Turkey Ammo question

[ejpaul1]

Alright, I moved from colorado to kansas and did take a stab at turkey hunting this last year. I am real serious about it this year as my wife wants to go as well. My question is about turkey ammo:

• What is the best shot size ( i have a box of remington turkey nitro 3 inch number 5 shot)
• What the distance I should pattern my shotgun at?
• Are the Super-duper-pooper-scooper ultra tight full chokes really and better than the stok full that cam with my benelli?
• Why does there seem to be a bigger difference between the load size from a 2 3/4 to 3 inch shell than a 3 to 3.5 inch shell? I mean, the remington site shows a shot weight of  1 1/2 to 1 7/8 from 2.75 to 3 inch and 1 7/8 to 2 ounce from 3 to 3.5 inch?

[TribReady]

i am by no means a turkey hunting expert, but I can get the ball rolling on your questions:
1. the Rem Nitro turkey loads, #5 shot should be fine. you will only know by shooting it.  My 870 likes the #5's, but it also shoots a #4 load I have here.  Just have to try it out and see, but #5's are "enough" for turkeys
2. your terrain and hunting situations may dictate otherwise, but typically 25-30 yards is a good range to pattern at.  I find most shots are about 20 but sometimes that 40yd shot presents itself.  get set up somewhere in the middle 
3. just like question 1, you will never know if the choke will be better unless/until you get out and give it a try.  Me personally, I have had better results changing to a tighter, turkey specifc choke

[flintlock]

If you mean the Remington Nitros that sell for about $10 for 20 then they are fine...I've used them for about 5 years and have killed 7-8 turkeys with them out to 40 yards with no problems...Number 5s is what I'm using as well...


My gun doesn't like heavy loads, it scatters them...Now this is probably because I bought a Hastings .640 choke 10-12 years ago...Now most chokes are .665 or so...


Start with buying a choke tube, ask others what works well with their Benelli...Then try the loads you have and if you get 10-12 pellets in the head/neck area of a turkey target at 40 yards then you are good to go...If you don't, keep trying other loads until you find one that works...

[ejpaul1]

thanks for the information. I have a bunch of years experience with rifles and loads, shotguns are new to me. I hear patterning a shotgun is as important as zero'ing your rifle.

[dukkillr]

I hear patterning a shotgun is as important as zero'ing your rifle.

Not quite.  Patterning your shotgun might be mildly interesting, and should give you some idea of your realistic killing range, but with a full choke and good loads I can tell you it's going to be 45 yards give or take 5 each way.  6s will pattern better but carry less energy at range.  4s will carry better energy at range but pattern worse.  I've used and killed turkeys with everything from 4s to 7.5s.  I usually use a high quality 5s.
 
The thing about patterning isn't that it's going to hurt you, it's that there are several other things you can do that will help you kill a turkey more.  The most obvious, particularly in ag country like most of Kansas has, is to scout.  Turkeys are very patternable in ag country.  If you see a tom strutting in a given place at 10am there's a good chance he'll be there again tomorrow.  Better yet, figure out where they roost, where they feed, etc... String all your info together and you'll generally be able to kill your turkeys without needing to be able to shoot past 30 yards.
 
Calling, bird working, building blinds, feeders, land owner relationships, scouting, even basic woodsmanship will all be activities that will help you kill more turkeys than fiddling with chokes and loads will.
 
Where in Kansas are you going to be hunting?

[mcwoodduck]

Not a turkey pro.
But I used the Heavy shot #4 3" turkey loads with the factory modified choke that came with Dads Mossberg 835.
Worked fine so that is my turkey load.  I buy a box of 5 when ever I see them in a store.  I think I have about 20 rounds so I am good for the rest of my life for turkey shells. 
I am not sufe the 3" makes a difference I am sure it would have worked with standard 2 3/4" loads   But the same reason I use a 338 Win mag when i know the 308 will do the trick for most shots, hunting elk I picked the 3" shells. I know a standard shell of lead will work but the magnum load of heavy shot opens the envelope a little and gives me more options to taking a tom.

