this may sound crazy to some but here goes. i am a highly superstitious person. with that being said heres my problem. ive hunted with an old 870 spt since the late 1980s and has never let me down. it is a shooter and has claimed many longbeards in many states. i have a battery of many old school 870s ,1187s,o\u's,and a mossberg ssi-1 .all are shooters. do u think it will be "bad karma" to leave the "old girl" behind and hunt with a "new girl"? will the turkey spirits frown on me?
swampfox
Sounds like a question for Ted Nugent. My theory is ,if it ain't broke dont fix it.
If it has worked for that long stick with it.
i got rid of my first real turkey killer and it took me 4 years and 3 guns to break the voodoo
thats what im worried about!
The VooDoo is in your head. With that said, the confidence, familiarity and feel of a gun goes a long way toward making the shot count when under the stress and pressure of hunting situations. I decided one year to use as many different guns and gauges as I could to kill turkeys. I never missed a bird that year, but stopped at 5 different guns due to the reoccurring nightmares of having a 20 gauge w/ nothing but 10 or 12 gauge shells in my pocket, or a 10 gauge w/ 20 gauge shells. My little experiment wasn't worth the added angst, but did help me dispel any "shotgun voodoo".
I wasn't worried about anything like this until I read this thread! I have killed all my birds (minus archery ones) with my 835. Last year I won an 870 in a calling contest, so I want to take one with it. Now I'm scared to leave the old Mossy in the cabinet . . .
:TrainWreck1:
i think the confidence factor is huge here as well as feeling guilty about leaving my old girl behind. but i have a safe full of dedicated turkey killers ive collected over the years that need some use. you never know what the good lord has in store for you, so i guess im gonna have a few new "knee riders" this year
Don't believe in gun superstitions. I hunt with several shotguns and have had success with nearly all of them.
I don't wanna leave my ol Mossy behind either...
I come from an industry where the Drivers, Owners and Crew Chiefs are almost kinky as HECK.
So as was state above, if it ain't broke, don't change it.
LOL
Good Luck
:OGturkeyhead:
I say it doesn't matter to me, but every time I go I grab my little 870 20 gauge! I have killed turkeys with the 1300 NWTF and with an 835, but I just feel better if I have my 870!
I have used 3 new guns in the last 5 or so years, and luckily, I didn't have any bad luck when switching from one to the other. I've killed 15 or so birds with 5 different guns in my hunting career.
If your aim is true, it won't matter.
The gun won't care, but I use the same sling when I switch rifles and I think it's bad luck to carry more then 3 shells or arrows (deer & turkey).
Hasnt affected me yet. I get two tags and try to shoot one with the 12 and one with the twenty, in that order. :anim_25:
I hunt with different guns almost daily, but I wait until Pump 12 clears at the Mobil station in town, before I get my gas. I don't care if there's a motorhome that is filling up, I will sit at pump 11 until whoever it is finishes, and then pull into my pump. Superstition and rituals are what make Turkey Hunting so great. Those extra little things that you do let you know you are a part of something special. Do what feels right!
Not so much a superstition as it is a tradition. At the close of legal hunting time (30 minutes past sunset) on the last day of each spring season, I shoot one shot into the air in a one-gun salute to the gobblers that so skillfully evaded me and to let them know that I won't use that particular shell against them ever again. It is now theirs. I bid them a fond farewell in the growing darkness and head to the house.
FullChoke
My trusty 11-87 let me down on a trip to Alabama several years ago when an internal spring broke. I had a backup with me, an old Browning A-5, 2 3/4 inch chamber, 30 inch full choke barrel. Killed two birds with it that trip. I just had to make sure the birds were a little closer and that I was down on the stock, looking at the bead.
All in your head man. I killed a bird with a new gun every year for three years lol. Started with my dads 870, then switched my to mossberg 535, sold it and got my 870 special purpose. Now Im sticking with the sp.