Why a more open pattern.

[redarrow]

Inre: to Gopherts post  http://oldgobbler.com/Forum/index.php/topic,33348.0.html  I see alot of posting that are about opening up the pattern a bit. I always figured that if I could get 100 % of my shot in the 10 in.I was set. I notice some of you fellas prefer a nice even 20 inch pattern.Is that just in case he moves. If so do you consider 100% of the shot in a 20in. the ultimate pattern.

[turkey_slayer]

yes 100% inside the 20 would be awesome. Its mostly for wiggle room for a bobbing head, nerves, up close shots, ect. Reloads are about the only way to achieve that to though.

[gophert]

Red....you are dead on.  If I could get a solid 20" wall of shot at 40 yards that would be ideal. 

sent from my Tweaked Out Evo LTE

[surehuntsalot]

super tight patterns are going to result in missed birds

[Michigander]

super tight patterns are going to result in missed birds

Or slug sized holes through a toms head, which just happens to be what I prefer. 

[FullChoke]

super tight patterns are going to result in missed birds

Or slug sized holes through a toms head, which just happens to be what I prefer. 

I know how to consistently get a slug sized hole in a gobbler, use slugs. 100% of your pattern in a 9/16" circle tight enough for you? Basically I'm just kidding here, but it really is the logical far end of the pattern density spectrum.

100% of your pattern in a 20" diameter circle is the new Holy Grail.

FC

[Blue Petes]

Yep this weekend between am and pm hunts will be dedicated to finding a little more open pattern. Monday morning was the first morning i had a gobbler in range with the 20ga and shot him at 37 paces and turned him a backflip and he landed on his head only to commence to trying to get up so i put another round in him and the chase began. He chased him for roughly 200 yards and finally lost him in the thick woods. Went back to the scene and saw two different groups of feathers where i shot him each time. Needless to say i was sick to my stomach and even though i know very well the lack of death could have been caused by improper bead placement when he was walking by i just lost all the confidence i had in the little 20 i had built up and liked so much. 

[CntrlPA]

Yep this weekend between am and pm hunts will be dedicated to finding a little more open pattern. Monday morning was the first morning i had a gobbler in range with the 20ga and shot him at 37 paces and turned him a backflip and he landed on his head only to commence to trying to get up so i put another round in him and the chase began. He chased him for roughly 200 yards and finally lost him in the thick woods. Went back to the scene and saw two different groups of feathers where i shot him each time. Needless to say i was sick to my stomach and even though i know very well the lack of death could have been caused by improper bead placement when he was walking by i just lost all the confidence i had in the little 20 i had built up and liked so much.

What load were you using?

A 20 ga will kill them the exact same as a 12 at 37yds, don't lose your confindence. Just as you said, you were off the mark when he was walking or he would be a dead bird. They are a very tough bird, get back out there and shoot him again!

[WyoHunter]

My thoughts exactly. 

[Jbird22]

super tight patterns are going to result in missed birds

I approve this message!

[R AJ]

There are "reports" that some people flinch when shooting; turkeys have no idea that they are supposed to stay perfectly erect and still when being shot, and occasionally the wind blows in Oklahoma, the Dakotas and other states during the season that can influence shot pattern placement.
These are some of the reasons that an ultra tight choke pattern can cause one to miss or not make a clean shot and wound a bird.
There is certainly nothing to keep one from wanting tight patterns however in hunting situations I want some leniency. The super tight center patterns are very suitable for target shooting and extremely long range shots using specific shot , especially the TSS loads. to all.

[gophert]

A lot of good points here.  I personally want about 10" of wiggle room at 20 yards and 20" of wiggle room at 40 yards.  I think most of us would agree that everyone's pattern is tight at 20 and in.  The question is, what is your acceptable pattern.  I actually find that hevishot tends to get real tight at 20.   TSS on the other hand is a totally different animal and does things that just don't make sense.  Not only will it have a fantastic downrange pattern, it also has a pretty open and forgiving pattern close in, sort-of the best of both worlds.  Here are a few examples of what I mean.  Notice this large payload of Hevi 7's how at 20 yards, there is about 8"-9" of wiggle room.  The TSS pattern at 23 yards is also tight, but not as tight as you would think because that same TSS load out shoots the bigger payload Hevi downrange. I don't shoot lead, but I would love to see what a popular lead load looks like at 20 yards just for comparison. That might really help someone choose what is more important to them and therefore make their gun set-up choice easier. 



TSS

[Blue Petes]

I shoot an 870 20ga 21" barrel with the hevi shot approved rsf choke and hevi 13 #7's. With that combination my gun does around 250 in a 20" circle and roughly 120 of them are in the 10". I thought that was a pretty descent hunting pattern and still do.