As This Turkey Hunter Gets Older

[dawei]

As I get older (will be 56 in 6 weeks), the hills steeper, & the miles longer; I use a 20ga; and a Mossberg® by choice for several reasons:
     • I got tired of the heavy weight of a 12ga & the heavy recoil of the same. The 20ga is about 1½ lbs lighter & the recoil significantly less.
     • While I'm right-handed, I'm left eye dominant & thus shoot a long gun left handed. The ambidextrous top-tang safety was a big plus for me. Additionally the Winchester® & Remington® guns only have a 2 year warranty & the Mossberg® has a 10 year warranty.
     • Remington® guns require Remington® chokes. With in gauge however Browning Invector®, Mossberg®, SKB®, Savage®, Weatherby® & Winchester® chokes ARE FULLY INTERCHANGEABLE!
     • A Remington® 870 Express, on sale where I Iive costs $269.99+tax & comes with one choke, no sling or swivels. Conversely for $50.00 less I got a Mossberg® with three chokes, slings, and swivels. (You get the picture).

I'm not knocking the Remington® or Winchester; it's just for me, the Mossberg® offers more for less money. The Mossberg® is not a cheap gun; it's an inexpensive gun, there's a big difference between the two. Now as to patterns & performance; chokes & ammo, this is what I have found  & direction I'm heading (20ga Mossberg® specific):

Mossberg® X-FACTOR™ Extended Ported TURKEY Tubes (lead only) Models 500®, 505®  
Ga.     Choke                                 Item#     Price
20      Full-Ported Turkey tube               95231     $36.00  
Mossberg® Accu-Choke™ Tubes (Models 500®, 9200® and Maverick 88™)
20      Full                         .590"    95215     $15.00
20      Modified                  .600"    95220     $15.00
20      Imp Cylinder           .610"    95225     $15.00
20      XFull                       .585"    95230     $15.00


Carlsons® 20 GA FLUSH MOUNT
DISC          ITEM#        CONST    PRICE
Cyl           #10107       .620     $19.99  
Skeet        #10101       .615     $19.99
I.C.           #10102       .610     $19.99
Modified     #10103       .600     $19.99
Imp.Mod.    #10106       .595     $19.99
Full            #10104       .590     $19.99
X-Full         #10105       .585     $19.99
Turkey        #10108       .575     $19.99

Hastings®SPECIAL 20 GA. EXTENDED TURKEY CHOKES FOR LEAD SHOT ONLY (wrench included)
Stock No.                            Description                     Price
I20562 20 ga. Chokes         .562" Parallel Diameter     $29.99
I20566 20 ga. Chokes         .566" Parallel Diameter     $29.99
I20570 20 ga. Chokes         .570" Parallel Diameter     $29.99
I20574 20 ga. Chokes         .574" Parallel Diameter     $29.99
I20578 20 ga. Chokes         .578" Parallel Diameter     $29.99

The tubes shown in red are the ones that I have. All are rated for Hevi•Shot® with the exception of the Carlsons®. My son & I have experimented with many load & choke combinations (his gun is a Winchester® 20ga pump). What we did was use the same, exact, choke tube in my Mossberg® and his Winchester®. Clearly understand I DO NOT MEAN TWO CHOKE TUBES EXACTLY ALIKE; I MEAN WE USED THE TUBE IN MY GUN THEN PUT IT IN HIS GUN. My Mossberg® has a 26" barrel; his Winchester® a 28" barrel. We used 3" Mag Remington Hevi•Shot® 1¼oz #4, 5, & 6 shot & 3" Federal GrandSlam® 1 5/16oz #4, 5, & 6 shot. Our findings were:

     • All chokes, in both guns, WOULD NOT PATTERN #4 SHOT IN A DENSE PATTERN SUITABLE FOR TURKEY HUNTING.
     • The same choke & shot combination DID NOT PERFORM THE SAME IN EACH GUN. (I'll cite below)
     • Conventional wisdom states that Hevi•Shot® needs a more open choke than lead shot. WE DID NOT FIND THAT TO BE TRUE.
     • Hevi•Shot® doesn't always pattern "tighter" than lead.

My son's Winchester® has a definite preference for #5 shot. The absolute best load and choke combination for him was Carlsons® .575" Turkey Choke and the Federal GrandSlam® 1 5/16oz #5 copper-plated shot. My Mossberg® with any of our chokes DOES NOT pattern #5 shot as well as my son's Winchester®. My Mossberg® is at is absolute best with #6 shot and the Hastings® .570" Choke Tube. Using Hevi•Shot® or Federal lead it consistently puts 27-29 pellets in a 3" circle out to 40 yds. (With the Hevi•Shot® it's always 27 pellets! Using Federal lead shot its 28-29 pellets). My best target is before me from last year's tests. It reflects 61 pellets in the head & neck with 16 pellets in the brain & spine using Federal GrandSlam® 1 5/16oz #6. (This target DOES NOT reflect the 3" circle). I stated earlier the same choke doesn't perform the same in different guns; let me illustrate. When I shot the Federal® lead load of #5 shot with the Carlsons® tube I got 17 pellets in the 3" circle on the target. When my son used the same combination in his gun he puts 25 pellets into the 3" circle. When I use the Hastings® .570 tube & Federal #6 shot I put 29 pellets in the 3" circle. Using the same combination in his gun my son put only 11 pellets in the 3" circle. SAME CHOKES & SHOT YET THEY PATTERN FAR DIFFERENTLY. Thus you can see why my son uses the Carlsons® choke & lead 5's and I the Hastings® choke & lead 6's.

What I my son & I hope to do in the next couple of weeks is try Winchester Double-X Magnum loads & see how they perform with the above chokes; (#5 & 6 shot only). Additionally I will purchase two more Hastings® Tubes, .566" & .562" & see where those tests take us. If we run out of Hevi•Shot® due to our testing oh well; both of us have proven performers in the Federal Grand Slam loads.

Sorry to ramble on so but I hope his answers your question. Lastly take a look here:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3163692