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The 870 TriggerFIX is fully adjustable to get the weight of pull you want on your shotgun. Stevenson's secret Trijicon's Eddie Stevenson showed me how he sights-in his turkey guns to avoid the grueling punishment of many shots with heavy turkey loads. He starts out at 20 yards and shoots light upland game loads of No. 6 shot to get the center of the pattern on the turkey target's head and neck. Once the pattern is centered, he backs off to 40 yards and checks the pattern with a turkey load. We did this with my Model 870 at Live Oak Hunting Lodge pattern board range, and it only required two shots of the heavy turkey loads to finalize the sighting-in. Why didn't I learn this years ago? — J.W.F.
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Trijicon + Timney Triggers = TNT
Arguably, more gobblers may have gone down courtesy of a Remington 870 than any other shotgun. It is a time-proven pump, reasonably priced and dependable when it's time for that one, important shot. Improving this old veteran of the gobbler woods is difficult at best.
Last year, I was invited to Texas for a field test to try and improve the performance of the Model 870. The invitation came from Trijicon and Timney Triggers. The test site was the Lone Oak Hunting Lodge near Eldorado.
What made the trip special — beyond testing new gear — was Eddie Stevenson with Driftwood Media, trip coordinator, would be my hunting partner. Stevenson and I have been on many turkey hunts together over the years, but we had never hunted as a team, and I wanted to see and hear the calling techniques he is noted for in turkey hunting circles. My goal was to get him to do the calling, and I would do the shooting.
The improvements
After settling in at the lodge, Stevenson, representing Trijicon, and Chris Ellis, representing Timney Triggers, produced the two items we were going to add to my Remington 870 they said would improve it as a turkey gun.
Ellis took my Model 870 and walked me through the process of removing the standard factory trigger sear and springs and installing the new Timney TriggerFIX trigger replacement kit. The 14-step process was quick and easy. Anyone with basic gunsmithing skills and simple tools can do it. The unique kit is designed to allow adjustment of the trigger pull weight by simply swapping sear springs. Then trigger pull can be fine tuned by adjusting the setscrew on the sear.
Changing the sear and springs in my Model 870 took just a few minutes. The results were a creep-free trigger pull of 3 pounds, which is ideal for precise shooting at a gobbler's head and neck. Now, when using optics, my 870 shoots more like a rifle than shotgun.
The next innovation was to install a Picatinny-style rail on the shotgun's receiver. Today's 870s are drilled and tapped to accept the mount. I attached a Trijicon RX30 illuminated dot scope atop the rail. The scope, made with Trijicon fiber optics, uses natural light to give the shooter a bright amber dot regardless of lighting conditions. I was most impressed with how bright the dot was, even in failing light at dusk and dawn. It adjusts automatically to the brightness level and contrast of the reticle to available light conditions. The RX30 is fully adjustable for windage and elevation, and that it's battery free eliminates the concern of it dying at the wrong time.
On the range
With my Model 870 newly outfitted with the Timney TriggerFIX and the Trijicon RX30, we went to the range to sight-in the pump gun, which was like sighting in a rifle. The light trigger pull made patterning the gun much more enjoyable. The sight's windage and elevation screws were easy to adjust.
And Stevenson proved you really can teach an old dog a new trick. He taught me how to reduce recoil punishment during turkey gun sight-in.
The hunt
Late on the second afternoon of the hunt, Stevenson and I located a hot gobbler several hundred yards away. We ran across a field to get into a mesquite and prickly pear flat where the gobbler was heading. After we set up, Stevenson worked his calling magic.
The slow-moving tom was coming straight to us, gobbling all the way. His approach was from my right to left. I quickly turned to get into shooting position. It was low light at 7 p.m., cloudy and windy. The Trijicon didn't require the use of an on-off button, and due to its design, allowed me easily to shoot with both eyes open in the brushy Texas landscape.
The gobbler worked his way in, first to a hen in front of me, but she ignored his advances. With some skillful calling from Stevenson, who was set up some 20 yards behind me, the gobbler turned and started working his way toward me. He stepped from behind a mesquite tree at 20 yards. I put the amber dot on his head and squeezed the light trigger. A 2-ounce load of No. 6 Federal found the target. The 20-pound boss gobbler sported a 10-inch beard and 1½-inch spurs.
The new, light Timney replacement trigger and the fast-acquiring dot on the Trijicon made a deadly team. I named the combination "TNT" for Trijicon and Timney.
I have to admit these two new additions, when added to the Remington Model 870, created an ultimate turkey rig. It would make an excellent close-range coyote gun as well, but that's another story. — J. Wayne Fears