Posted on 03/06/2016 1:38:36 PM PST by w1n1
I am a spring turkey addict; I simply love to hunt them. From my first experience in 1964 to this day, hunting spring gobblers is my favorite pastime.
THERE HAVE BEEN SOME WONDERFUL advances in the shotgun and shotgun-ammo world for the turkey hunter, thanks to the sport’s great popularity. A shotgun for turkey hunting differs from the standard field scattergun in that we’re looking for a gun that delivers a consistent, small, concentrated pattern of shot at a nominal 40-yard range.
The premise may seem simple, but the engineering that has to take place to build such a gun is complicated, and is made further so by the construction of the ammunition. In the old days, before the overshot polymer wad cup, the shotgun shell contained powder, a couple of cushion wads and the shot - end of story.
Now we have found that the genius invention of interchangeable choke tubes (versus the fixed-choke barrel) may spin or strip the wad, causing wide dispersion of the shot column. This may be perfect for quail on the wing, but not what we want for wild turkey.
SINCE I HUNT with traditional single- or double-barrel guns, one of the best innovations, in my opinion, has been the invention of the new Flitecontrol wad, (which defies traditional wisdom and breaks at the rear first) and Heavyweight shot from Federal, which have given some of my old shotguns new life.
FINDING THE GUN/AMMO TURKEY combination is complicated because it's nearly impossible to get a smooth-barrel gun to pattern multi-projectile ammunition consistently.
MY WORK WITH FACTORY AMMUNITION indicates that if your gun, regardless of gauge, will put at least 10 pellets – and the more, the better – into a 3-inch circle at 40 yards every time, and those pellets at 40 yards will penetrate a plastic 20-ounce soft-drink bottle, you have a 40-yard turkey gun. Read the rest of the turkey technology story here.
I get my best patterns from Federal 12ga. 3”, 1 3/4 oz. #4 shot.
My 10.22 will kill a lot of bottles out to about 60 yards. ;-)
Awe, I thought this was going to be about taking out Erdogan!
“Cin I git me a huntin’ license here?”
Don’t think ZQ1 loads #4. Add to that their 9mm burns dirty and that green gunk the use on the primers makes it a pain to reload. I don’t need any Turkey ammo.
My best patterns are from a box of Western Super X paper hulls from the 50’s, 16 gauge 1 1/4 ounce lead #2 from a 1914 Browning A-5. The shot string must be like bathtub chain. Of course, getting more when I run out may be difficult.
Effin and The One can go to CampDavid and shoot them some golfs.
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