To preface I am a 25 year old die hard turkey hunter from Va, that hunts in the mountains of Alleghany and Bath counties. I Recently bought a Benelli M2 American 3"about a month ago for $799. I know this sounds crazy but before I bought this gun I had never patterned my shotgun for turkey hunting. And to tell you the truth it was the last thing on my list to be concerned about when turkey hunting. And until this past turkey season I hadnt missed a gobbler (15 yards I might add). I know that miss wasnt the guns fault (Remington 870) but I wanted a semi auto and found a good deal. Well that miss shed new light on what i should do to prepare for the spring.
- I started reading this addicting forum to find a choke and ammo to use. Well I decided to try Magnum blend with the new Hevi-shot .667 choke;and seemed to have found good results inside a 10inch circle.
30 yards- 349
40 yards- 221
50 yards-116
Pattern did shoot about 5 inches low from POA
:welcomeOG:
You are now hooked and a scope of your choice will fix the POI to POA rapidly.
Welcome to OG! That's a deadly combo. Get you a sight to correct POI and bust some heads!
So far I love the gun; the only thing that I can say bad about it is that it has alot of recoil (noncomforttech stock). My dad is someone who doesnt mind recoil and he even said that it kicks pretty hard. But other than that it throws up really nice, and just feels natural in your hands.
-I hate that I have to get some kind of scope b/c i really like shooting with just the bead. But you gotta do what you gotta do I guess. What kind of sites do you all recommend.
Note: the aluminum reciever isnt drilled or tapped
I would have thought a Benelli M2 would be drilled & tapped. Is it camo dipped ? If it is , look for the indentions under the camo. A B-Square mount will probably work also.
vaturkey :newmascot:
Truglow makes a very solid set of sights that will clamp on the vent. rib, I believe they are named Gobbler Stoppers. I have a set on my 835 and the only flaw is that the front blade fiber optics are not as bright as the rear. They are very easy to install, easy to adjust, and have proved to be very durable for me. You can find them for around forty bucks. I would recommend using loc-tite when installing if you are planning on strictly hunting turkey with it.
Looks like you found a great choke/ammo combination right off the bat. Good luck
:welcomeOG:
Here is a pic of what I have and a link to truglow. I know I did not pay that much for mine.
http://www.truglosights.com/IW_Products.m4p.pvx?;MULTI_ITEM_SUBMIT
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dirt road ninja-
yea I think i may have got lucky and found a good combo with this gun on the first try. In my 870 I was using either Remington Nitro Pb #5's or the hevi shot #5's 1 5/8 oz. Also have you had the truglo site move on you, I am just a little leary of them coming loose with the recoil? If not I am prolly interested in that route
vaturkey
The gun isnt dipped in camo, it just has the max 4 camo on the stock and forearm, I would like to have it dipped in a different camo though.
Good pattern #'s for sure. I'd put a scope on it and be ready for next spring!
Burris Speed Bead
One positive thing with the speed bead seems to be that I will not need to drill/tap the reciever. And I can take it off after turkey season and use the gun for skeet.
Will it stay zeroed after taking it off the gun?
Quote from: VaRidgeRunner on August 31, 2011, 09:12:45 AM
One positive thing with the speed bead seems to be that I will not need to drill/tap the reciever. And I can take it off after turkey season and use the gun for skeet.
Will it stay zeroed after taking it off the gun?
Don't count on it. Always verify POI when installing any sighting device.
I have a camoed bushnell shotgun scope in with the Circle-x crosshair if you are interested. If so then PM me and we can talk. If not that is fine also, good luck.
Quote from: VaRidgeRunner on August 30, 2011, 04:04:29 PM
dirt road ninja-
yea I think i may have got lucky and found a good combo with this gun on the first try. In my 870 I was using either Remington Nitro Pb #5's or the hevi shot #5's 1 5/8 oz. Also have you had the truglo site move on you, I am just a little leary of them coming loose with the recoil? If not I am prolly interested in that route
I have yet to have any problems with it. Since the start of last turkey season I've run at least 30 - 40 3.5" turkey loads thru it without a shift. I have no worries with it in the woods. In my opinion you have a better chance of a scope moving on you then these sights.
