I will be using #4, 5 or 6. In MD this is all we can use for turkey.
when I go to the range I plain on setting targets up at 30 yards and maybe 50 to see how it shoots.
rickyp, sounds like you're on the right track. IMHO, knowing where your gun shoots with the particular shell you are using and its corresponding effective range is as important, if not more so, than the shell itself. Over the years I have killed Turkeys( I have over 40 beards in a cigar box) with almost every kind of shell that is/was legal for use here in Wisconsin. The one common factor was, all the ones I killed, were hit in the Head/Neck. My preference is 1 3/4 or 1 7/8 ozs. of 5's for spring birds and 6's for fall birds. I don't like loads of 2 oz or larger in 3'' because of harsh recoil and they don't tend to pattern as well for me as the lighter loads. 3 1/2''s in a 12 ga. to me is a joke, but that's just me and my opinion. I feel if you want to shoot 10 ga. loads get a 10 ga. gun. I know of several folk that use 2 3/4'' 12 ga. as well as some that use 3'' 20ga shells with good success for the same reasons you stated......they just tend to be a bit more patient and selective about their shots. That hard part is knowing your range. Setting up in darkness on a roosted bird makes it difficult to predetermine yardage......and a full strutting tom at 60 yards in the early morning light tends to look a lot more like 40 to many folk. Last fall I argued with a hunting companion that the two toms in front of us were out of range. I claimed they were out 70 yards and he argued 50. After they came about 10 yards closer, it was evident they were not gonna come anymore. He then claimed they were 40 yards away and I should take a shot. Not being comfortable with the range and only having 6's in my gun I passed them up and watched them both fly up for the night. Altho disappointed and feeling like I had blown a good chance, we went back the next morning and took my second Tom of the fall season(I had permits for 2 different zones) when they flew down at 20 yards. After the celebration, we went back to where we had been the night before and paced the distance off at 55 yards. I was glad I had not pushed the limits of my gun and taken the chance of wounding or scaring the birds off..........cause odds are, that's what I would've done. Instead I passed and had another opportunity that turned out for the best.
Good luck and let us know how your season goes.......Buck
