Turkey Loads

[Hem]

Hem is the turkey whisperer. I’d guess very few on HuntTalk have assisted or personally taken more turkeys.

First mistake of turkey hunting: moving when you shouldn’t. Still as a statue! (You might get away with a very slow smooth slide of your gun to make a final aiming, it it has to be smooth and s l o w.
Second mistake: Failure to keep your cheek fully down on the stock, (peeking) and shooting over your target.

Ha...you flatter. Sure, I've averaged 2 birds a year for over 25 years but my success isn't based on some whispering . I love turkeys but during season I become their worst enemy. All this business with special shotguns, fancy chokes, sophisticated shot is great but I disagree it is all necessary. It doesnt need to be complicated. Learning the behavior of turkeys to get them in gun range is the task, killing them is the easy part.
I do understand that new hunters have to learn. Yep,its costly to initially find which load works well ...but it is important to understand what a given shell does at 10,20,30, 40 yards. You DONT have to remove the head of a turkey to kill it. I like to see 6-10 pellets in neck and head. Remember super tight patterns are supposedly the goal but give yourself a little latitude. It's really easy to shank a shot with a fist size pattern. I reject any pattern that is clearly denser one direction or the other left to right.
So why do I like #4 shot?
Face it, sometimes the hunter doesnt make a clean shot. I like the heavier shot because it will break a wing or leg. You want to plant a turkey or slow him down so he cant fly.
In every situation I always aim for where the neck connects to the head.
Steel shot a no-no with full choke.
But I have used copper plated magnums for years with excellent results through a full choke.its way more affordable.
Hope this helps.

 

[Dougfirtree]

Got my gun out to pattern it at 25 yards. Recoil is enough that I don’t shoot anymore than I have to.

My gun only runs 2-3/4 shells, so I use Winchester 1-1/2 oz 4 shot.

What do you all run? Any reason I should consider a change?

Below is a photo of my artwork and shot. Most of the pellets to the high right are from a previous session. All the ones in the head and body are from a single shot. Is this a decent pattern at 25 yards? I don’t know much about shotguns, but this seems like it’d get the job done.
View attachment 133661

That's a dead bird, but at 25 yards, that's not a super dense pattern. I don't imagine that's going to extend much past 35 yards for you. What choke are you using? I think if you wanted to improve performance, you could benefit from a tighter choke and a smaller shot size. I usually shoot 5's, but I think 6's are plenty deadly.

 

[Wally Dog]

I might only suggest 6's. I like pellet count.

 

[Mainer207]

That's a dead bird, but at 25 yards, that's not a super dense pattern. I don't imagine that's going to extend much past 35 yards for you. What choke are you using? I think if you wanted to improve performance, you could benefit from a tighter choke and a smaller shot size. I usually shoot 5's, but I think 6's are plenty deadly.

I haven’t put any sort of choke on it. It’s just an old Remington I got from my father (he picked it up at an estate sale).

 

[Dougfirtree]

I haven’t put any sort of choke on it. It’s just an old Remington I got from my father (he picked it up at an estate sale).

Does it have removable chokes? If not, what is the barrel permanantly choked for? Probably modified. In that case, I might suggest a Federal "flight control" load, or a Winchester Long Beard; something that doesn't entirely rely on the choke to constrict the pattern. That said, the load you posted is clearly going to kill turkeys for you, out to 30 yards and that's really all you need, in the end.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Does it have removable chokes? If not, what is the barrel permanantly choked for? Probably modified. In that case, I might suggest a Federal "flight control" load, or a Winchester Long Beard; something that doesn't entirely rely on the choke to constrict the pattern. That said, the load you posted is clearly going to kill turkeys for you, out to 30 yards and that's really all you need, in the end.

@Mainer207 if your shooting 25+ yards with that setup just be careful their aren't other birds near your target, that pattern is wide enough that you could kill a nearby bird.

 

[Mainer207]

This is what I was shooting. I’ll drum up some 5s and see if the pattern is a bit tighter. Or maybe those flight control loads from federal

 

[kansasdad]

Wally Dog is also murder on turkeys. I hear FOIT (Fraternal Order of Idaho Turkeys) have a contract out on him.

I would encourage you to check out what the constriction is at the end of the barrel. Almost all modern shotguns are now made with removable chokes to allow for changes to the shape of the cone of pellets shot out of the gun. And in some cases a gunsmith can thread a fixed barrel to allow for interchangeable chokes to be used.

I once saw a kid using a Mossberg turkey barrel/turkey choke shooting at clay targets to complete his shotgunning merit badge for the boy scouts. Other boys were using a much more open choke on their shotgun, but this kid was smooth enough that he broke way more than the minimum required to pass the shooting test and earn the badge. I suggested to him that he wait a count of two before mounting his gun to allow the target to get further down range, allowing the pattern to open up a bit and allow for slight lead/mis-aim situations.

 

[kansasdad]

Mainer can you snap a pic of the muzzle of the barrel?

 

[brushcreek]

TSS is well worth the cost. I shot my new 870 yesterday with Federal TSS 9 shot,3 inch shells. 372 pellets in a 8x10 target

 

[nrpate05]

Got my gun out to pattern it at 25 yards. Recoil is enough that I don’t shoot anymore than I have to.

My gun only runs 2-3/4 shells, so I use Winchester 1-1/2 oz 4 shot.

What do you all run? Any reason I should consider a change?

Below is a photo of my artwork and shot. Most of the pellets to the high right are from a previous session. All the ones in the head and body are from a single shot. Is this a decent pattern at 25 yards? I don’t know much about shotguns, but this seems like it’d get the job done.

What choke are you using?

 

[nrpate05]

Sorry, just read about the chokes, disregard!

 

[Dougfirtree]

@Mainer207 if your shooting 25+ yards with that setup just be careful their aren't other birds near your target, that pattern is wide enough that you could kill a nearby bird.

Yup. That happened to me once...

 

[Mainer207]

Mainer can you snap a pic of the muzzle of the barrel?

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

 

[kansasdad]

Looks to be a fixed choke from what I see. A quick check on Al Gore's WWW shows many commenters stating their guns are full choke, and some comment on them having a gun smith open them up. Your 25 yard pattern seems quite open/wide so I'm thinking not a full choke.

Are there any markings on the gun to tell you what the diameter at the end of the barrel might be, (.675 as an example)

 

[Mainer207]

There’s an etching that says “full”...I can only assume that’s the choke but I’ll check for diameter listing on it

 

[N2TRKYS]

My 20ga 870.
My 20ga 11-87.

 

[Mainer207]

Looks to be a fixed choke from what I see. A quick check on Al Gore's WWW shows many commenters stating their guns are full choke, and some comment on them having a gun smith open them up. Your 25 yard pattern seems quite open/wide so I'm thinking not a full choke.

Are there any markings on the gun to tell you what the diameter at the end of the barrel might be, (.675 as an example)

Nothing else written on it. Whatever it is, it’ll have to do the trick!

 

[kansasdad]

Have a great season!

Pull him in close and do the dang thing.