Sighting in your turkey gun from a solid rest/shooting bench.

[Songdog2012]

Hello, this post is primarily aimed at the beginning turkey hunter as i considder myself in this category also. I got serious about turkey hunting about 5-6 years ago, before that time i hunted a little and was lucky enough to kill a couple birds here and there, mostly by luck. I never had a shotgun i considdered a turkey gun just usually whatever shotgun i had at the time along with whichever full choke came with it from the factory. Heck i never even shot a pattern on paper until 5 or 6 years ago when i decided to buy a dedicated turkey gun it was a win. 1300 full camo, and i purchased a hasteings .660 choke and actually patterned it off of my shooting bench i got a decent pattern with it (nothing like ive seen on this forum) but better than i was used too. Apon getting it where i wanted it from the bench i put it up until season where in the first week i missed a bird and crippled one! The one i missed i blamed on human error as i was kinda twisted up and uncomfortable when i pulled the trigger the other i had no explanation it was a textbook shot and i missed. I went home and sat at the bench and fired a shot and it was spot on then i got the idea to sit on the ground as i would if hunting and i was shooting totally different from this position. I must hold the gun different or kinda torque it apon fireing off hand ever since i have i have changed my methods and have had good success. The moral of this story is to take the time and make sure you are 100% efficient with you set up, try to shoot both right and left handed, sit by a tree and get as uncomfortable as you can and take a shot just to see how you do, try it laying on your stomach in the leaves, every hunt is different and we dont always have the time to set up comfortably! My situation may be different than anybody elses and your gun mit shoot the same no matter the conditions but its better to know ahead of time. Please take my advice with a grain of salt as i am deffinately no expert at this stuff, but it just mite help you bag our bird one day.

[CrustyRusty]

Shooting from a bench is fine for evaluating the pattern on your gun and sighting in, but when I want to  really see what my gun can do in a hunting situation I practice from various hunting positions.  Good post nonetheless.

[Songdog2012]

Thanks for your reply, i knew when i posted this that most of the seasoned hunters on here already knew what i was speakin of. I have gained some good info on here from many knowlegable people as i stated before i am still a beginner myself, and i figured if i got tied up in all the excitement and overlooked this crucial step in shooting/practiceing maybe some one else just starting out mite too. Any extra effort you put in, only puts the odds a little more in your favor and that never hurts.

[outdoors]

WHEN U USE A shooting bench TOO SIGHT IT IN AND TO SHOT WITHOUT GETTING PUNCHED AND GETTING SORE , YOU GET IT SIGHTED IN , CONTROLLED SITUATION U WILL KNOW YOUR GOOD TOGO AND THEN AFTER THAT ITS ALL UP TO U . YOU KNOW THE GUNS SPOT ON HOW ABOUT YOU ? ALSO I WILL MAKE A REAL GOOD POINT PRACTICE ON SQUEEZE ....... SQUEEZE THE TRIGER .....
GOOD. LUCK

[Skeeterbait]

I never shoot a turkey gun from a bench.  Hunched over a bench not only changes your view of the sight plane on the barrel for bead or iron sight shooters.  But that is not my reason as much as the fact that the gun punishes you so much.  Your shoulder and body need to be able to roll back with the recoil.  Might be alright for a shorter guy but a tall guy takes the recoil on top of the shoulder and collar bone because he is hunched over so much.  I sight in sitting on a folding camp chair with the gun supported with a Stoney Point bipod adjusted so I can sit up streight.

[allaboutshooting]

Excellent post and replies. I learned several years ago that shooting from a solid rest and shooting in a hunting position produced different points of impact.

Thanks,
Clark

[chatterbox]

I sight mine in on a bench, then I get in my gobblerlounger and make sure that my gun is hitting in the same spot. As long as it impacts in the same spot from both places, I know I am good to go.