On this site are many, many good topics on patterning your shotgun.
PLEASE take the time to read some of the how to's.
Take the time now, while still waiting for the spring thaw.
Then spend a morning or afternoon and pattern YOUR shotgun with YOUR load.
No need to get into all the chokes and loads and all that complicated stuff, if you are a beginner.
That will all come with time.
There is nothing like getting all this good advice, including a gobbler in range, then miss, or worse, wound a bird. You must know where your gun is shooting and what your limits are. Know your gun and your limits, then go have fun.
:fud: :OGani:
X2. With today's chokes and loads, most shotguns shoot VERY, VERY tight patterns especially at close range. We aren't shooting our Grandfather's full choke barrels and paper 2 3/4 inch #4's. It is imperative that we know what the POA/POI impact is so we can correct it if it isn't shooting correctly. We also need to pattern our turkey guns, just like we do our rifles, so we know what they are doing at different ranges. We owe this to the turkeys we hunt.
X3 to both. ...And here's another hint: There have been more turkeys missed at close range by hunters shooting too tight a choke than there have been by hunters shooting a less-tight, more forgiving choke at what most would consider reasonable shooting distances. Shoot a gun with a choke that suits your skill level and your ability to contain your excitement when a gobbler is standing there at ten to twenty yards.
Quote from: GobbleNut on February 06, 2017, 02:31:12 PM
X3 to both. ...And here's another hint: There have been more turkeys missed at close range by hunters shooting too tight a choke than there have been by hunters shooting a less-tight, more forgiving choke at what most would consider reasonable shooting distances. Shoot a gun with a choke that suits your skill level and your ability to contain your excitement when a gobbler is standing there at ten to twenty yards.
Agree 100%. We have all got caught up in the "how many holes can I make in a 10" circle at 40" contest while in reality very few of us actually shoot birds that far. pattern your gun at ranges from 15-30 yds looking for a good, dense,evenly spaced killing pattern. shooting softball sized patterns at 40 yds is fun on paper,but usually results in nothing more than a turkey that will be a little hard of hearing for a while when he shows up at 15 yds and you miss.
I agree to a certain extent,but would rather miss a turkey up close than at 40yds. Reason being close up =clean miss(more than not).....further away= peppered turkey. Know the capabilities of yourself and your gun and work on being able to judge yardage. Grab a stick and put it into the ground (stepping off 20yds or better yet rangefinder)before you set up if your setup allows. Sometimes it's the little things you do or don't do that either lead to your success or failure /clean kill or wounded turkey..
A good place to start.
http://oldgobbler.com/Forum/index.php/topic,30801.0.html
:fud:
Yep all you need to know is how far you can shoot effectively and where is your POI. Print out a few turkey head targets and shoot at different ranges. Should have at least a good handful of pellets in the head/neck consistently at your max range. And if the bird is coming closer, let him get closer.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quote from: catman529 on February 12, 2017, 12:38:46 AM
Yep all you need to know is how far you can shoot effectively and where is your POI. Print out a few turkey head targets and shoot at different ranges. Should have at least a good handful of pellets in the head/neck consistently at your max range. And if the bird is coming closer, let him get closer.
Excellent summary!
No matter what choke/shell combo I use, all of my guns throw the same pattern occasionally.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/olesixbeards/Shotgunpattern-1.jpg)
Quote from: guesswho on February 12, 2017, 12:37:38 PM
No matter what choke/shell combo I use, all of my guns throw the same pattern occasionally.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/olesixbeards/Shotgunpattern-1.jpg)
:TooFunny: We must be shooting the same guns and loads...
Quote from: guesswho on February 12, 2017, 12:37:38 PM
No matter what choke/shell combo I use, all of my guns throw the same pattern occasionally.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/olesixbeards/Shotgunpattern-1.jpg)
mine too. At least once a season. Which is another point to bring up...practice shooting your gun and make sure you don't flinch. I don't know if it was flinching or target panic or just the adrenaline of having a gobbler in range, but I have too often missed chip shots because I yanked the trigger. Burned my butt twice last year on places I had never set foot before and managed to call up gobblers the first time. My gun shoots better than I do.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quote from: guesswho on February 12, 2017, 12:37:38 PM
No matter what choke/shell combo I use, all of my guns throw the same pattern occasionally.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/olesixbeards/Shotgunpattern-1.jpg)
Now that there is just plain funny...
Three basic reasons to pattern:
1) See where the gun is shooting, and thus where your hold-point needs to be on the bird (especially considering the tight pattern you are shooting).
2) See if the patterns you are shooting are sufficient (or possibly excessively tight) for most of the distances you are shooting. I went back to my factory full choke after patterning my gun, as it puts a sufficient pattern out to past 40 yards, and gives me a bit more room for error at closer ranges. (Last year, I shot just a touch high on a bird in very good range, and barely took the top of his head off, any tighter pattern, and I likely would have missed him).
3) Figure out the maximum distance you can conceivably and consistently kill a bird.
