how tight is tight enough for turkey

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

mod700

Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
73
Location
Mississippi
I have a 12 ga 870 express and plan to buy some 5 shot 4 shot and maybe 6 to pattern as well as a some oz differences......This is my first year i'll be hunting by myself for turkeys with my own gun ect. So how tight of a pattern do i need at a certain distance to have an effective and clean kill? how many pellets need to be in the vital areas to put a gobbler out of business? Please post some pics too of some "borderline" patterns so i'll know what i'm lookin for. Thanks
 
NWTF promotes a maximum of a 40 yard shot to ethically kill a turkey. This distance can increase if you use a 3 1/2" shell, though. Prime pattern is 100 pellets in a 10" circle at 40 yards. You should get about 25% pellets in the 10" circle with 2 oz #6. 25% for #5s and 35% for #6s. The lighter weights will have less knock down power than heavier shots so you should see more pellets in the 10" circle with heavier shots.

Be sure to use every combination you can with your chokes and shells. You can have a really poor pattern with one shell but if you change the choke you could end up with the best pattern your gun will ever shoot. I like to shoot a full choke with my Beretta as I found that is how I get my best patterns. I don't have any pictures though.
 
What I do is this: Buy some of those targets which have a turkey head and neck on them, and show very detailed and explicitly the smaller inner diagram of the spinal cord and brain, within the head and neck. I pattern and make sure that I have a minimum of 10-12 pellets actually hitting the spinal cord or brain at 25-30 yards. Then I figure I'm good to 40 yards, since 3-5 pellets into the CNS is enough to make them flop, at least long enough to get a second shot.

Not an exact science, but it works for me. Only turkey that ever got away after a shot was a 43 yard shot with 6 shot, which I didn't realize was that far until after the fact - also I think I just made a poor shot - not the fault of the gun or pattern. If you're gonna shoot past 35 or 40 yards, then I recommend using 4 or 5 shot instead of 6. I do use an "extra-full turkey" choke, and 2-oz, 3.0" loads.
 
Try pattern testing with this.
http://www.wildturkeyzone.com/hunting/target.htm

At whatever maximum range you can reliably put some shot in the spine and/or brain, the turkey is DRT.

I also would go with #5 shot.
#6 will run out of pellet energy to penetrate & break the spine before you run out of pattern density to put shot on target.

#4 will run out of pattern before you run out of pellet energy.

rc
 
I shoot turkey head targets also, and the max distance i can put 5-7 pellets in the head and neck is my max distance to shoot. I shoot Remington Hevi-shot 1 5/8oz. No.6 shot. The hevi-shot pellets are heavier than lead. According to Remington that gives you 26% more pellet energy @ 40 yards which translates into better penetration. So you get the penetration of no.4 shot with the pellet count of no.6 shot. My max distance is 47 yards.
 
I go by the nine pellet rule in the head and neck target. I have been told that a 4-6 shot mixture is a good turkey load but I have never done it myself I just go with 4 shot.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top