100-200-300-400 in the 10 " circle

[maustypsu]

I think it's great that people enjoy shooting and that they know they can cleanly kill before they pull the trigger.

My biggest concern when we start talking about trying to get 200+ type numbers is what it does to the newbies.  I patterned my turkey gun for years by shooting at 20, 30, 40 and 50 yards.  Then looking at the pattern for holes.  Never bothered to count anything and that mentality never cost me a bird.  If I had to guess at a count that my first turkey gun threw, I would tell you at least one - in the head of the first bird I shot.

Not suggesting anyone should cut corners but also would hate to see a new hunter read some of these threads and spend a few hundred dollars on chokes and ammo because they can only get 180 pellets of #6 HTL in a 10" circle.  They could be scouting, or buying a squealing hen call to really help improve their odds.

[VAHUNTER]

maustypsu i agree with you. those big #'s are not needed to take birds on a regular bases. if you can get 80 to 100 pellets at a certain yardage. you can take birds at that yardage all day long.
i also remember the days of not counting pellets. for the first 20 years of turkey hunting if i was to check my pattern it only took a second to look and say yes it will kill or no it wont. if it did not that just ment i shot to far and needed to move closer to the target.

i still think about having 3 or 4 different colored 2 3/4" high brass shells in my pocket. if they was #4's up to 6's they was turkey loads

[R AJ]

VA Hunter -I hear you on those #4-#6 high brass shells. We would buy a box of 25 and it would last awhile-for me at least .One reason was that you didn't do any or very much target shooting back then.Another was that there weren't that many turkeys in 1960s around us.That got better quickly. Even Ben Lee advised to put up a Coke can at whatever distance and if you hit it with 5-6 shot then you were good. That was the acid test for determining if your gun gets your turkey. He liked a 3" full choke and #4 lead loads .

[VAHUNTER]

VA Hunter -I hear you on those #4-#6 high brass shells. We would buy a box of 25 and it would last awhile-for me at least .One reason was that you didn't do any or very much target shooting back then.Another was that there weren't that many turkeys in 1960s around us.That got better quickly. Even Ben Lee advised to put up a Coke can at whatever distance and if you hit it with 5-6 shot then you were good. That was the acid test for determining if your gun gets your turkey. He liked a 3" full choke and #4 lead loads .

yep. if a dime did not fall straight through it was a turkey gun  LOL. it's funny how difficult we hunters make things. seemed to be a lot simpler before we knew better. i know it was less expensive.and we still killed turkeys. we need a new thread. remembering the good ole days

[knightrider]

was definately cheaper

[shootumindaface]

seemed to be a lot simpler before we knew better. i know it was less expensive.and we still killed turkeys. we need a new thread. remembering the good ole days

Granted I have been hunting just shy of 20 years.. I miss even the days back then.. So much simpler and in some ways more fun..

[I hate turkeys]

Good subject sometimes it seems were looking for numbers or killing paper rather than killing birds. What happened to using a larger pellet for larger birds? I like 5's I'm shooting 170 to 190 in 10" at forty yards some would say since it's not 200 + it could be better these are #5 hevi shot I don't need better, it's a dead bird.
I use to do card shoot (shooting matches) we shot 9's to put a bunch of hole in a piece of paper. I see some similarities.
With that being said if your trying to improve the performance of your gun and your shooting ability that's a good thing. I had a friend tell me playing golf was like chasing something you couldn't achieve again similarities.
Not looking for an argument just thinking.

[mossy835]

I too like the good old days but we only had quail, doves, rabbits and rattle snakes when I started with a shotgun in 1949. Mossberg 410 3 inch lead shells killed everything I could legally hunt then. We used a paper plate nailed to a cottonwood tree and looked for any holes the bird might fly through. I could only afford one box of shells for each season so not many were wasted on the paper plate. My dad used a twenty gauge for his hunting and that included ducks (high base for ducks and low base for doves and quail). The snakes got a load of what ever I carried on the farm at the time I ran across them.

That said I now enjoy seeing what my shotgun will do for me, but not to a point of it controlling me. If my pattern is tight and there are no holes at the given yards I practice with then I am good to go for turkeys and or pheasants.

[paladin]

The numbers game is not needed. It is a hobby. It is learning the art of the shotgun. It is doing the best you can with the limits of your equipment.
It is polishing the barrel,cleaning between patterns, make poa and poi identical, it is handloading the rounds, fireing the shot and admiring your handy work.
You could take a fixed full shotgun,buy a box of 5 shot, hang a soda can at 30 yards and shoot it to perpare for most turkeys.

[3" 870 Shell Shucker]

You could take a fixed full shotgun,buy a box of 5 shot, hang a soda can at 30 yards and shoot it to prepare for most turkeys.

BTW, we have a Lead Only forum that we could easily liven up with a few threads.

[pullit]

I remember when if I had about 80 or so hits in the 10 inch circle I as "good to go". My main goal was to put at least 4 pellets in the barin and stem on a paper turkey target. I was shooting #5 lead. I could not see why I should spend $3 on the new Hevi shells, when a $0.50 shell would kill one just fine.
Then one day I misjudged a bird and took him at 50 yards. (I did get him but it took 2 shots) I decided I needed something a little better. After several chokes and more than a few boxes of lead shells, I tried that $3 shell. It made a BIG difference in my hit counts and my confidence when hunting.
Having said that, I do feel that you can get too much of a good thing. I don't need or want super high number in the 10" circle at 40. I remember when I could not get 200 in th 10" circle at 40, when everyone else was in the +250 range. When I made it to the 250-275 range others had moved the bar higher. The new goal was set at +325-350 range and some were knocking on 400. That is not knocking anyone but I don't need those kind of numbers.
I say all that to say, you have to be happy were your at. For the way I hunt and where I hunt, my numbers are good for me.

[pullit]

I will say one more thing and that is, due to all the choke/shell pattern work, you get to know your gun really well. Shooting more and knowing what your gun will and will not do is not a bad thing.

[S.C.C]

I will say one more thing and that is, due to all the choke/shell pattern work, you get to know your gun really well. Shooting more and knowing what your gun will and will not do is not a bad thing.

   

[paladin]

Yes it does provide confidence.

[Mailman]

If your gun is really tight at 20 yrds so be it. learn to shoot it like a rifle! With high #'s at 40 yrds I know I can reach out a little further if I miss judge distance. I feel I'm a good enough shot and know my gun and load to shoot it at closer distances. Heck get him close enough and I could kill him with a bb gun. All I know is DEAD IS DEAD!