Back in the 1980's, many people said you were good to go with a consistent 5 pellets in the head and neck of a turkey target. Now we want to see 50.
I go by the all mighty 10" circle and I want no less than 100 evenly spaced.
I have to have 100 in a 10 inch circle at 40. If I don't have that I'm looking for a new combo.
Quote from: Gobble! on March 21, 2015, 08:00:46 PM
I go by the all mighty 10" circle and I want no less than 100 evenly spaced.
Thjs^^^^^^^^^
I shoot tungsten shot, and to be honest I'm not satisfied unless I see 200/10. Overkill yes but I pay for performance and I in return expect performance.
Quote from: chatterbox on March 21, 2015, 08:17:20 PM
Quote from: Gobble! on March 21, 2015, 08:00:46 PM
I go by the all mighty 10" circle and I want no less than 100 evenly spaced.
Thjs^^^^^^^^^
With today's loads this should be it for a base.
:morning: With todays loads 120 in the 10" at 40 with 4's
130 in the 10 " with 5's With 6's and 7's 140 in the 10"
With today's loads it is done with multiple loads and chokes with 12 gauge 3".
In a 3 1/2 i would bump up 20 pellets.
In a 20 gauge i would accept a 100 in the 10". Except for hevi or Fed hwt 120+
The fixed choke or 2 3/4" classic guns i would accept 100 in the 10". :z-twocents:
You're still good to go, but that should be the range you subtract ten yards from to account for estimation errors. I look for 10 in 2" with no holes well out around it so I can miss and still get the bird.
From my 3" 12 gauge guns I want to see- 150 in the 10" and 280-300 in the 20"
H13 6's and H13 7's, LB #6's will also hold the above #'s
From my 20 gauge I want to see- 120 in the 10" and 220 in the 20"
H13 6's, H13 7's and HW #7's will hold the above #'s
The old 3.5" candles I shot from my 835 were - 180-200 in the 10" and 300+ in the 20" from H13 6's and they were 270-300 in the 10" and 400+ in the 20" with H13 7's. The 7's were devastating.
Quote from: 3" 870 Shell Shucker on March 21, 2015, 07:52:33 PM
Back in the 1980's, many people said you were good to go with a consistent 5 pellets in the head and neck of a turkey target. Now we want to see 50.
I would tend to think that this had more to do with shot shell and choke technology than anything else.
We now have a plethora of chokes, loads and guns that make that technology obsolete.
Model T's were great in their prime. Doesn't mean I would want to take one down a modern highway.
I know most folks say 100 in the ten inch , but for personal choices I like no less than 150 in the ten at fourty yards. This is totally a personal preference.
95-110 in the 10
Quote from: surehuntsalot on March 22, 2015, 09:41:12 PM
95-110 in the 10
x2. Not a longbeard around can handle this.
I don't pay for high dollar shells so I don't expect optimum results. I do want to kill one dead inside 40 yards and the loads I have do so unless I looked over the barrel....won't happen anymore since I put on a ghost ring instead of a bead. I don't have a number of pellets but 10 in the head/ neck sounds like a decent minimum to shoot for. I really don't know where all the lethal parts of a turkeys neck and head are, but would assume the spine, base of the skull and brain are all dead if they get a pellet.
Sent from the talk of tap
Hunting purposes:
120's of 6's in a 10 @ 40. or 200+ of 7's in a 10 @ 40.
1 in the brain, killed 2 with only one pellet in the brain, One ran when I shot,the other ran and I shot through a tree like my arm,but really need at least 6 to 8 in vital on target and 90 to 100 in a 10 inch circle at 40 with modern shells.Lead 6 shot needs at least 120 in a 10 in. Lead 6 shot will cripple one if you do not have a swarm hitting the vitals.
140 minimum in a 12inch circle at 50 yards. Now I'm not promoting 50 yard shots. When I first started turkey hunting 12 years ago I would test my gun at the rifle range. First at the 25 and then at 50 off the bench. In the beginning it was 12 hits in the head and neck that's what I read somewhere. Now I have evolved to this as my minimum. I have learned a lot on this site about turkey guns. The reason i still finalize my pattern at 50 is because they don't have a 40 yard bench.
