So for Christmas, I'm getting either an 870 with a 18" bbl and mag extension or the Benelli Tactical with 18" bbl. My question is: Is it possible to shoot skeet with a 18" barreled shotty? Thanks, Mike.

Quoted: So for Christmas, I'm getting either an 870 with a 18" bbl and mag extension or the Benelli Tactical with 18" bbl. My question is: Is it possible to shoot skeet with a 18" barreled shotty? Thanks, Mike.

Yep.

It is a little hard to shoot skeet with a 18" barrel shotgun with out a choke. I have shot trap and skeet with my Benelli M1 Tactical with ghost ring sights. I got some dirty looks from the other O/U shotgun shooters but who cares.

The ghost rings sights were a little hard to shoot trap/skeet with for me, so I know use my other 21" M1 Super 90 Benelli with a Modified or Improved Modified choke tube.

Chris

Shooting skeet without choke is fine. You'll get decent patterns with the right shot size.

Awesome, thanks guys. BTW- Is it possible to put chokes in an 18" shotgun?

Quoted: Awesome, thanks guys. BTW- Is it possible to put chokes in an 18" shotgun?

Well the Benelli M1 Tactical will come with choke tubes. When I bought mine it came with 3 but now I think they come with 5.

Chris

I use my 870HD for shooting clays.  I'm no better or worse than my buddies with the mile long barrel.  They do complain saying my shotgun is ten times louder than theirs.

I shoot clays with a Benelli M1S90.   Pistol grip, of course, is the only way to go.  I know of a guy that is as accurate firing his Benelli from the hip than he is from the shoulder.

You can hit skeet targets with most any length barrel or choked gun. If the gun is choked tight its harder though. Some people use cylinder for skeet. I like to use Improved cylinder because I"m lazy (also shoot sporting clays) so IC works for most shots except the real long ones.

The biggest issue with short barreled shotguns isn't the ballistics its the balance and swing of the gun. Short barrels are very light and whippy.  No competetive shooter would use a barrel that short but you certainly will be able to enjoy using it on the skeet field.

I agree the short barrels are LOUD.

Quoted: Awesome, thanks guys. BTW- Is it possible to put chokes in an 18" shotgun?

www.americhoke.com/
^They will do it

Quoted: I use my 870HD for shooting clays.  I'm no better or worse than my buddies with the mile long barrel.  They do complain saying my shotgun is ten times louder than theirs.

My experience exactly using 18 and 20" barrels on skeet. Never tried them on trap, where I assume they'd suck.

Pay no attention to the whining of the snotty types about your muzzle blast. If they're bitching about the muzzle blast of an 18" shotgun, they're not REAL shooters in the first place.

Quoted: Quoted: Awesome, thanks guys. BTW- Is it possible to put chokes in an 18" shotgun? www.americhoke.com/ ^They will do it

Or you could send it to me, and I could put screw in chokes in for you.

My dept's training includes shooting skeet with our 18" and 20" 870.'s. I am no skeet shooter but I have managed 21 out of 25. My current duty shotgun is an 18" police magnum. Yes it has a choke and has been ported. YES it is loud...but oh so sweet to shoot. I use a modified choke due to most of my shooting invloves
buckshot. I would probably go to an improved for skeet.
BTW over at www.ShotgunWorld.com, one of their moderators is a gunsmith. He gives substantial discount to members. If I remember right he charges like $45 for installing a choke. I have been thinking about sending a gun to him. I figured choke, forcing cone lengthend, polish, and shipping was going to be less than
$100. Check the gunsmithing forum over there.