New Turkey gun setup

[Ksteppe]

New member of OG and figured this would be the perfect place to get some advice on a new turkey gun I'll be setting up here very soon.  I know that every gun is different but wanted to get some input on what has worked best for you! I have finally decided I'm going to finally put together a gun dedicated to turkey hunting with a shorter barrel and pump action. I was able to pick up a brand new in box Browning 12g BPS NWTF edition with the 24" barrel and INV+ choke system. I'll be shooting 3" Federal TSS #9 and 3" Apex #9 for the most part and wanted some advice on the best choke constriction for that load through the BPS with that barrel length?  Also I am planning to run a Holosun 507k red dot and wanted to see if anyone had the part number or a link to a good pic rail for the BPS. Thanks for any help.

[g8rvet]

Sounds nice, but why TSS in a 12 gauge?  You can shoot #6 or #5 and smoke one at 40 yards.  Not being critical, just curious.   

[HillclimberWV]

I agree with the above. In my 12 i can do 200 in a 10" with #6 and 150 with #5 in 3" winchester longbeards. I mostly hunt with 5s due to a more even pattern the 6s are essentially a really hot core. If you are in a non toxic state i would look at herters 2"3/4 tss from basspro or cabelas. On cheaper end for tss and plenty of shot.

[BrowningGuy88]

I have a Maxus (Inv +) and I am using a Sumtoy 676 in it and it is nasty! I use Hevi 3.5" Mag Blends and will until my stash runs out. That gun/choke shoots lead 5's and 6's really well too.

I haven't shot much TSS through it, but 1 3/4 ounce of T9's is a good even pattern out of it.

[TrackeySauresRex]

 



Congrats and good luck with the new turkey thumper. Like the rest had said, I believe as well. Do a search on the forum and you may find some BPS /choke combos. Experiment with some lead first before you spend a small fortune on them high dollar shells. Have fun with it and post up some patterns on the pattern board as well.
Good luck and happy hunting

[Ihuntoldschool]

685 to 695 for hunting pattern.

Go tighter if you playing the numbers game.
All in how you want your pattern to look

[Bowguy]

Welcome as guys said, best part about a 12 is you don't need tss. Why spend all that money if you didn't have to

[Tom007]

Welcome, and best of luck with your gun. Browning are phenomenal guns and make great turkey stoppers. You have a lot of great advice above, I'll just add that Longbeard are a fine shooting shell for the money, they knock 'em down especially out of a 12 gauge.....

[randywallace]

If you look at cost, performance and pellet count per shell, most every TSS load out there today is superior to the Federal. 

Federal 3 inch TSS 9s are 1 3/4 ounce.  Apex and others load 3 inch 9s at 2 1/4 or even 2 1/2 ounces.  TSS 9s are roughly 362 per ounce so you are talking about another 180 to 270 pellets per shell.

There are too many TSS ammo producers out there now with a superior product to even consider Federal.

[Greg Massey]

Welcome and i agree with others, no need for TSS in your 12 ga...

[Canadian]

Sounds nice, but why TSS in a 12 gauge?  You can shoot #6 or #5 and smoke one at 40 yards.  Not being critical, just curious.   

As someone who has both 20ga and 12ga, and loads/shoots TSS for both, ill merely share my perspective to your curiosity.

For me, i just feel as though i owe it to the bird. Ill pay the extra money EVERY shot in order to minimize human error and ensure ethical, lights out shots for the bird. I once took a guy hunting who had never killed a bird, but had missed 4 prior (lots of issues and red flags here, i know). I invited him over, he patterned his gun with 3" XRs, was shooting good, and we were off to the races. Next morning he missed his 5th bird (and this is no exaggeration) at 30 yards, right in the sweet spot. Though, he didnt miss him clean. Definitely hurt the innocent bird.

At the time i had a 20ga equiped with a red dot, and i told him to shoot it, but jokingly said "you owe me $10 if you take a shot". He said "ill just stick with my gun then." This spoke volumes to me and told me what he thought of the wild turkey. Its safe to say thats the last time i hunted with him. A clean kill is worth a $10+ shot every time.

Now, i will say, we are humans, and mistakes/misses happen. However, out of respect for the bird, i will 100% shoot TSS every time, if it decreases the odds of human error playing into a potentially wounded bird. I dont shoot to increase my range, but to ensure a clean ethical kill when i nick a twig i didnt see. Ill shoot TSS out of my 12ga every day of the week.