Anything over 100 (consistent )is a killer at 40 yards , any more over that is overkill essentially , but overkill isn't a dirty word
I purchased a Remington sp10, 20 years ago , it's something that is defiantly overkill , I could have never afforded it but a local sporting goods store had it brand new for $500 , and I jumped on it - the current setup on this gun is a federal #7 hw with a kicks .690 , I've never seen it shoot below 160 even in horrible conditions , it usually does 200
hear me out on this ....it's the most forgiving turkey gun I've ever shot , it is 12 pounds , but like a good target rifle , there is hardly a flinch or wobble -the patterns are very broad anf there is a wide margin for user error , I would say at 40 yards the killing radius with a 100% certainty of demise for the gobbler is 20 inch pattern , I've shot a good amount off my left shoulder - it's very forgiving
Hard to miss...hits hard
I was mentored from a very successful turkey hunter when I was a youngster and I go by the 15-pellet rule in the neck and head region.
I'm looking for no less that 120 in a 10 at 40.
My min. for if I'll run a load is I have to have ten pellets in the head and neck @40 from the first three consecutive shells, no barrel cleaning between shots. I also won't run a shell that's slower than 1200fps. #5 lead or bigger, #6 hw usually get the cuttoff for size
The absolute minimum that you can get by with and still kill a turkey dead every time is 1 in the brain or neck vertebrae. More pellets in that magical circle just increases the probability of this occurring.
Quote from: Old Gobbler on March 23, 2015, 07:08:30 PM
Anything over 100 (consistent )is a killer at 40 yards , any more over that is overkill essentially , but overkill isn't a dirty word
I purchased a Remington sp10, 20 years ago , it's something that is defiantly overkill , I could have never afforded it but a local sporting goods store had it brand new for $500 , and I jumped on it - the current setup on this gun is a federal #7 hw with a kicks .690 , I've never seen it shoot below 160 even in horrible conditions , it usually does 200
hear me out on this ....it's the most forgiving turkey gun I've ever shot , it is 12 pounds , but like a good target rifle , there is hardly a flinch or wobble -the patterns are very broad anf there is a wide margin for user error , I would say at 40 yards the killing radius with a 100% certainty of demise for the gobbler is 20 inch pattern , I've shot a good amount off my left shoulder - it's very forgiving
Hard to miss...hits hard
Spot on analysis of the 10! That is why I have gravitated toward it. You can get more than adequate 10" numbers at 40 yrds and nice even coverage in the 15" and 20" that is harder to duplicate in other gauges imho.
I packed an SP10 for a year and it is everything you say but I just couldn't run and gun with it all day. If I had a little better hunting spot for it, it would work but that gun was as heavy as my T/C Hawken and my 10/22 combined. It sure bulldozed gobblers though!
This is true about the 10 gauge. If you can handle the weight you will have more forgiveness in the pattern. To me it is too heavy. But this is also a good reason to shoot a 10 or 12 vs. a 20. Obviously there are exceptions like youth, female, maybe some elderly hunters are also better suited with a 20.
Started in the 70's , got 18 in the head and neck with Rem 2 3/4" 6 shot express mags at 35 paces.
A Springfield pump 12 gauge . An exceptional shooter for the times. Beat many others at that time.
Shot it for turkeys probably til 1990 or so. Killed good, just didn't try very far.
Stopped using it because hit and miss with the firing pin. Had it worked on but still failed me.
Got the 21" turkey remington when it first come out. Shot alot of Remington 4x6.
Always patterned even back then , but was always a turkey head drawn or the old winchester targets with all the circles on them. Couldn't tell you the 10" counts.
Quote from: Ihuntoldschool on March 31, 2015, 01:07:38 PM
This is true about the 10 gauge. If you can handle the weight you will have more forgiveness in the pattern. To me it is too heavy. But this is also a good reason to shoot a 10 or 12 vs. a 20. Obviously there are exceptions like youth, female, maybe some elderly hunters are also better suited with a 20.
So what the heck you try to say about the 20 :character0029 :character0029: :goofball: