New Owner of a Remington SPR 453

[SmokeCloud]

Just got it today. I downloaded the Owner's Manual (You would think buying it BRAND NEW it would come with one, but no lol) and assembled it following the instructions and everything seems to be sound with it. I would like to know a couple of things, though.

1. What is the best way to remove the magazine cap? From what I understand, it will hold one more round with this removed. This would be quite nice considering this is a semi-auto shotgun.

2. It came with 4 interchangeable muzzles, one of which came already screwed on. What is the difference in these muzzles? I have one that says XF Steel, M Steel, IC Steel, and F Steel. I've only ever handled one shotgun before this one and it didn't have any of these with it.

3. What is the best kind of ammo to use in these? I bought a box of Federal Ammunition Hi-Brass Load 12 Ga, 2 3/4 In. 1 1/4 oz. shot. Will this be sufficient ammo for target practice/test firing and breaking the gun in? If not, any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks

[6x6pinz]

Congrats, the 453 has been a very good, dependable shotgun for me. I don't know about removing the cap to allow one more as I use mine for hunting and two rounds in the mag is the normal for waterfowl. The cap should just unscrew revealing the threads and a hole where the plastic nub needs to be depressed to remove the retainer, spring and follower.
The choke tubes are just as they are labelled. XF steel (extra full for steel shot, mostly turkey), M steel is your modified, IC is improved cylinder and F is full choke. I put a polychoke on mine so I did not have to worry about changing choke tubes or carrying them with me when hunting.
The 453 has an adjustable gas system so break in is only one good box of heavy loads, which is what you have. The gun will handle up to 3 1/2" loads so depending on where the gas system is set it may not function properly with the 2 3/4 loads as it is set. A simple adjustment will take care of that. The barrel is marked which way to turn the gas system.

[SmokeCloud]

Awesome! Thanks so much for all the info. I think I'll also get myself a polychoke so I don't have to worry about changing them out. The owner's manual I downloaded has some info on the gas system, so I think I'm going to check that out and adjust it properly for the 2 3/4 loads if need be.

I'll probably use mine for deer come next winter. Other than that, it'll just be for target practice until then. I've heard good things about the 453 so far from other people I've talked to about it, so I'm hoping this will be a nice, dependable shotgun I can eventually pass down to my son when he gets a little bigger.

Thanks again!

Edit: According to my manual, it says the gas cylinder is set at factory to handle 3 1/2 in steel shot down to 2 3/4 loads. It says adjustments are necessary if after break-in you wish to fire lead or tungsten 3 1/2 rounds you have to adjust for heavier load or anything lighter than 1 1/4 it has to be adjusted for lighter loads.

So I am assuming I don't need to mess with the gas cylinder just yet with the ammo I'm using?

[CampingJosh]

Originally Posted by SmokeCloud

So I am assuming I don't need to mess with the gas cylinder just yet with the ammo I'm using?

What you have should work just fine. If I were you, I would read and understand how to adjust the gas cylinder, but I wouldn't mess with it until I ran into trouble.

[SmokeCloud]

True. I took it apart earlier this evening and took a look at the gas cylinder with the manual in front of me and read about which direction and how many turns as well as not to exceed 2 full turns in either direction. I didn't mess with the adjustments as I feel the standard settings will work fine until I go deer hunting and start using some heavy slugs in it.

[6x6pinz]

Most of the guys I duck hunt with have either the 453 or the Baikal version. We shoot a lot of 3 and 3 1/2. These things really take an abuse. The only real issue we have had, and this has been with all brands, is the bluing gets some surface rust after being in the salt cedars during the rains. I stripped my barrel and used a metal etching primer along with a flat black dura coat. The others have yet to do anything to theirs but generally don't go with me when the weather is bad anyway.

[SmokeCloud]

The one thing that really made me choose the 453 over another brand or model was this YouTube video of a guy extreme testing one. This thing was submerged in ice water, covered in mud and put through lots of environmental conditions and it would fire 5 rounds successively and rapidly with no issues! He did things to this gun I would never dream of doing to mine, and it held up under some extreme conditions.

After I break it in with this box of 2 3/4, I'll probably switch to something a bit bigger. Did you have to adjust your gas cylinder from the factory setting for those bigger rounds? Or have you ever had to do any adjustments at all due to jamming/misfiring/not ejecting spent shells automatically?

[6x6pinz]

I adjust mine based on shells used, not really needed just did not like it beating itself any harder than necessary. I switch between 3 1/2, 3 and 2 3/4 depending on what we are hunting. Mainly it gets 3 shells and does just fine. The adjustment is so easy and takes so little time I see no reason not to make the minor adjustments.

I can attest to the shotgun working as in the video. Mine has taken a mud bath a time or two during some of the rougher duck hunts. Even as ice has formed on the shotgun it worked perfectly, not like some of the pumpers I have used in the past.