Another option is having your tube bent to shoot true to the bead, but then you will have to stick it out with that choke. I have found (at least with my guns) that everytime I try a different choke my POI shifts some.
vaturkey
The gun isnt dipped in camo, it just has the max 4 camo on the stock and forearm, I would like to have it dipped in a different camo though.
That m2 is a nice gun. Hevi shot could only help :icon_thumright: :welcomeOG:
I had my sights come loose on my Sbe one rime after using it for 5you years. They didn't come off, I just noticed it one day.
Tightened back up and good to go. I don't really care for scopes. I use the Williams fire sights on 3 guns.
Best of luck with whatever you use.
Quote from: VaRidgeRunner on August 30, 2011, 03:07:27 PM
So far I love the gun; the only thing that I can say bad about it is that it has alot of recoil (noncomforttech stock). My dad is someone who doesnt mind recoil and he even said that it kicks pretty hard. But other than that it throws up really nice, and just feels natural in your hands.
-I hate that I have to get some kind of scope b/c i really like shooting with just the bead. But you gotta do what you gotta do I guess. What kind of sites do you all recommend.
Note: the aluminum reciever isnt drilled or tapped
I'd really recommend the "Pro Series" from Truglo. They are all metal, have fiber optics, give you a great sight picture and are very durable. They clamp on your rib and are fully windage and elevation adjustable. You can take them off for waterfowl or other seasons and as long as you put them back in the same place, you they'll stay zeroed.
Thanks,
Clark
P.S. A Shooter's Friend Recoil Pad will take care of that recoil for you and they are less than $20.00.
I agree with your choice of Mag Blends. A deadly load. I bought 3 more boxes last saturday.
allaboutshooting,
I really like that truglo proseries site and the versatility it will bring. My only question about the pro series would be how prone the screws are to stripping?
After reading reviews and looking at pictures I like the Burris spead bead as well. But it is more expensive by a wide margin and more difficult to take on and off.
Im just glad I have a lot of time to make this decision.
Williams fire sights and tru glo pro. Those are the only two aftermarket open sights I'd fool with. I would avoid any stick on that use tape, clip on or magnetic fiber optics.
http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm?contentID=productDetail&prodID=WU70230
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Shooting/Firearm-Components/Sights%7C/pc/104792580/c/104717880/sc/105574680/Truglo174-Pro-Series-Magnum-Gobble-Dot8482/742447.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fshooting-firearm-components-sights%2F_%2FN-1102566%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_105574680%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253BMM%253Bcat104717880&WTz_l=SBC%3BMM%3Bcat104717880%3Bcat105574680
The Williams are universal and have indentions for mounting to various rib widths. The tru glos can be ordered by specific rib width
I've never really understood guys who have multiple shotguns that aren't designated for specific purposes.
You mentioned you've got an 870.... well, why not shoot that for skeet and have the M2 specifically for turkey hunting? Or vice versa?
You can't go wrong with Williams Firesights, a Burris red-dot optic (Fast Fire II or a Speed Bead), or a quality scope (nikon turkey pro/pentax lightseeker/leupold turkey scope). I've got Firesights on my 870 Super Mag and a Pentax Lightseeker 2.5x on my Browning Silver.
Both styles have their benefits and disadvantages but none of my turkey guns serve any purpose other than to be turkey hunted.
Congrats on purchasing a great gun.
Well I have decided to use the 870 as a home defense gun; it has a reallly short barrell, and is easy to pull out from under the bed. Thats why I wanted the m2 to multi-task. I know it sounds like I want my cake and eat it too.
Quote from: VaRidgeRunner on September 01, 2011, 08:47:23 AM
allaboutshooting,
I really like that truglo proseries site and the versatility it will bring. My only question about the pro series would be how prone the screws are to stripping?
After reading reviews and looking at pictures I like the Burris spead bead as well. But it is more expensive by a wide margin and more difficult to take on and off.
Im just glad I have a lot of time to make this decision.
The "Pro Series" sights are really good. I use them on a number of guns.
I always have a tendency to over-tighten everything. I've learned over the years to be more "judicious" when tightening screws.
It is possible to over- tighten the screws on the sights, especially on the elevation/windage set screw. That one uses a very small wrench (furnished) and it does not take much torque on it to tighten it.
I've shot literally hundreds of rounds of 3" turkey loads through guns with these sights and not had them move or lose zero. Just use a "gentle touch" on the windage/elevation set screw.
Thanks,
Clark