12 yearold on turkey load??

[cammogunner]

hi guys i have introduced my little brother [who is 12] to deer/turkey hunting and he got his hunters ed card and this will be his first time actually hunting anything besides squirel/rabbit so all he is used to is 7 1/2 birdshot but i will be taking him turkey hunting on opening day. so my question is how can i make the shooting of 3 inch mags less painful for him i would have him use a 20 but i dont have one and no one i know has one so we will have to make do. any tips or trick's to get the poor kid out of the deal without a flinch? thanks

 

[big boom]

Make the gun heavy. Put a good pad, MAYBE change the plug
Out for a solid metal bar, if mobility is not an issue

 

[Snyper]

how can i make the shooting of 3 inch mags less painful for him

Shoot a lighter load.

There's no rule that says you have to shoot a 3" mag to kill a bird

A partial roll of toilet paper in a sock makes a good recoil pad

 

[1911 guy]

Find a 2 3/4" 1-1 1/4 ounce load that your gun patterns well.

Pattern the gun, adjust POA of any optic (if applicable).

Keep him shooting the light loads until turkey time. No point in inducing a flinch. If he gets a shot at a tom, he'll barely notice it.

 

[Jackal]

Contrary to modern popular belief, it does not take a semi-truck load of shot to kill a turkey. Use a reduced load, go easy on the kid and eat a turkey.

 

[tomturkey]

I agree with 1911 guy and Jackal

When he is practicing have him do it with lighter loads. All he is practicing for is to get his POA right as he will be shooting the shot gun like a rifle.

Let him shoot one of the hunting loads just so he will know what to expect. I did this with my grandson when he was 12 and he had not problem handling the heavier loads.

I choose 3 inch Remington Premier magnums in #6 shot. They shot well in the Model 66 20 GA. Ithaca Super Single I bought for him when he was 4 weeks old. There is still part of the original box of 20 ga. as he switched to my model 12 heavy duck after a few years.

 

[Taurus 617 CCW]

The last 3 turkeys I took using #4 shot from a stevens double barrel shotgun. No magnums or specialty loads, just plain old #4's.

 

[ironworkerwill]

Shoot a lighter load.

There's no rule that says you have to shoot a 3" mag to kill a bird

No magnums or specialty loads, just plain old #4's.

+1 on both

 

[tomturkey]

The advantage with using #6 shot is that there are way more shot in a shell than with #4. Making for a denser pattern to get the job done.

 

[TimSr]

I agree with just not shooting 3" magnums. Even if he never shoots them before a turkey hunt, he will have a built in pschological flinch based on his expectations.

"Turkey loads" are a new phenomenon to me. Regular #4 game loads used to be the standard. 3" magnums were for taking geese a half mile away out of the sky or to compensate for lame steel shot.

 

[cammogunner]

ok thanks for the info i think i have an old slip on recoil pad i could slide on the gun to and i might look into just haveing him use 7 1/2 shot on the range and then just letting him use the turkey load on the hunt itself is that a decent plan?

 

[ironworkerwill]

He really needs to pattern what he will be shooting in the field. This will build confidence and establish a known kill range.

 

[oneounceload]

Maybe practice your calling techniques to bring the bird in closer and use a normal load - even 7-1/2s at a decent range head shot can kill a turkey.

 

[1911 guy]

The kid is 12 years old. He most likely can't pattern a shotgun anyway. That's the O.P.'s job as the adult.

Using the familiar 7 1/2 shot, set the optic or sights to point of impact and put a tight choke tube in it. Have him shoot this at the range. Before the hunt, shift POA to POI with the turkey load. I agree with the 2 3/4" #4 shot.

Also, be aware that the slip on recoil pad may make the shotgun too long for him, exacerbating the recoil issue.

As experienced hunters, we do certain things because it is responsible to do so. Like patterning ad knowing the limits of a load. We take on those responsibilities for others when we are introducing them to the sport.

 

[Taurus 617 CCW]

You could try some of those Shoot N See turkey targets to get an idea of his shooting abilities at the range. Calling the birds in closer will not only help him with the shot but it will also build the skill of keeping still until you get a good shot.

 

[Steve C]

What is all this talk about shot size and recoil? Just because many commercial 7_1/2 shells are lower recoil has nothing to do with shot size and everything to do with oz of shot and vel (dram equivalent) of the load.

Larger lead shot is needed for larger birds to penetrate the heavier plumage and mass, #4, #6 or split and the difference with #5.

As mentioned you don't need a magnum shell to kill a turkey. If you load your own shells or know someone who does just drop in 4,5, or 6 shot in a 1 oz 3 dram or 1-1/8 oz 3-1/4 Dram Equivalent trap load to give the kid something with the same recoil as those 7-1/8 oz practice loads and the shot velocity will be the same as what you get from a mag load arox 1,240 fps. Use full choke and keep shots up to 30 yds or less. Typical 1-1/4 oz Pheasant load runs 1,350 to 1,450 fps and has pretty good recoil slap.

