When patterning your gun........

[huntinsonovagun]

How many pellets should you consistantly have in the kill zone?

[maddhunter]

I have atleast 12 at 40 yards evrey time. I use .665 choke and 4x6 duplex loads in 3".
Some people do better but I try to keep a wider pattern, inside a 20-30 inch circle, to cut down on close yardage misses.(happened to me 3 times )

[RyanH]

Who needs a gun? Use a bow!

[slaw]

I've read where, when you get less than 5 pelllets in the head and neck region, you've reached your effective zone

[Strut10]

As many as possible.

8 or 10 will do the job. I like to see way more than that. All of my guns (with #6 lead shot) consistantly give 35 to 60 pellets at 40 yards, depending on the gun. Try different choke & shell combos. You should be able to get those numbers, too.

[Covehnter]

Someone needs to sticky the patterning post from last year back up. . . wasnt that you STRUT?

I'm sure that answered alot of questions last year.

[hobie]

My goal is 20 to 30 in the kill zone

[huntn4bucks]

[ QUOTE ]
Who needs a gun? Use a bow!

[/ QUOTE ]

Didn't I just watch a video of you killing one with a gun?!?!?

[RyanH]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Who needs a gun? Use a bow!

[/ QUOTE ]

Didn't I just watch a video of you killing one with a gun?!?!?

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL yea but that was 2 years ago!

[VTbowman]

IMO its kinda not a good thing to get tons of pellets at far distances. If you do get ranges out to 50 yards with a bunch of bone hits then what is your pattern look like at 15 and 20 yards.
Like a golf ball thats what.
Think about how hard it wil be to kill a bird that sneaks in close.

Going for major or maxium yardage with a shot gun is not what its all about to me. Getting bow range close is. Like I said, JMO.
That being said, my last pattern at 40 yards was 14 pellets with my Rem 12 gauge, #6s in 3" shells. It was in the high 30s at 30 yards so thats what I consider to be my effective range.
At 20 yards the pattern was about as big as a volley ball. I did not even bother to count it. LOL
To each his own but why take 40 or 50 yard shots?

"Call em in close and hit them hard. "
Thats someones quote here and it applies to turkeys as well.
Good Luck!

[maytom]

Well, to answer your question VTbowman about 40 yard shots. After you hunt turkeys for a while, you start to realize that all Gobblers don't run into your calls, or waltz in to 15 yards on every hunt!!! They hang up at 35-40 yards away at times. 40 yards isn't that far of a shot while using modern day turkey ammo and a Custom choke tube. So if a trophy tom comes in and stops at 40 yards away, guess what, he's getting a ride home in my truck. The best distance to drop turkeys with a head shot are anywhere from 25-35 yards depending on your gun/choke /shell. I always read where some guys question a 40 yard shot, and then say they like to call them in close for a super kill!! If you are having a mount done, that's the worst thing to do is take a head shot inside of 20 yards!! Talk about messing that turkeys head up or what!!! Again, depending on "YOUR" gun, only you know what the Max distance can be!!

[slaw]

I questioned a 50 yard shot on my first bird...the owner of the gun told me to shoot. it folded him up like a cheap umbrella...yes I went and bought me one of those mossberg 835s and made a 50yrd kill with it...cositently 12 to 15 pellets in kill zone at 50 yrds

[PAbowhunter4life]

I agree, I bowhunt for turkey 99% of the time.

However, when I do break out the 835, she is lethal. I use a Star Dot .676 choke in it an shoot Winchester XX 3" #6 (2 oz) loads. At 25 yards I can count 66 individual holes and don't even bother counting the big holes and rips from all the other BB's. At 40 yards I get 25 in the kill zone on a regular basis.

[PAbowhunter4life]

Ummm, you do realize that when you get mounts done taxidermists use fake turkey heads that are usually made out of fiberglass, right? They don't use the actual head off of your bird.

[sportsman2500]

sometimes that is not the case PAbowhunter. my cousin killed a triple bearded gobbler abour 3 years ago and had a full mount of the bird gobbling on a limb. the guy who mounted the bird freeze dried the head and used the actual head of the bird. he is a good friend on mine and told me what he had done and showed me the head. he did an awesome job on the bird and really put in alot of hours on it aswell. BUT i have seen some of the fake heads aswell and they look terrible on a bird. if i got one mounted i'd want the actual head of my bird. just looks like it did when he was living. not FAKE!!