Won't say this is for every beginner but for the terrain and area and how I hunt we make our sets to kill birds at the 15-17 yards with the shotgun, birds at this range are just dead. We do make sure guns are dead-on at 15 yards (our range), and we do have scopes on every gun to assure this. The young lady killed her bird during a Saturday mid-morning hunt and Abby filled her tag on this hard gobbling jake! DSD Did it again during Youth Season.
MK M GOBL
Quote from: MK M GOBL on February 14, 2017, 10:10:20 PM
Won't say this is for every beginner but for the terrain and area and how I hunt we make our sets to kill birds at the 15-17 yards with the shotgun, birds at this range are just dead. We do make sure guns are dead-on at 15 yards (our range), and we do have scopes on every gun to assure this. The young lady killed her bird during a Saturday mid-morning hunt and Abby filled her tag on this hard gobbling jake! DSD Did it again during Youth Season.
MK M GOBL
Way to go introducing so many youth to a great sport!!! :you_rock:
Good information on this series of posts. I would only add one suggestion. Set up a series of cans on sticks at different ranges and shoot low brass shells at them. This does two things builds confidence and familiarity. Finally shoot a few of your favorite turkey loads. Also does wonders for those of suffering from the dreaded flinch. I will be doing my shooting this weekend and will give everyone a break from my turkey call practicing.
Quote from: 1iagobblergetter on February 14, 2017, 10:27:33 PM
Quote from: MK M GOBL on February 14, 2017, 10:10:20 PM
Won't say this is for every beginner but for the terrain and area and how I hunt we make our sets to kill birds at the 15-17 yards with the shotgun, birds at this range are just dead. We do make sure guns are dead-on at 15 yards (our range), and we do have scopes on every gun to assure this. The young lady killed her bird during a Saturday mid-morning hunt and Abby filled her tag on this hard gobbling jake! DSD Did it again during Youth Season.
MK M GOBL
Way to go introducing so many youth to a great sport!!! :you_rock:
Thanks, way too much fun with the kids!! This was a Double Blind set we made with the Double Bulls and videoed everything Dad & Daughter in one blind and setup in the other.
MK M GOBL
Another tip about patterning...
When patterning for POI/POA (i.e. to see where the gun is shooting and where you are shooting the gun), I use light target loads. No need to punish your self and waste money on those expensive turkey shells...
What I start off doing, is to use the tightest choke I have, and carefully fire three rounds at a red dot on paper. This will pretty much make a hole in the paper as to where your pattern is compared to that red dot.
Once you have your hold-point and where the gun is shooting dialed in, it is time to pattern the gun with the loads and chokes, and the ranges you plan to shoot. (I generally put a pattern at 20 yards and 40 yards).
Several years back, I realized my factory full choke puts out a nice pattern, and that my turkey choke was really tight for anything under 30 yards.
Guys, do you pattern your shotgun every year to make sure "it is still on" like a deer rifle? Or once you get it set up, you leave it alone year after year as long as you still kill turkeys?
Quote from: kjnengr on February 15, 2017, 09:53:15 AM
Guys, do you pattern your shotgun every year to make sure "it is still on" like a deer rifle? Or once you get it set up, you leave it alone year after year as long as you still kill turkeys?
Yes, it takes less than 5 minutes to do and one shell. No sense in wounding a bird because of not doing it.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quote from: kjnengr on February 15, 2017, 09:53:15 AM
Guys, do you pattern your shotgun every year to make sure "it is still on" like a deer rifle? Or once you get it set up, you leave it alone year after year as long as you still kill turkeys?
I should, but do not.
I do not use any special sights outside of the bead on my barrel... As long as I am using the same chokes and loads, nothing will change. If I change loads or chokes, or anything, I will of course have to pattern all over.
Now, if you are using a shotgun scope, or even sights, then yes, you need to pattern every year. If there is a chance that someone or something can bump or change those scopes or sights, there is the possibility (and in my experience the likelihood) that things will get bumped or moved.
One shell from the bench & rest every year just to make sure, all of our guns are scoped and we shoot dead-on at 15 yards to test.
MK M GOBL
Quote from: kjnengr on February 15, 2017, 09:53:15 AM
Guys, do you pattern your shotgun every year to make sure "it is still on" like a deer rifle? Or once you get it set up, you leave it alone year after year as long as you still kill turkeys?
Every year. Plus it gives me a chance to try a new load or 2.
:fud:
^same. I also try a few beyond 40 just to do it and one in very close for the same reason. You can't be too familiar where your gun patterns best. So far, the farthest I ever shot at a turkey was 36 yards and the closest was 13 feet.
Jim
I shot today. More to get new sights sighted in. However have a xxfull choke that came with it and was pretty surprised at the numbers. 30 yrds 315 however 40 yrds done to 151. Now this was just a quick shoot. No Lazer ranger and my 40 shot was only a sheet of paper. However was out of a mossy 535 with the xx full. Shooting long beard 6s 3in.