 

[tomturkey]

What is all this talk about shot size and recoil? Just because many commercial 7_1/2 shells are lower recoil has nothing to do with shot size and everything to do with oz of shot and vel (dram equivalent) of the load.

Larger lead shot is needed for larger birds to penetrate the heavier plumage and mass, #4, #6 or split and the difference with #5.

As mentioned you don't need a magnum shell to kill a turkey. If you load your own shells or know someone who does just drop in 4,5, or 6 shot in a 1 oz 3 dram or 1-1/8 oz 3-1/4 Dram Equivalent trap load to give the kid something with the same recoil as those 7-1/8 oz practice loads and the shot velocity will be the same as what you get from a mag load arox 1,240 fps. Use full choke and keep shots up to 30 yds or less. Typical 1-1/4 oz Pheasant load runs 1,350 to 1,450 fps and has pretty good recoil slap.

It does not take large shot to penetrate the neck of a turkey. The skin on the neck/head is thin. They are not hard to kill when shot where they should be shot, in the neck/head.

You should be shooting at the head and neck of a turkey not the body. Body shooting a turkey is looking for a wounded bird running off.

 

[cammogunner]

so if i were to let him hunt with 7 1/2s could he use my hs strut undertaker choke?

 

[ironworkerwill]

The kid is 12 years old. He most likely can't pattern a shotgun anyway. That's the O.P.'s job as the adult.

Ok, sure. The load range needs to be determined.

O.P.
There has been tons of turkeys killed with 7 1/2 shot, that choke is good. I personally like larger shot but smaller shot has more pellets per oz and may be better for the youngster.

 

[tomturkey]

I would not go any smaller than #6 shot. I do not think that the 7 1/2's would have the weight to get good penetration. I doubt that 7 1/2's would have less recoil than #6. For practice he could shoot low brass 9's in skeet loads for that matter. Practice is to get him to learn to get the pattern where it needs to be.

Another thing about shooting a shot gun like a rifle is that he needs to keep his cheek on the stock. Lift the head when you squeeze the trigger and the shot will go high. How do I know?

Do not ask.

 

[urbaneruralite]

7 1/2s will work fine out to about 35 yards IF the gun and choke will hold the pattern well enough. You'll have to shoot paper with the shell, gun, choke combination at increasing distance to see how far it works. It will probably be less than thirty yards with a dove load. That is fine if you're OK with not shooting further.

Me, I'd practice with light target loads and use a turkey shell on the actual bird. Try the Federal Heavyweight #7 low recoil version if you have to use a 12 gauge. Heavy 7s hit like lead 5s.

Ten year old girl:



She used a very lightweight youth sized 20 gauge with a full-house turkey load. She still doesn't know that gun kicks like a mule, because she has only shot the turkey load at a turkey. I, on the other hand, hated it the whole time I was patterning it.

 

[TimSr]

I would not go any smaller than #6 shot. I do not think that the 7 1/2's would have the weight to get good penetration. I doubt that 7 1/2's would have less recoil than #6. For practice he could shoot low brass 9's in skeet loads for that matter. Practice is to get him to learn to get the pattern where it needs to be.

I'm with you on this. I don't understand why it has to be one extreme or the other. There's a lot in between 3" mag turkey loads and #7 1/2 clay pigeon loads. As you mentioned, the head and neck is the proper target area, and you need to be able to crack through the skull to get to the tiny pea brain. It's thin, but but #4 or #5 will do a better job of getting in there. 6 would be the minimum I'd go. Shot size has nothing to do with recoil. Normal #4, #5, or #6 game loads will work nicely.

 

[urbaneruralite]

When you need to use a lighter payload of shot, you need to go down in size to maintain pattern density. You're looking for upwards of 80-100 evenly spaced strikes in a 10" circle at the maximum distance you will shoot. A light load of #4s just doesn't have enough pellets to hold a pattern like you can with smaller pellets. There's no point in using bigger pellets if you can't get them to the bird.

 

[Bexar]

Contrary to modern popular belief, it does not take a semi-truck load of shot to kill a turkey. Use a reduced load, go easy on the kid and eat a turkey.

Yep...you're not killing the turkey...just his head.

 

[tiklikker]

I'd give him a pass on the 3 1/2s and shoot maybe High Brass #6 2 3/4" max. for now.
My concern would be a flinch and a miss, coupled with a real whack from the 3 1/2" may result in turning him away from the next hunt. What's the harm in waiting till he's maybe 14 for the bigger loads. I'm 6'4 270 and my first sitting patterning shot with 3/12" Heavy Shot turkey loads dumped my cap right over my face. Not painful, but surprising.