Turkey loads and chokes

[werner.reiche]

Maybe I'm over-simplifying things but all I'm using for turkeys is challenger 2 3/4" #4 out of a 26 inch mid 1970's full choke.
I'm shooting at 40 yards or less - except for my last jake which was an honest (stepped off) 50 yards.

Reading in another thread about 3 1/2" loads out of uber-full chokes - I'm not sure I'm seeing the benefits of that - or is this for the 50+ yard shots?

[longpointer]

If it works for you Werner... keep working it ! I started with a Browning BPS with a Full choke and got birds and know lots of farmers that still do it with their old boomstick. What's that old saying ? It's not what you got but how you use it... ?

[werner.reiche]

If it works for you Werner... keep working it ! I started with a Browning BPS with a Full choke and got birds and know lots of farmers that still do it with their old boomstick. What's that old saying ? It's not what you got but how you use it... ?

Well - I do have a browning gold 3" that I could use - but 3" #4 lead shot is hard to come by - unless you pay a premium for turkey loads.

I'm a bit disillusioned with the ammo industry - it seems to be more marketing and less engineering. After non-lead was mandated for waterfowl (that's why I bought the browning) I went through pretty much every ammo type looking for something better than winchester steel - Bismuth, tungsten matrix, all sorts of premium steel - with less than expected results. Then somewhere along the line someone in the ammo industry figured out how to make steel work - maybe it was just the speed bump from about 1200fps to 1450 - but now all I use for ducks is challenger steel - either in my 2 3/4 winchester or 3" browning.

[finsfurfeathers]

Well - I do have a browning gold 3" that I could use - but 3" #4 lead shot is hard to come by - unless you pay a premium for turkey loads. .

I use the Browning Gold, factory full. Run #5 remington turkey loads bought a few boxes four years ago think about $7.00 a box as was a sale on. Kills 'em dead though keep my shots under 40. Whiffed on a Jake last Friday that got within 20 feet before I had a clear shot. Its a poor musician that blames his instrument for a poor performance.

[Sprite]

If you’ve got the 3” Browning, I’d be shooting that with some turkey loads and a turkey choke. Take it out and pattern it.

50 yards is a long ways, and we as turkey hunters should be striving for 30 and under for ethical shots, no matter how good your gun patterns.

-Nick