Anybody would be an ignorant liar to say they arent prone to mistakes. I will also note im not against lead either. Im just answering your question as to why TSS out of 12ga. I loathe the idea of seeing another bird get hurt. I think it would make me pass out. I cant stomache seeing another one.

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[btomlin]

As far as a rail for the holosun, you would be doing yourself a disservice to use anything but a sumtoy mount. 

[Canadian]

Ksteppe, you bought an awesome gun! My dad bought me my first gun @ 13, and it was a 3", 26" BPS in mossy oak infinity. Since then, ive bought and tried almost every gun on the market, and i always go back to my BPS. Probably out of sentimental attachement more than anything, but regardless its a super good shooter and NEVER left me down. I paired it with a .665 Carlsons non-ported and its insanely consistent out of my gun. Both lead and TSS shoot very good out of it. I find its tight enough to reach, but wide enough for up close. Heres a pic of a 35 yard pattern i took. I know its a little off center, but my next shot was slightly left, so i figure it was me - i had to shoot from my knee thanks to circumstances. Intel is written top left.

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[turk3ythug]

If you are going the 12ga route I wouldn't even bother with TSS, 3.5 Longbeard XR's out of a good turkey choke is lethal but make sure you hold on because they'll spin your hat around.

[Bowguy]

Sounds nice, but why TSS in a 12 gauge?  You can shoot #6 or #5 and smoke one at 40 yards.  Not being critical, just curious. 

As someone who has both 20ga and 12ga, and loads/shoots TSS for both, ill merely share my perspective to your curiosity.

For me, i just feel as though i owe it to the bird. Ill pay the extra money EVERY shot in order to minimize human error and ensure ethical, lights out shots for the bird. I once took a guy hunting who had never killed a bird, but had missed 4 prior (lots of issues and red flags here, i know). I invited him over, he patterned his gun with 3" XRs, was shooting good, and we were off to the races. Next morning he missed his 5th bird (and this is no exaggeration) at 30 yards, right in the sweet spot. Though, he didnt miss him clean. Definitely hurt the innocent bird.

At the time i had a 20ga equiped with a red dot, and i told him to shoot it, but jokingly said "you owe me $10 if you take a shot". He said "ill just stick with my gun then." This spoke volumes to me and told me what he thought of the wild turkey. Its safe to say thats the last time i hunted with him. A clean kill is worth a $10+ shot every time.

Now, i will say, we are humans, and mistakes/misses happen. However, out of respect for the bird, i will 100% shoot TSS every time, if it decreases the odds of human error playing into a potentially wounded bird. I dont shoot to increase my range, but to ensure a clean ethical kill when i nick a twig i didnt see. Ill shoot TSS out of my 12ga every day of the week.

Anybody would be an ignorant liar to say they arent prone to mistakes. I will also note im not against lead either. Im just answering your question as to why TSS out of 12ga. I loathe the idea of seeing another bird get hurt. I think it would make me pass out. I cant stomache seeing another one.

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This is an older post but I just read it and gotta respond. You're thinking silly. TSS is never gonna kill them deader. Why are you only talking about a 12? By your theory a 10 might give you more ability to make those mistakes?
It's not about that. It's about staying within effective range of the weapon no matter what it's shooting. I've been involved in plenty of totally dead and respectfully shot turkey w 20 ga and lead.
My next thought was your assumption the guy thought badly of the turkey cause he didn't want to spend 10 bucks a shell.
Some fellas mamas didn't raise them that dumb.
Bear in mind I was of that mindset. My child support has ended, freed up some cash. I've got two guns out of 11 turkey guns now shooting tss. Doesn't make them superior. Ones a 410 another a 20 that I fretted over if I should try tss in it.
Sounds like you expect everyone to think the way you do? There's nothing superior about someone's gun shooting tss, they both have effective range. The mistake is not knowing it and staying within it. If you can't judge get a rangefinder. 
Now/how did the guy miss 30 yards? One, chances got better of that once he shot longbeards. They're too tight many times.
Two you watched and helped him. You mean you couldn't see what was wrong? Was he shooting poa? Did he need to adjust gun? Was he lifting head?
Flinching? Etc etc
Tell him to post on here his issues. I bet we can help him