Win. LB patterns too tight????

[sixbird]

I've used LB #6, 3" for a couple of years now and I can't say enough good about them...Do they shoot tight? Yep...So far, knock on wood, I haven't missed one with them. I love that they hold a tight pattern out to 40 yds. Something I've devoted a LOT of time to over the years. I always look at it the same way I look at the challenge of shooting a rifle well. Sure the challenge increases the closer you are, as it does inversely with a rifle, but so does the reward... Aim, breathe, squeeze...When you can be consistent, it's a reward just like being a competent bow shot...That said, I do shoot a Burris Fast Fire III on my gun. Had I not gotten that, I might well be singing a different tune...I think an aiming device and these new tight shooting shells go hand in hand...

[Farmboy27]

if you  like to eat the turkey you shoot like i do,then shooting them in the wing or the beard at 15 or 20 yards with long beards would destroy every bit of the meat you tried so hard to get.i couldnt imigine shooting one like that,i never even  shoot one in full strut.its way to easy to cluck and get them to stick their head up and shoot them with a good shell you are confident in and have patterned your gun with.but to each their own,if you are thinking of doing this i think you should shoot some win long beards and see just how tight they are,out of my gun the hole they make at 15 and 20 yards look like you have shot a large sabbot about the size of a dip can,and thats with every choke i have tried.i may be like a dinosour,but i still shoot the old winchester supremes,they shoot a perfect killing pattern at any range out to 40 for me,i tried the longbeards one season and i think they are great for competition shooting,but for hunting its hard to beat the old supremes especially from 20 to 30 yards where the majority of turkeys are shot.




So body shooting a turkey and messing up some meat is wrong. Where do you shoot deer?  I hope you shoot them in the head because anywhere else is going to waste some meat. I hunt to kill. Sure I love the experience, the challenge, and the time in the woods. But when it all comes down to it, I'm out there trying to kill an animal. I will happily take any shot that I feel will kill the animal quickly. That's what I'm there for. If you're not out to kill, then why carry a gun?  Cameras are lighter.

[BandedSpur]

"So body shooting a turkey and messing up some meat is wrong. Where do you shoot deer?  I hope you shoot them in the head because anywhere else is going to waste some meat. I hunt to kill. Sure I love the experience, the challenge, and the time in the woods. But when it all comes down to it, I'm out there trying to kill an animal. I will happily take any shot that I feel will kill the animal quickly. That's what I'm there for. If you're not out to kill, then why carry a gun?  Cameras are lighter."

I know this is a thread about LBs being "too tight", but couldn't let the body shooting of turkeys pass without comment. I would never intentionally body shoot an unwounded turkey. The argument about body shooting deer is not applicable. Yes, I shoot deer in the body, a single projectile through the lungs that destroys zero meat that I intend to eat (I do not eat the ribs). Body shooting a turkey at 20 yds with LBs would destroy the vast majority of the usable meat - an unacceptable outcome to me.

With regards to LBs being "too tight", they are just optimized for different distances than conventional turkey loads. While most conventional loads are optimized for 20-40 yd shots, LBs are optimized for 30-50 yd shots. The 50 yd patterns I have seen are beautiful, dense, even patterns. I will concede the need to alter ones hold with LBs on close in birds - that would mean waddles as opposed to the head. But never the body.

[Bowguy]

I think Longbeards can be really tight. Id actually stopped using them in my old faithful 835. I bought an Ithaca turkey slayer this winter n it patterened LB great w some chokes. I'm confident w that pattern at almost any turkey hunting range. Due to numerous probs w that gun I didn't get to use it much but Ill be carrying it next hunt. No holes in pattern dense yet Spread out sufficient

[Farmboy27]

"So body shooting a turkey and messing up some meat is wrong. Where do you shoot deer?  I hope you shoot them in the head because anywhere else is going to waste some meat. I hunt to kill. Sure I love the experience, the challenge, and the time in the woods. But when it all comes down to it, I'm out there trying to kill an animal. I will happily take any shot that I feel will kill the animal quickly. That's what I'm there for. If you're not out to kill, then why carry a gun?  Cameras are lighter."

I know this is a thread about LBs being "too tight", but couldn't let the body shooting of turkeys pass without comment. I would never intentionally body shoot an unwounded turkey. The argument about body shooting deer is not applicable. Yes, I shoot deer in the body, a single projectile through the lungs that destroys zero meat that I intend to eat (I do not eat the ribs). Body shooting a turkey at 20 yds with LBs would destroy the vast majority of the usable meat - an unacceptable outcome to me.

With regards to LBs being "too tight", they are just optimized for different distances than conventional turkey loads. While most conventional loads are optimized for 20-40 yd shots, LBs are optimized for 30-50 yd shots. The 50 yd patterns I have seen are beautiful, dense, even patterns. I will concede the need to alter ones hold with LBs on close in birds - that would mean waddles as opposed to the head. But never the body.

Ribs have meat on them!  But it's the biggest vital target on a deer and the easiest to hit so wasting the meat is ok. Same goes for shoulders. When a turkey is close the easiest shot is the body. But that's not ok?  I guess I just don't get it. No worries though. Do what you do and I'll do what I do!  And I'm sure we will both enjoy our hunting just the same! 

[greentag]

"So body shooting a turkey and messing up some meat is wrong. Where do you shoot deer?  I hope you shoot them in the head because anywhere else is going to waste some meat. I hunt to kill. Sure I love the experience, the challenge, and the time in the woods. But when it all comes down to it, I'm out there trying to kill an animal. I will happily take any shot that I feel will kill the animal quickly. That's what I'm there for. If you're not out to kill, then why carry a gun?  Cameras are lighter."

