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Offline Tad Houston

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20 ga. Turkey loads
« on: March 25, 2005, 04:35:03 PM »
Hi all,
I have a 20 ga./30-30 savage combo gun i would like to turkey hunt with while in the pig woods this season. Problem is the choke is mod. at best, and the thing does not pattern well for turkey. What i was wondering is could i improve things by rolling my own? I was thinking BP ranger wads to tighten up my patterns. I am not a long time shotshell reloader, so please bear with me- dont quite know how these things work. Any suggestions? I even looked into having a removable choke installed, but a local gunsmith said it couldnt be done.

Thanks for the help, Tad :D

Also, maybe someone could steer me to an active shotgun site to post this same question on. :grin:
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Offline ButlerFord45

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20 ga. Turkey loads
« Reply #1 on: March 29, 2005, 04:21:23 PM »
Tad, a choke can be installed.  Perhaps your gunsmith meant that he didn't have the necessary tools for him to do it.

I know that some powders pattern tighter than others, Green Dot being one, velocity of the load, size of the shot, even the type of shot, magnum shot is harder than chilled shot so it doesen't deform like chilled shot,  you tighten up a little that way, type of wad makes a big difference.

There is an entire chapter in the Lyman Shotshell Reloading manual devoted to pattern control.  I highly recommend the book, it's not very expensive and there is a lot of information that you're looking for.

I don't think you'll ever get it to shoot like a Super Full Turkey choke, but you can probably get it to do what you're trying for.
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Offline Questor

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20 ga. Turkey loads
« Reply #2 on: March 30, 2005, 10:12:57 AM »
Here's what I do, and also recommend:

1) Load my own target loads for 20 gauge.
2) Buy waterfowl loads from Remington. I use the Hevishot. I looked into reloading it and it's just not worth the expense for the volume of shooting I do.  If I were a turkey hunter, I'd do the same.

Other than that, just do some pattern testing.
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