Yep, lack of patterning is one of the biggest mistakes I see people make (that and failure to properly clean their guns). They'll jump on the forums and see what shells/chokes everyone else likes, go buy them, then don't even bother to check the pattern or POI/POA. They will of course miss an "easy" shot during the season then swear at the new shells/choke and gripe about how much they suck, whereas if they would have taken 20 minutes to pattern their gun and check the POA/POI there wouldn't be an issue. I taught my brother this valuable lesson when I finally convinced him to come with me to pattern our guns a couple years ago. He just assumed that you put a choke on the gun, throw a shell in the chamber, point it at the target, and you got a dead turkey. Well, he shot at the paper, and lo and behold, his POA/POI was about 6 inches to the left (his BPS just has the bead, no optic). Pattern was great but way off the mark. Had he just went out without shooting ahead of time, he would have missed every time not knowing what happened unless he had a lucky BB kill the bird. Now he makes damn sure to go out before the season and check his gun. And his buddies now do it too.
Oh, and yes, I always check my gun before the season. I never take for granted that it's shooting exactly like I left it at the end of last season (do this for my deer rifles too).
Quote from: WisTurk on February 27, 2017, 11:00:16 AM
Well, he shot at the paper, and lo and behold, his POA/POI was about 6 inches to the left (his BPS just has the bead, no optic). Pattern was great but way off the mark. Had he just went out without shooting ahead of time, he would have missed every time not knowing what happened unless he had a lucky BB kill the bird. Now he makes damn sure to go out before the season and check his gun. And his buddies now do it too.
Oh, and yes, I always check my gun before the season. I never take for granted that it's shooting exactly like I left it at the end of last season (do this for my deer rifles too).
I have purchased a few chokes (for wing-shooting mostly), and have yet to have a choke shoot off the mark like that? Was the issue that particular choke, or was the gun shooting off in general? Was the choke defective or misaligned?
Now, with sights or a scope, I would certainly prioritize patterning... But lining up two beads and a previously patterned choke, something unusual would have to happen to make the gun shoot off the mark... Always a good idea, but far less necessary shooting a vented rib with a bead on the end, as compared to any sort of adjustable sighting system...
Quote from: 1iagobblergetter on February 14, 2017, 10:27:33 PM
Quote from: MK M GOBL on February 14, 2017, 10:10:20 PM
Won't say this is for every beginner but for the terrain and area and how I hunt we make our sets to kill birds at the 15-17 yards with the shotgun, birds at this range are just dead. We do make sure guns are dead-on at 15 yards (our range), and we do have scopes on every gun to assure this. The young lady killed her bird during a Saturday mid-morning hunt and Abby filled her tag on this hard gobbling jake! DSD Did it again during Youth Season.
MK M GOBL
Way to go introducing so many youth to a great sport!!! :you_rock:
X2
I take a lot of hunters hunting both as a paid guide and as a mentor. The biggest thing I see wrong is not realizing the difference between point of aim (poa) vs point of impact (poi). As a new hunter if I were on a budget I think you would be better off spending the money set aside for a choke on a quality sight set up like a truglo mag gobble dots or Williams firesights. Use a factory full and Win longbeards. You'll have a 40 yard gun that hits where you aim.
Quote from: Gooserbat on February 28, 2017, 11:34:14 PM
I take a lot of hunters hunting both as a paid guide and as a mentor. The biggest thing I see wrong is not realizing the difference between point of aim (poa) vs point of impact (poi). As a new hunter if I were on a budget I think you would be better off spending the money set aside for a choke on a quality sight set up like a truglo mag gobble dots or Williams firesights. Use a factory full and Win longbeards. You'll have a 40 yard gun that hits where you aim.
Very good advice. Nothing else matters as much as hitting where you are aiming.
:fud: :OGani:
I think the biggest thing that could effect POA to POI is your shims.
Quote from: ruination on March 01, 2017, 10:54:07 AM
I think the biggest thing that could effect POA to POI is your shims.
When considering "aiming" a shotgun at turkeys, I think one of the biggest issues with POA verses POI is not having wood to wood (i.e. having your head down on the stock). You lift your head just a bit, and things change real quick.
I personally like to see what the pattern looks like in a 20 inch circle so I know what he's going to run into if he moves left or right as I squeeze the trigger. I am not a numbers guy by any means, I am a nice evenly distributed, killable pattern from ranges of 15-20 and 40 yards guy. I'm sure its already been mentioned also but shoot your gun from a hunting situation, butt on the ground, back against a tree. Better yet take a shot or two standing, we've all missed and have had to stand up for that follow up shot or have had to use terrain to put a sneak on one and the only shot you have is standing. You need to know how your gun feels against your shoulder in every situation possible so your prepared when adrenaline takes over.
The thing I use when using a blind, is a "shooting stick, or similiar". Works great on beginners with the "jitters".
:fud: :OGani:
This is my Point of aim (red) and Pattern (green) that I like.
Quote from: HFultzjr on March 03, 2017, 09:06:09 AM
This is my Point of aim (red) and Pattern (green) that I like.
So you are looking to have your gun pattern high of your POA? what does this do up close at 15yards and out at 40?
I guess I am more traditional in a centered POA/POI, I do kill birds in the 15-17 yard range (closest has been 4 yards) and up close any little bit you are off can be a missed bird... we pattern w/scope and dead-on at 15yards.
MK M GOBL