Range Trip...

[old frank]

Yesterday I went to the outdoor range where I am a member. I actually went to test a new 9mm bullet for function and reliability, but decided with Turkey season three weeks away I needed to shoot the shotgun.

This range has large high  bermed three sided bays (22) and when you go to shoot you just take over one. I picked a large one that I knew I could get 40 yards shooting diagonally.

Remington 870 youth with Shurshot stock and Mueller red dot. I already knew it was a deadly combination so I mainly shot to be sure the red dot was still on.
I shot my normal load of Fed HW #7 and also tried some #6's. I also had some Hevi 5 and 6 to shoot. Of course at 39.5 measured yards the Fed HW were the best but I already knew that.

But what made me think is after I put up six turkey targets and walked to different positions and fired different shells. I am not sure how 40 yards became sacred, I don't think I have ever killed one beyond 25-30. I know different states terrain come into play but in the Georgia spring woods, 40 yards is a long way and you would never see a turkey that far unless you were in a pasture or maybe on a straight logging trail.
At 25 yards every single shell I fired would have killed a turkey dead, lots of killing pellets in the head and neck.
I wish I  had some 20ga lead turkey loads with me to try. They probably would have done fine too.

Makes me think we get to wrapped up in this 40-50 yard killing distance, and it is great for the times when a big one won't come any closer and it may allow you a killing shot but I don't know how necessary is. Especially with the cost and availability issues lately.


I like to get the birds in close, just like I do when deer hunting. Just something to think about while we wait for the season to finally get here.

[gophert]

100 pellets in a 10" circle at 40 yards is just considered the safe ethical distance and pattern to kill a turkey.  To me it's more of a way to compare loads and chokes.  I hate when people post patterns at 30 yards or 35 yards because it doesn't tell us anything other than pretty much all loads kill at 30.  If it's good at 40, it probably going to be good at a closer distance. 

I don't think there is a hunter in the woods that would rather shoot one at 40 verses 25 or 30.  I hunt turkey's for the enjoyment with friends and family.  I like them in close, especially since I video all hunts.  However, I do like to pull the trigger and it's nice to know that in a last resort, I know what my gun will do. 

[FullChoke]

I meant to say something about this earlier and forgot. Comparing shotgun patterns at the distance of 40 yards is a carry over from the NWTF Still-Target Shoot rules which they adopted from recommendations by the Turkey Hunting Safety Task Force as the proper range to ethically and cleanly kill a turkey with a shotgun; shells, gauges and chokes not withstanding. Counting the shot in a 10" circle is a recommendation from the NWTF as the initial step in patterning a shotgun. The Still-Target Shoots use a more stringent pellet count rule with the fixed 3" target circle as the next step. Being able to compare one combination to another by standardizing distance and spread is where we really start to get valuable information that benefits us all.

The capability of modern shotgun shells/shot material/choke tubes to increase the yardage of delivering a one-shot kill on a turkey should not be our goal. The increase in pattern density and even pellet distribution centered on where we are aiming should be what we, as responsible hunters, are working towards. 

[Eric Gregg]

I meant to say something about this earlier and forgot. Comparing shotgun patterns at the distance of 40 yards is a carry over from the NWTF Still-Target Shoot rules which they adopted from recommendations by the Turkey Hunting Safety Task Force as the proper range to ethically and cleanly kill a turkey with a shotgun; shells, gauges and chokes not withstanding. Counting the shot in a 10" circle is a recommendation from the NWTF as the initial step in patterning a shotgun. The Still-Target Shoots use a more stringent pellet count rule with the fixed 3" target circle as the next step. Being able to compare one combination to another by standardizing distance and spread is where we really start to get valuable information that benefits us all.

The capability of modern shotgun shells/shot material/choke tubes to increase the yardage of delivering a one-shot kill on a turkey should not be our goal. The increase in pattern density and even pellet distribution centered on where we are aiming should be what we, as responsible hunters, are working towards.