20ga patterns on turkey target

[SumToy]

Ok this was a 21 inch barrel 20 ga 870.   I got a few that make a big deal because I have tested at 30 with the 20ga stuff.  now look at this pattern and it will show you the window that you have to deal with at the 30 yard mark.  If you pull it in more the window is smaller.   I had not looked at it with open eyes until today when this was shot.   It had 79 in the kill zone that is not the ones that are on the side that are yellow.
This was with the Fed heavy 7's

[attachment deleted by admin]

[SumToy]

same choke with hv 13 7's   The gun shot high but it had 57 in kill zone with most of shot in top half of target.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[old frank]

This year was the first year I ever tried the 10" circle at 40 yards and I just did it to see how I compare with other guns.

I have always tested my loads/sights/guns on a turkey target because,to me,that is what counts.

[surehuntsalot]

the Federal HW 7's are bad

[fountain]

what constriction?  i have a .555 and some nitros destined for an 870 eventually! 

[SumToy]

That was a 563

[hookedspur]

what constriction?  i have a .555 and some nitros destined for an 870 eventually! 

I love that combo.

[WyoHunter]

Killer patterns for sure! 

[SumToy]

 that is well put.  I have always shot big paper but I have the guys that say that not work then I have the ones so this not work.  I dont hunt I just like to play with the stuff so folks like you can hunt.  So I test in every way that I can.   I have just got into the deal of how wide the pattern is the past few.  This open my eyes up to the point of if he moves or you move he is gone.  That is one thing this target did show me.

If anyone has a good way to test let me know.  I will try it. 

[shootumindaface]

The turkey head thing is where Rob Roberts true turkey factor as figured by the Lucky Weasel patterning machine comes in.. I believe he states there is 171 ways a gobbler can put his head into a 15 inch circle

[shootumindaface]

 I have just got into the deal of how wide the pattern is the past few.  This open my eyes up to the point of if he moves or you move he is gone.  That is one thing this target did show me.  

I think you're right.

Some guys focus in too much on the "kill zone" or a 10" circle, without thinking in terms of the what-ifs.  That's exactly why I look at 20" circle, as well as what is on the outside of it.  There are probably more turkeys killed with the margins of a pattern than the core of it.  And lots of missed turkeys would have come home in the truck if they had shot a different shell or choke or both to achieve a dense 20" killing pattern.

Hal I just posted in another thread about this concerning the Feds in the 20 gauge.. Guys are looking for that 180 or so in the ten inch, what they dont realize is that leaves roughly 140 pellets to occupy the 100 extra inches that another 5 inches gives ya for a 15 inch circle.. The 12s are a different animal with the heavy payloads and pellet counts, but the 20 is a different animal.

[sugarray]

 I have just got into the deal of how wide the pattern is the past few.  This open my eyes up to the point of if he moves or you move he is gone.  That is one thing this target did show me.  

I think you're right.

Some guys focus in too much on the "kill zone" or a 10" circle, without thinking in terms of the what-ifs.  That's exactly why I look at 20" circle, as well as what is on the outside of it.  There are probably more turkeys killed with the margins of a pattern than the core of it.  And lots of missed turkeys would have come home in the truck if they had shot a different shell or choke or both to achieve a dense 20" killing pattern.

Hal I just posted in another thread about this concerning the Feds in the 20 gauge.. Guys are looking for that 180 or so in the ten inch, what they dont realize is that leaves roughly 140 pellets to occupy the 100 extra inches that another 5 inches gives ya for a 15 inch circle.. The 12s are a different animal with the heavy payloads and pellet counts, but the 20 is a different animal.

I agree completely, but still had to buy that .562 choke.  94 at 40 yds is great, and all I really should do is shoot at 30 yds to see.  Oh, crap.  Now what to do.

[mmusso]

I have always tested my loads/sights/guns on a turkey target because,to me,that is what counts.

Here's my 2 cents.

The problem with shooting the small turkey head targets and counting holes in the "kill zone" is two-fold.

First off, you can't see enough of the pattern to determine if you are seeing the core of the pattern, or the edge of it.  It's a basic POA vs POI question.  Are those numbers bad or good because of your combo, or because the pattern on that particular shot with that particular shell and choke was more on target because you held it on better?  Or is that shell or choke shooting to a different point than the other shell or choke?  That happens all the time.  There is no way of knowing any of that if you shoot at a small target.  You still don't know hardly anything at all about what your pattern is doing.

Secondly, if you get comfort from having lots of pellets in the "kill zone" of a turkey target in one fixed position, you need to broaden your perspective and think of it logically and realistically.  What if the turkey was facing the other way?  What if your aim was slightly off to the left or to the right?  Or a little high, or a little low?  You will never get the exact same pellet distribution with another shot anyway.  And its very unlikely a turkey you shoot at will be in that same exact position for you.  So it's a false sense of security to count holes in the "kill zone" of a small turkey head target when the turkey's head is never going to be in that exact position with the exact sme pellet destribution ever again.  It's much better to think in terms of seeing if there is any place a turkey's head or neck could slip through that pattern without dying, and how big is my reall killing pattern?  I like to see a 20" pattern with no chance any turkey could survive it even if I was off ten inches one way or the other with my aim at  40 yds.  But that's possible only after I have determined the POA and POI, and can compensate for or correct any difference between the two.

Once you have confirmed that the POA and POI are one in the same with a big paper target, then shooting a small turkey head target won't mislead you as badly.  But you will very easily get bad and inaccurate information, and then make the wrong decision based on that bad info, simply because you used the small target instead of big paper.

I think this is spot on...

[dpittman]

An example. My 870 with PG670 and H13 #7 will put a pretty consistent number of pellets into the 10" every time. But because the distribution of those pellets changes every shot you may have a good "turkey head" target and then a bad one. You could have 50 kill hits in one and only 20 or 30 in the next. Dead turkey but I like the consistency of shooting 10" circles.

[SumToy]

I have not but I think they will not be way off.  If it is same load and it would have less powder or shorter wad I think.   So if it is slower I know what we need to do.  If it is a short wad it should work in this choke the same. 

Now this said I will fire one if I can find one.