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

  Over the years I have shot gobbles with everything from a trap load of 7.5's from a light mod. choke to a full choke 10 ga. and #2's..Generally, it they pattern will I like the best quality # 5's I can get..I am like MC, I prefer a bit more power for my gobblers rather than the minimum..I have always bee amazed how far a good shotgun and good loads will kill a gobbler..

[ejpaul1]

thanks for the good info. I read on another site (maybe I saw it here too) that the turkey in this country were decimated at one point by 2 3/4 shells. Like rifle, shot placement

[Todd1700]

Patterning your shotgun might be mildly interesting.....
The thing about patterning isn't that it's going to hurt you, it's that there are several other things you can do that will help you kill a turkey more.

Going to have to respectfully but vehemently disagree with your low opinion of the importance of patterning a turkey gun.

First of all many, many shotguns do not even throw the center of their patterns in direct line with the bead sight. An adjustable sight might be required to get you squarely on target. How will you discover if your shotgun is doing this without a trip to the range to pattern it?

Secondly, it has been my experience (and I have a considerable amount in this area) that different shell and choke combinations often yield vastly different results in a given shotgun. You may be going into the woods with a combo that isn't nearly as effective as another you could be using simply because you didn't do a little experimenting at the range.

Lastly, patterning will give you a known lethal range for your rig. You cannot just screw in any after market choke and use any turkey shell and be confident that you are good to at least 40 yards. That just has not been my experience with lead shot in particular. I have seen some gun/choke/ shell combinations that threw abysmal patterns at 35 yards.

My advice is to pattern your gun. Use a large sheet of paper (poster paper size at least) and fire at a dot drawn in the center. This will show you what your whole pattern is doing and where the center density of that pattern is hitting in relation to where you are aiming. Trust me your point of aim and the actually impact point of the center of your pattern will very often not be the same place with shotguns. If you only shoot at the small turkey head targets you may never be able to see that the densest part of your pattern is completely missing that small sheet of paper. An adjustable sight can correct this problem but first you have to be aware it exists.

A good rule of thumb for a good enough killing pattern is 100 pellets inside a 10 inch circle. The farthest distance your shotgun will give you that is your maximum range.
 
 

[Todd1700]

• What is the best shot size ( i have a box of remington turkey nitro 3 inch number 5 shot)?[/l][/l][/l][/l][/l][/l]

• • Well there really is no best shot size. People use 4's, 5's and 6's mostly. Some people who shoot the denser than lead shot use even smaller sizes than that. It really comes down to your choice that is hopefully based on testing some shells in your gun. With lead shot there is kind of a catch 22 trade off. The individual pellets in a load of 4's or 5's will retain the penetrating power to kill a turkey way on out there if they hit a lethal spot (brain, spine). The problem with the larger shot sizes like 4's and 5's is maintaining a dense enough pattern to insure you score hits in a lethal spot. I (and many other people) consider a good pattern 100 pellets or more inside a 10 inch circle. Problem is that I have "Rarely" seen a gun that would meet that standard at 40 yards with lead 4's or 5's. So while the individual pellets in these larger shot sizes maintain killing energy way out there the pattern density typically peters out at a shorter range. Lead 6's will give you a better pattern at 40 yards but the smaller sized shot is really running out of killing energy in the 35 to 40 yard range. See the problem. This is why I shoot Hevi-13 denser than lead shot.
     
    

    What the distance I should pattern my shotgun at?[/l]

       
  • • Start at 30 yards and work to 40. 40 is probably the max you will be able yo shoot to with lead.
       
      

      Are the Super-duper-pooper-scooper ultra tight full chokes really and better than the stok full that cam with my benelli?

      Yes. Primos Jellyhead, Kicks Gobblin Thunder, Indian Creek BDS, Pure Gold, and Rhino all make fine chokes. Any of them should out pattern a stock full choke in your gun.