1187 pattern pics. Opinions appreciated

[BigGare]

So the first three picture are all at 30 yards. The rounds are written on the paper but the specifics are
Hevi shot is the mag blend 3" 5,6,7
Long beard xr #5 3"
Federal 5,6,7 blend 3rd degree. (I believe with tss)
All shot off a steady rest by the same person with the red dot on the same power. Shooting a carlsons Turkey choke at .575 constriction.
I would like to keep all shots at turkeys at 30 max for this gun but if needed to reach 40 I wouldnt want to not be able to.  What pattern do you guys and gals like best for 30? Will update with 40 yard pics when we get a clear day to shoot. The biggest factor here is the price of the hevi shot. At almost $6 a shot for hevi shot but 16.99 for a box of 10 lbxr it's hard to justify the price of hevi shot. The circles are roughly 10 and 20"  let's hear your thoughts thanks

[BigGare]

Pic 2

[BigGare]

Pic 3

[sswv]

I'm no expert by any means but I think you'd really see a big improvement if you tried LB #6's and a slightly tighter choke.

jus' my 2cents

[BigGare]

That's also what I was thinking about doing just wanted some opinions first

[g8rvet]

If those were the best I could do, I would keep looking.  No doubt you could kill a bird, but those are not really good 40 yard numbers.  If you have the time and inclination, I would keep searching. 

There is absolutely no reason you can not make that a 40 yard gun and be a killer at 15 yards too with a red dot.  Personally, I think a choke from Sumtoy or Trulock would be my next purchase.  William from Sumtoy will know just what your gun is most likely to want. He is on here.

[DBell]

So the first three picture are all at 30 yards. The rounds are written on the paper but the specifics are
Hevi shot is the mag blend 3" 5,6,7
Long beard xr #5 3"
Federal 5,6,7 blend 3rd degree. (I believe with tss)
All shot off a steady rest by the same person with the red dot on the same power. Shooting a carlsons Turkey choke at .575 constriction.
I would like to keep all shots at turkeys at 30 max for this gun but if needed to reach 40 I wouldnt want to not be able to.  What pattern do you guys and gals like best for 30? Will update with 40 yard pics when we get a clear day to shoot. The biggest factor here is the price of the hevi shot. At almost $6 a shot for hevi shot but 16.99 for a box of 10 lbxr it's hard to justify the price of hevi shot. The circles are roughly 10 and 20"  let's hear your thoughts thanks

I think there's a couple things you can do. The least expensive/ least amount of further testing would be use those mag blends, but limit yourself to 35 yards.
Another would be buy a different choke and try to get those Longbeards looking right. You might have POI issues with them and need to correct it with sights of some sort.
What worked for me was finding a good lead load for 35 yards and under (fed grand slam $11 a box of 10) and I stocked up a life's supply for 70 bucks. They will cover probably 85% of my turkey hunting needs. I have a few boxes of mag blends and some
Hevi #6 that don't put up the most impressive 40 yard numbers but will definitely work no problem. I'll load one of these in if the setup calls for it.
I'm not cheap, but I also don't want to spend a chunk of money on a scope or red dot and TSS, when I can get it done everyday of the week for a lot less money. Not knocking anyone, just sharing what works for me.
Wait for em to get in to 35 yards and they won't walk away from those mag blends.
Longbeards are the only lead load I'd feel confident in at 40 but they don't hit POI for me. If you want to back your max range down to 35 you can smash em with lead just have to find the shell/choke combo.


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[DBell]

I see you already have a red dot, I missed that.
I'd try a dif choke and get the Longbeards shooting good, since you don't want to spend more on hevi shot

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[g8rvet]

I could not get Mag Blends to pattern out of either of my 870s.  Stuffed them in my nephew's Nova and they were awesome.  Choke and barrel make a difference.

Have you deep cleaned your barrel?  there are instructions on here how to do that and some of the improvements are impressive.  may try that too.

[BigGare]

Thanks for all the input. Ordered the long beard choke off of someone on here so will be trying it Friday when it shows up. If that doesnt do it then I will just back max range down to 30/35 yards it's my girlfriends gun I have my 12 gauge for anything that hangs up at 40/45 I just want something she can shoot without breaking my bank or her shoulder. If this choke doesn't do it I'll just go back to the mag blends and a 35 max range could also try them in the xr choke will keep everyone updated

[edward.penny]

I think I would go with the Magblends. Maybe try a tighter choke.

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[g8rvet]

Thanks for all the input. Ordered the long beard choke off of someone on here so will be trying it Friday when it shows up. If that doesnt do it then I will just back max range down to 30/35 yards it's my girlfriends gun I have my 12 gauge for anything that hangs up at 40/45 I just want something she can shoot without breaking my bank or her shoulder. If this choke doesn't do it I'll just go back to the mag blends and a 35 max range could also try them in the xr choke will keep everyone updated

I get that.  I rigged up an 870 youth for my adult daughter.  She is new to shooting, so instead of using the Trulock choke with Federal HW which was shooting a high 160s in the 10" at 40 yards, I put a Remington Full in it and have the perfect 30 yard gun now.  Nice, even and open enough for some nerves!  She did pass a jake at 40, as it was out of her range.  i want her first shot to be a kill.

[BigGare]

Update. 30 yards. #5 lbxr and lbxr choke. 101 in the 10

[DBell]

Update. 30 yards. #5 lbxr and lbxr choke. 101 in the 10

I would think the Longbeard #5 would do better than that at 30 yards. Hmm



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[BigGare]

I was hoping so also