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GunnerJon
Guest
Missing a turkey doesn't mean you are using the wrong shot size. Any of the legal shot sizes will kill gobblers dead if the gun is patterned well. If you havn't already, get yourself a big piece of cardboard and shoot your current load and choke combination at a dot and turkey head and neck outline in the center at different distances (20, 30, and 40 yards are good ones to use). You may have some holes in your pattern that you really didn't know about. You need at least 12 to 14 pellets in the kill zone to be really certain of your combination. Yes, it only takes one pellet in the brain or spine to kill a bird, but you really should have plenty more. Play around with different chokes if you have them as well. Size 4's are killers....as long as they are patterned well and the range is good. Many people think that because they are shooting bigger sized shot, that they can take longer shots...this can be a costly mistake. A good thing to remember is: the tighter the choke (such as a XXX full), the smaller the shot size should be. For example, many times a high velocity load of 6's will pattern MUCH better than a load of 4's or 5's out of that tight of a choke. Personally I use high velocity loads of 6's out of a .665 choke. If smaller sizes are used, such as 6's..I would highly recommend the higher velocity loads. They really knock 'em dead.
Know your gun, know your shot pattern and know your effective kill range. Hope this helps!
Know your gun, know your shot pattern and know your effective kill range. Hope this helps!
Rackaddict
Life Member
Gunnerjon is right on. My nephew took his bird with a 20 gauge using #6 shot. His maximum effective range according to patterning tests is 25 yards with his gun. I use #5's in my 12 gauge. Those seem to be the most effective with the choke tube I'm using.
Another thing to remember is that most missed shots on turkey's are high shots. Most of us tend to shoot at the birds head instead of at the neck. The majority of birds killed are hit in the spin/neck area. To help prevent a high miss, it's best to aim where the neck and feathers meet.
Good Luck!
Another thing to remember is that most missed shots on turkey's are high shots. Most of us tend to shoot at the birds head instead of at the neck. The majority of birds killed are hit in the spin/neck area. To help prevent a high miss, it's best to aim where the neck and feathers meet.
Good Luck!
DLO
New Member
When I hunted with a gun I always used buffered loads. I used a BPS with a Invector Turkey Choke and 3 in buffered Duplex loads. The shells were loaded with copper plated 4's and 6's. I tried a lot of loads before I discovered those patterened the best. Each gun likes a different load. You really need to do your homework when finding what loads work. Experiment... it's the only way to know.
NebraskaWhitetail
New Member
Like Rack, I've found that No. 5s pattern best for my gun and choke combination. I used to shoot No. 4s until I patterened that load and saw the holes in it. Take a look sometime at the number of pellets in identical shells loaded with No. 4s vs. No. 5s and you'll see what I mean.