap wallyworld target rounds, kicked a little harder than my ruger 10/22, I think this is money well spent. :cool: thanks for your response Dfariswheel.

[torque]

I do have another newbie question.:o when I use the sling, which way am I supposed to wear it? just draped on one arm, or across the chest i.e. one arm and head through it?

[malachi]

Good choice. I grew up shooting Remingtons and consider them top notch. That "marine magnum" is really a nice looking gun. A friend has one and he swears by it.
As recoil goes, pump 12 gauge shotguns just kick. Not much you can do about it if you intend to shoot "high brass" shells. Now, you can get Remington 00 buckshot (8 or 9 pellet) and even 1 oz. slugs in reduced recoil. I have tried all three and I think they forgot to remove that 40% recoil from mine.

Just my low-tech country boy opinion.

[harrydog]

I've heard the Remington Managed Recoil has even less felt recoil than the Federal Tactical Reduced Recoil, but I haven't tried them yet.
http://www.remington.com/products/ammunition/shotshell/buckshot/managed-Recoil_express.asp
I shoot a Benelli (but this should hold true for an 870 as well), and I've found that slugs kick a hell of a lot harder than buckshot for some reason.