Turkey hunting forum for turkey hunting tips

So, I've been "rebuilding" my old Mossberg 20 ga into a dedicated turkey gun. I've killed several birds with this gun as a young man with a modified barrel and Winchester Double X #5

I decided to go to a 22" threaded barrel and a Carlson LBXR .568 choke.

I was zeroing the red dot yesterday and these were the patterns I was getting at 40 yards shooting Federal Premium TSS #9.

Now, for someone used to shooting #5 shot, this pattern looks awesome but it seems from my research that a lot of guys are getting much more consistent patterns with TSS at 40 yards than this.

I feel like this is a huntable pattern but maybe I'm missing something. I don't want to be so tight at 40 that I'm shooting bullet holes at 10.

Any advice or thoughts are welcomed!

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240309/b1680911b8bbfba0d93eb1c4eb85d4eb.jpg)


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It's most assuredly a huntable pattern but my first thought is that you might be slightly overconstricted.


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Quote from: ChesterCopperpot on March 09, 2024, 10:31:52 AM
It's most assuredly a huntable pattern but my first thought is that you might be slightly overconstricted.


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I'm new to the TSS game but I did read that it doesn't like super tight chokes. Maybe the .568 is blowing the pattern out some. I'll probably just hunt with it this year since I've got a couple boxes of this stuff already and TSS ain't cheap


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 :OGturkeyhead:

Yer on your way to getting her really dialed in. That stuff definitely ain't cheep good luck getting it just right,, post em up.

Ditch the Federals. Every gun is different, but .568 should not be too tight. Try some Foxtrot or Apex 9s and watch that pattern tighten up.

That turkey,s coming out of the woods over your shoulder with that pattern. Range find some landmarks for references when Boss Tom struts in at 40 and nail him. :OGturkeyhead:

I actually agree with the last post, there is nothing getting out of that pattern inside of 40-45 yards if you are doing your job aiming. But even you can improve that pattern as far as the ten count, I personally at times wonder after doing this a long time if maybe your current pattern is more what a man needs at reasonable hunting ranges. See a lot of patterns with 330-350 in the ten with a 20 gauge, but sparse in the outer 20 and folks are missing turkeys more than they care to admit.

I would personally put the federal up and try either the Fox Trot, Verdict, Apex, Viper or Salt Creek if you cannot get a good handload from someone near where you live. Your choke is probably fine at nearly a .570 constriction. If you do find that you need/want to try another choke, you would be hard pressed to beat the IC in either a .562 or.570 (the .570 is usually a little better in the 20 coverage), or a Trulock Precision Hunter in either a .575 or a .585 (the .585 will also be better more times than not in the outer 20 coverage), or either the Patternmaster CBT in .565 or the Anaconda Striker in .570. I have shot all of them in many configurations, and those chokes will usually outshoot the rest of the stuff on the market on average. The RRoberts is a solid choke, but it cost a few dollars more than all listed above and wont outshoot any of those I listed on most days. For the money, it is really hard to do better than the 53-63 dollar (depending on porting or not) cost of a Trulock Precision Hunter.   

I have been shooting TSS for a long time, and have chased high numbers in the past.. now I go for patterns like yours. There is not a bird that will walk out of that.. if you want tighter, open the choke up to .575

To each his own but that is the kind of pattern I am looking for at 40 yards. It's going to be tough to find much better.

plenty of shot in the turkey for sure. I'd shoot one at 20-25 yards and see if you are happy with that

Very nice pattern.

Kill them all day with that setup.

Turkey nuggets!