Perfect range for you?

[g8rvet]

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Yup. 20-30 yards. And none of this watching him thump my decoy stuff. When he’s in range, I’m shooting. Too much of a chance Murphy will show up.

LOL  I did that once.  He was putting on a show in a field and he finally came over to check the hen out (me).  He strutted around looking and looking for her, gobbling and putting on a show.  He was my last bird for the year, so I decided to enjoy it.  He suddenly semi-spooked on something across the field (I could not see what) and ducked his head and was heading out. I shot him with his head stretched low, kind of sideways to me and I won't ever do it again. I killed him easily, but there were a bunch of pellets in the breast. 

[Brad_Colvin]

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I take the first good shot I have once he's inside 40.

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[bigriverbum]

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once he's within 40 i make my move first chance i can to get the bead on him without detection. then it's just a matter of a clear shot. most of my birds have been shot at about 25 yards

shot a few at 10 yards and closer but that was just luck of a kamikazee tom and by chance being hidden perfectly from them

i'm terrible at gauging distance so i hate hunting fields. my only misses have been shooting at a bird that was further away than i thought

[bigriverbum]

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a tom i shot last year was running in and going to keep running right on past me. i was squealing on my mouth call to get him to stop. i won't take a running shot. he stopped at about 10 yards thank god

[nativeks]

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I like them close. 20 is about perfect. I cant remember the last time I shot a birds over 25 yards. 02 maybe.

[chatterbox]

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25-30.
Love watching the show before I feed’em a hot load of TSS 9’s!


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[bbcoach]

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With todays loads and chokes, I'll say 30.  Old school lead and older chokes, I would say 20 to 25.  This is with a 12 gauge comparison.

[Gooserbat]

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Honestly now that I'm shooting tss I usually shoot them between 30-40.

[davisd9]

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First shot I have and preferably between 25-40 yards.

[Gobbler428]

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First clean shot between 25 and 35 yards is my sweet spot.  I have missed too many giving them warning shots inside 20 yards or so.

[Muzzy61]

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Yup. 20-30 yards. And none of this watching him thump my decoy stuff. When he’s in range, I’m shooting. Too much of a chance Murphy will show up.

^^^^
Same with me.

[GobbleNut]

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I would say that 30 yards plus or minus is optimal for the gun and loads I shoot.  I will confidently shoot them both much closer and farther away, but that approximate range suits me just fine. 

Now, if I was shooting a gun with the 40-yard patterns that I have seen from some of the guys on here, I would never let a gobbler get closer than thirty yards,...and would most likely be shooting when he got to forty.  I personally do not believe I would be much good at shooting a gobbler at very close range with what amounts to a rifle. With my abilities, I need a little "leeway" provided by a more open pattern.   

[reflexl]

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I have shot them farther than I like but my perfect shot is less than 30 yards. I like them up close and I am careful with my really tight guns. Most of mine have been 20-25. Closest shot I ever had was 18'.

[AppalachianHollers]

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My pattern with Winchester Double X HV and a .665 IC is best at 30 yards. Starts getting too tight for comfort if he’s bobbing his head around much closer that that. Can’t imagine I’d choose to let him get closer than 30 after I pattern the Win Longbeards I picked up.


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[deerhunt1988]

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Guess I'm an outlier. I take the first shot he gives me once he comes within range. Too much can go wrong too quickly when you let them keep coming.

Last year my average distance was 41 yards out of a bunch of birds. Closest was 22 yards. Four were 25 or less.

2019 season average shot distance was 35 yards. Closest was 17. Four were 25 or less.