Old School 11-87

[lowoctane]

26" barrel, Thug 3"x 5's, Patternmaster Code Black 665, 65°, Crosswind 12-20mph and GUSTING, 144 in 10", lasered 40 yds. Gonna try again when less windy.

[captin_hook]

Still looks good to me

[the Ward]

Nice! I have got some great patterns also with those 3" #5 Thugs. That looks like quite a potent combo !

[Dr Juice]

That's impressive especially for a windy day.

[lowoctane]

25 yds...

[surehuntsalot]

good to go

[10gaugemag]

I picked up 5 boxes of 5's tonight to go with the 7 boxes of 6's I bought last week. I should be set for a bit. Good shooting loads for the money.

[mtns2hunt]

Five boxes? Seven boxes? Wow you must be rich! I pattern my shotgun with two shells and hunt with the remainder. One box usually last a couple of years or longer. Not trying to pick a fight or anything but I am amazed at some of the posts I read about patterning, pellet counts and distance you are limited at shooting.

I know my effective range and where my pattern begins to fail. I do like the most modern shot shells and chokes and I admit that I have been shooting the same old shotgun at turkeys for thirty years but it seems that Turkey hunting is becoming like fly fishing. Use the wrong brand or equipment and you are doomed to purgatory. It might also be that I have lived in the sticks too long. Next year I plan to go for the Grand Slam I am sure that I will meet some interesting people and opinions.

I do respect the opinions and views of all others. It just amazes me on what I read.

[owlhoot]

Ok , well at 5 dollars a box for thugs at walmart right now , cant go wrong. 
Ammo companies seem to like to change loads up. Sometimes for cost , other times for the supplier problems that seem to be the norm for whatever you like to shoot.
So at this time if you find something that works well, many feel time to stock up!
Of course sometimes loads can get better, so it may come back and bite ya in the keister,lol
But of course some just like to shoot and test alot, guns loads and chokes are just part of the Grand Turkey Hunting experience.
Pellet counts in the 10 at 40 yards? a good way to compare gun, choke and load performance.
144 in the 10" is great performance with 3" lead 5's

[Onpoint]

26" barrel, Thug 3"x 5's, Patternmaster Code Black 665, 65°, Crosswind 12-20mph and GUSTING, 144 in 10", lasered 40 yds. Gonna try again when less windy.

Those pattern master chokes impress me more and more each day.

I currently run a jebs, rhino, sumtoy, hevishot and carlsons in the 5 turkey getters I have.
The guns with the jebs and rhinos are my 2 standbys.  I want to fix up 2 more guns, a lightweight 20 gauge auto and a short barreled lightweight 12 that won't kick my teeth out like my 5.25 pound baikal single shot 12.

Those are very impressive patterns

[mtns2hunt]

Owlhoot, I can see your point but from my perspective I buy a box and pattern with two rounds. If they pattern well I go hunting. Never shot Turkey thugs but have heard of them. Currently using LB with excellent results. I was thinking in the range of twenty to thirty five a box. It was really rude of me to make the comment I did and I apologize for that.

I am a very serious  player in the game of Turkey hunting. Love the sport but feel the novice hunter gets the wrong impression from many of the posts on forums. All the expense is often prohibitive for the beginner and even some experienced hunters. I donate many different boxes of loads to less fortunate hunters.

[owlhoot]

No worries. Nothing wrong with buying 1 box. Plenty of fine turkey hunters do just that.
All the patterning and testing can be a rewarding hobby, for some it is more serious than for others.
I learned to pattern a gun in the 70's, a store saleman sold 3 shells at a time out of a box of 25 so you could shoot different brands and shot sizes to see what YOUR shotgun did the best with.
Now you shoot 2 rnds out of your box to check patterns which is a great idea , i was surprised at the amount of turkey hunters that don't test their loads at all, buy a box and go.
So if any take anything from these posts it is that you need to pattern your gun with the load you will be hunting with. And with all the reports on here they can save time and money by trying what works for others.
have a good evening.