New to the site and new to the 20ga scene.

[chode2235]

Hey guys,

I've been lurking around here for a while but wanted to introduce myself and ask a couple questions.  I've been a pretty avid turkey hunter my whole life and remember going along with my dad when they first opened the season up here in MN.  I've always been hunting with my 870 12ga and have really had some good success with it.

Long story short, my wife has finally gotten into turkey hunting with me and will be carrying her own gun along this spring.  We opted for a Franchi Affinity Compact.  We'll be out shooting with it this weekend to get it broke in and understand how well it will pattern some turkey loads.

Couple questions for you guys:

Chokes - how good is the out of the box full choke going to be, and which of the aftermarket chokes have the best luck with these guns?  With the 20 gauge, how many pellets do I want in my 10" circle?

Ammo - I'll want to be shooting some sort of non-toxic heavy shot.  A lot of love for the Federal around here (I assume its the 1 1/2oz of shot?), is that the consensus or are there others I should be looking at?

Optics:  I shoot with my double bead, and have had good luck.  Should I be looking at red dot or something to help her out.  I really want her to have the best chance of success.  Those of you with optics, does it make a big difference for you and it is something you should get a new(er) shooter into right away.  Also, we'll want to be able to take it off pretty easily as this will be her upland gun too. 

Anything else I should know about shooting a turkey with a 20 that I haven't asked?  Thanks guys.

[savduck]

Welcome. You'll be happy with a properly set up 20. Most people will recommend a 100 in a ten inch ring at 40 yards. You can easily get that and much more properly set up. Do you want that scull crusher pattern in the 150 to 180 range, mid range 120 to 140, or would you be happy with the 90 to 120 range?

I had a buddy that shot the federals in an M2 factory full that shot 75 to 90 type pattern at forty....dead gobbler every day of the week. Personally I would strive for more just because I know the load is capable.  Just be ready to possibly go through some chokes with the a Federals. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes it takes a while to find the right choke. Consistent performers for that load have been the new trulock, sumtoy 562-5, and the tru glo SSX. Yes it is the 1.5 oz load

I would recommend optics. Most all of the new turkey chokes shoot extremely tight at closer ranges. The optics may be needed due to how precise you need to be.

[Hayudog]

Welcome to the club.  Sounds like you are on the right track.  My history with a few young shooters last year was that they missed close in birds.  My set up for newer shooters this year is a Burris FFIII.  Time will tell if its the right choice.  Can't be a bad move to have a red dot for her to use.  Run a few loads of Federal HW 7's,  I think you'll find a bird getter.  Be careful you  may start liking her 20, and you'll need one too.

[gophert]

Welcome to the madness of shooting a "pee shooter" at turkeys.  I love the look I get when I tell people I turkey hunt with a 20 ga and #9 shot.  Use the search function as I am sure you will find all the info you need and if not, let us know.

You have probably already seen this thread, but it may be of value to you. 

http://oldgobbler.com/Forum/index.php/topic,29953.15.html

[redarrow]

Welcome to OG and the 20 ga. club. You will be happy with both.Factory choke may work fine. You gotta shoot it to know for sure. Lots of great aftermarket chokes out there. Sum Toy.PG. IC etc.I shoot a 4x scope because of my eyes.(Too many surgeries).Optics are a plus but not something you gotta have unless your vision is a problem. Im shooting Nitro 7s and get 175 in the 10.If you can consistently put a minimum of 100 with whatever your shooting you are good to go.If your gonna shoot lead I would limit my shots to 30 yds. HTL is a proven killer at 40 however.

[davisd9]

I bought the SumToy 562-3 for shooting Hevi Shot.  I am not going to be able to test the pattern until next weekend but I will post my results.  William is a good guy to work with and he makes his choke to the shell you want to shoot. If you are not satisfied he will help you out.

[chode2235]

Thanks for the responses, keep them coming.

We'll be breaking in the gun and getting a good idea of how the stock choke will shoot some turkey loads.

I am incredibly envious of this gun.  I switched to a 20 for my slug gun several years ago for the weight, and this affinity is almost 2 lbs lighter than my 11-87 (of course those rifled slug barrels are heavy too).  I see one of these for my personal use in my future - heck, its a lot easier if we both use the same rounds and the same gun, right?

7 vs 6 shot for the federal heavyweight?  Also, what do I need to know about ported choke tubes and the flight control wad?

Good to be posting on here.  You guys are incredibly helpful, I really appreciate it.

[davisd9]

In my 835 I shoot 6s, but in the 11-87 20 ga I shoot 7s.  The 7s will do that job with a good pattern at 40 yards.  Them federals hit like a hammer, but because of the FCW they are like a slug at under 30, if you go with them get a good sight.  I decided on the Hevi 7s and going to pattern the mag blends.

Wish I could be more help on what chokes work well in that gun but I did not research that gun when I decided to get my 20 ga.  They say that the FCW does not like a ported choke, but many people used the TruGlo SSX with great results.  Pure Gold also makes a choke, the tempest, that is designed for the FCW, as does SumToy customs.  If you go with Hevi then SumToy makes a choke for it and you cannot go wrong with the PG or IC, mainly will just have to figure constriction.

Remember that even if it is the exact same gun, one might live one choke and the other another choke, but once you get one right you will have a direction to start with the next.  Good Luck!

[chode2235]

Tried a few different turkey rounds this weekend.  All lead, as my local shop had a very limited selection of turkey ammo.  Conclusion is that the full choke that comes with the gun won't quite cut it, as even at 30-35 yards the pattern was way to spread out.

I'm looking at either a sumtoy or a pure gold, as it looks like a lot of people have good success shooting the federals out of these chokes.

Any feedback on this direction.

Also, still not clear on federal heavyweight 6 vs 7.

[BrowningGuy88]

The Federal HWT's in #6 are WAY overkill at 40 yards. You actually limit your distance with 6's over 7's in HWT because you run out of pattern with 6's quicker. I shoot #6's in H-13 and HWT out of my 870 20 gauge and SumToy 562 with extremely good results.


If you have to order your ammo anyway, get the 7's. They will give you 40 yards plus a misjudgement factor. With the right choke and the 7's you should easily break 150 pellets in the 10" circle at 40 yards. I am running 135 average with H-13 6's and 122 average with HWT 6's.

[CrustyRusty]

I just shot HW 7 today out of a Hevi13 choke out of my bps and got 168 avg
With the same choke and hevi #7 i averaged 152

The hevii13 choke worked well for me and both patterns were very even but the FHW 7 getting the nod for me.