I know this is a thread about LBs being "too tight", but couldn't let the body shooting of turkeys pass without comment. I would never intentionally body shoot an unwounded turkey. The argument about body shooting deer is not applicable. Yes, I shoot deer in the body, a single projectile through the lungs that destroys zero meat that I intend to eat (I do not eat the ribs). Body shooting a turkey at 20 yds with LBs would destroy the vast majority of the usable meat - an unacceptable outcome to me.

With regards to LBs being "too tight", they are just optimized for different distances than conventional turkey loads. While most conventional loads are optimized for 20-40 yd shots, LBs are optimized for 30-50 yd shots. The 50 yd patterns I have seen are beautiful, dense, even patterns. I will concede the need to alter ones hold with LBs on close in birds - that would mean waddles as opposed to the head. But never the body.

exactly,...im there to kill a turkey too,and do so alot,but im not going to shoot one in the body and destroy the whole thing just so i can say yeah i got one.i think people who have hunted turkeys and know the challenge but have not ever killed one may do this just so they can finally say they got one,other than that i dont know anyone who thinks bodyshooting one at 15 to 20 yards is an acceptable way to kill a turkey!and i would say 99% of the people on this forum agree. i wasn't trying to ruffle any feathers,was just stating the facts in my previous post,oh and you can keep the camera,im not there to make a show either,i actually kill em and eat em.sorry to the others,and to the original person for highjacking the thread,that was never my intentions i promise,i will not write nothing else on the thread.sorry ya'll

[1iagobblergetter]

In my opinion deliberately body shooting a turkey may be legal,but is unethical and nothing more than publicized wanton waste. 

[mspaci]

They shot well out of my Ithaca too. Ended w 4 birds last season w them.  Heavy 13 wouldn't eject. That prob was fixed by Ithaca but will prob still shoot long beards. Mike

[Farmboy27]

In my opinion deliberately body shooting a turkey may be legal,but is unethical and nothing more than publicized wanton waste. 

I try not to waste any more meat than necessary on any game animal. If a doe is close, she gets head shot. If at all possible so does a turkey. I don't head shoot buck. Why? Because I want the horns. So I'll waste some meat. If I can't head shoot a turkey close then I'll body shoot. Why? Because I want the beard. I don't hunt because I need meat. I give almost all my turkey and deer meat away. I grew up in a hunting family but we almost never ate any wild game. I have never had a taste for it. But I love to hunt. I never thought that I had to eat what I killed to justify it.  I grew up with beef in the pasture, pigs in the pen and chickens and turkeys in the yard. Hunting was a get away, not a means to get food. It doesn't mean I wantonly waste meat. (I even cut the rib meat from deer, even though I'm giving it away). But it means that if I feel a body shot on a bird is my best chance, then I'm taking it. I've only done it a few times and still have gotten some breast meat and the drumsticks every time. I know that the politically correct thing is to say that I eat every thing I shoot and I save every ounce of meat I can. But I get far too few chances to hunt to be politically correct.

[owlhoot]

Well I guess that if I had to body shoot a turkey breast just to get a turkey I would be looking for a new gun and load combo . Becoming a better shot may be a good idea too as wasting a turkey breast isn't what I had in mind . But do like to get one as much as the next guy.
Shooting a deer in the ribs with a 06 is no comparison at all , very minimal meat lost.
Won't blow a rabbit or squirrel in half with a 12 gauge just to kill them either.
Whether you give the meat away or use it yourself does not matter .If you can't do that just go to the store.

[Farmboy27]

So do you guys eat all the groundhogs, coyotes, crows, and coons you shoot?  They are all made of meat ya know!

[1iagobblergetter]

So do you guys eat all the groundhogs, coyotes, crows, and coons you shoot?  They are all made of meat ya know!

Hint...I'd probably quit kicking this Old dog before you get bit. Shannon runs this site ethically as it should be. I'm also out but back to the original post I'm going to pattern  some LB #6s. I think from what I've heard about  them they work great after a little father/son time patterning.

[Farmboy27]

So it's plenty ethical to waste some animals but not others?  It's ethical to body shoot deer but not turkeys?  It's fine to kill a mother coyote and let her young starve? (Several members told me this some time back). It's ethical to do anything that you agree with and unethical to do anything that you are personally against?  I have nothing but respect for those that refuse to take nothing but head shots. I have nothing but respect for those who strive to use every ounce of meat on an animal.  And I have absolute respect for anyone making sure they have quick kills. But I have a hard time respecting anyone who insists on bringing up ethics and pushing them as the law. A dead turkey is a dead turkey. Whether the head is full of shot or the breast, they are gone. The gobbler that I shot in the head 2 years ago isn't going to sire anymore young than the one I body shot 5 years ago. I got meat of of them both and it was used. I don't care if you refuse to body shoot one. But don't belittle me for not refusing to.  If I get kicked off for not conforming to someone's ethical standards then so be it. I follow the laws and my own judgement. My idea of ethics might not suit you. That's fine, yours don't suit me!  I've said it before, that's why we have laws to follow and not ethics! 

[Bowguy]

Man this is crazy. Head shooting deer? No one is perfect n blowing off a jaw n watching em starve ain't so far off from the perfect shot. Pretty irresponsible as is body shooting birds. Many many each year are rolled w such chances n never recovered. Seems to make no sense to not take the most responsible shot possible. Least someone is eating it though but why not just shoot clay birds, shoot 3D. Farmboy your posts are normally good, I'm actually surprised

[owlhoot]

So do you guys eat all the groundhogs, coyotes, crows, and coons you shoot?  They are all made of meat ya know!

Hey barbecue raccoon is pretty darn tasty!
Never tried yote , don't know any who have . Or bugs I step on .
As far as eating crow , well will try leaving that to some others,lol