Anyone hunting with 2 3/4 in mag shells?

[rempumpman]

Loaded question for sure but I have this thing of hunting with a 2 3/4 in magnum shells in my 870 remington; I buy both the rem and winchester supreme magnums and have killed alot of turkeys 25 yards or less with no problems; I know the 3 1/2 in mags are the "king of the hill' on this forum but just seeing if any of us "old timers" are still hunting the way we (and our fore fathers) did back years ago; everyone wants to be able to shoot out to 40 yards and beyond and that is by all means your rights, but just something about being able to get that old tom in 25 yards or less; if one gets his/her bird in that range, then in no way do you need these 40.00 shells to kill them;

Just seeing if anyone still hunts the "old way". thank you.................rem

[jcb11realtree]

I try to hunt with the 2 3/4'' mags but cant seem to get a pattern with them out of my remington 878 with a poly choke on x-full

[BrowningGuy88]

I run Winchester HV 2.75-1.5-6 in my Model 12 30" Full and it is money to about 30 or 32 yards. I would bet you could kill one at 40, but my comfort ends at 35 yards with it. My grandfather found out I was retiring the 1300 NWTF he used since the 80's and called me up and got it to hunt with again. He is running XX Magnum #6's with a Comp-n-Choke and it will do to around 35 yards.

[honker22]

I shoot 2 3/4 but my shells aren't from the old way.  They are loaded with TSS 9s

[BHMTitan]

I do fine with my 2.75" Browning A5.  Taken plenty of turkeys in the last 30 years with it!  The fun, and the challenge of the hunt, is calling them to 40 yrds or less, normally much less.

[bbcoach]

I killed my first bird with a Remington 1100, 2 3/4", 1 1/2 oz load of #5's at 29 yards.  This load was a lead reload that I killed ducks with years ago.  They will do the job if you stay within that 30 yard range.  I have since shifted to "BIGGER IS BETTER" but lately have come to realize that, if you get em close you don't need "BIGGER".  When my current stock of HEVI's are gone, I'm definitely going to take a long hard look at my options.  

[agturkey]

2 3/4 5 xtended range excellent 45 yard or less load!

[MossRem]

I've used them for years. At one time or another, I've used all 3 sizes of 12 gauge shell to hunt turkeys. One of the things I used to do was load a 2 and 3/4 Winchester XX #5, follow it by a 3 inch, then a 3.5 inch in my Moss 835.
I alternate between 2 and 3/4 and 3 inch shells now. When I go "3 inch" now, it's almost always a Winchester Supreme #5.

Favorite 2 and 3/4 inch loads:
1. Federal 2 and 3/4 inch #5. This makes even, pretty patterns on the patterning board...they sure pattern good on turkeys, too.
2. Winchester Supreme 2 and 3/4 #5. Same velocity as their 3 inch shell, just a lighter payload of shot. In some guns, the Short Supreme #4 works good, too.
3. Winchester XX 2 and 3/4 #5. I found that I got as many pellet strikes with this shell at 35 yards as I did with 3 inch 5s. Tell ya what though, these shells sure do kick when you're patterning with them.

I think it's easier to get good, consistent patterns with short shells through some of the tighter chokes, too.

[Stoney Creek]

I always try to take a couple of hunts every year with my granddads old Model 12. I killed my first turkey with it almost 40 years ago. Nothing wrong with the 2.75. I have as much faith in the #5 1.5 ounce in Winchester out to almost 40 as the latest and greatest. Don't get me wrong as i hunt with Hevi and have done the Nitro Train, as i get older its all about the calling and not shooting birds at 50 plus yards. I can see more and more old school in my future.....

[MossRem]

"I can see more and more old school in my future"

Mine, too, and I'll tell you why.
As I get older, I notice that I'm looking for simplicity in what I do. I get enough complexity at work and at other places. Turkey hunting should be a pleasurable challenge.
I once loved the idea of powerful guns and harnessing and controlling magnum power. I liked .44 magnum pistols hot-loaded, 3 and 1/2 inch 12 gauge, and 7mm magnum rifles. I loved the idea that a powerful load could humanely dispatch game at a distance....you know, like the old AT&T slogan..."reach out and touch someone".
As I got older, patterning and sighting in all those cannons got to be more and more of a chore. I thought, "Wait a minute. This is supposed to be fun".
Same with the calls. I used to tote a practical sporting goods store full of calls in my turkey vest...and thought I had to have more! That got old, too.
I noticed that all the really good turkey hunters I knew...guys who consistently harvested birds every year....didn't have super loads. They called turkeys in close, just like my grandfather and great grandfather had to, by necessity.
Now that's what I call the "old school approach." I like it.

[reflexl]

Winchester used to make a super high velocity 2 3/4 turkey load. I still have a few of them. The new 2 3/4 load is 1260fps but old one was 1400fps They were loaded with #4 shot but I don't remember the charge weight. Out of my 835 with star dot they were very lethal out to 35 yards. We shot some plywood at 40 yards and got complete penetration where most other loads stoppped inside the wood. I used to load on of these as the last shell to body shoot escaping birds. reflexl

[Spring Creek Calls]

In my 30+ years of turkey hunting, I've  gone from the Model 12 shooting 2.75" 4's to a 3" 870 to an 835. Now I'm on my way back down, shooting a 1300 and thinking about getting the old Model 12 back out, instead of a 20 ga. Not afraid to shoot 40 yards with the old M 12.

[rempumpman]

MossRem and Others;

Thanks to all who have responded; I too was guilty of taking enough in my vest to sponsor a NWTF banquet but I have changed alot over the last couple of years; now just 3 calls adorn my vest which is a slate/glass pot call, a "snuff-can" style call and a true wingbone call; have not used a mouth call in years; this year will see a change up in my guns; will still use the faithful 870, but wanting to hunt with a ol' winchester model 37 single barrel on a couple of outings for the experience of "yesterday"; being 51 now, I truly love the nostolgic lure of hunts gone by, the ways that grandpa's and oldtimers hunted; on these paticular hunts, there will not be a shot over 25 yards and will try to bring him in closer if posible; will try to create the exact style and wear that was prevelant in the day; why? oh well, why not? who knows, I may someday try wearing a old buckskin outfit with a coon style hat and indian boots with a black-powder shotgun and carry nothing but a wingbone call; we did mention "fun" didn't we?.........

.....................................rem

[wkyhunter]

MY Dad has had great luck with WW SX XX 2.75 1.5 #6 out of a model 12.
Keeping the shots to 35-40 yds I wouldn't have any problem carring it!!

[MossRem]

Turkey hunting is such a relaxing and rewarding hobby to me. It gets me out in the Spring woods where everything's so fresh and green and blooming....at least until the last couple of weeks of the season down here where it's just miserably hot!
This is an allegedly "free" country, so I believe in live and let live. Some people shoot turkeys at long distances with long-chamber loads and HTL shot. As long as those hunters are not gunning down hens and wounding gobblers, they're entitled. We all have our approaches to hunting turkeys.
I'm like the poster who wants to dress up like long-ago hunters did. Fewer calls. Shorter distances, and shorter shells. And just to give you all some perspective:
Back in 1923, outdoor writer Charlie Elliott thought he had the "cat's meow" in a Model 12 that would pattern 1 and 1/4 ounces of non-copperplated #6 lead shot at 40 yards....and he killed turkeys graveyard dead with it.