Patterning turkeys isn’t hard. In fact, I think they’re easier to pattern than deer, since turkeys readily reveal their locations in spring. Follow their calls, trails, scat and feathers to where they want to be and it will matter little if the gobblers have gone silent.
What is a good pattern for a turkey gun?
Opinions vary on what a good turkey-killing pattern looks like at 30 yards. Some say it’s consistently having at least 100 pellets in a 10-inch circle. Others say it requires X-amount of pellets within the kill zone—the brain and vertebrae—of the turkey target.
How far apart are turkey tracks?
Turkeys spend much of their time walking and have a stride length of 8 to 14 inches. The stride length is the distance between one set of prints and the next. When turkeys run, the stride length can be up to 33 inches long.
What choke is best for turkey?
Full choke has tight constriction. The shot holds together even longer, making this choke good for squirrels, turkey, and other game shot at 40-yard and longer ranges. Turkey hunters sometimes use Extra Full or Turkey choke for even denser patterns at long range.
What rounds do you use for turkey?
Lead Turkey Loads
A good compromise is #5 copper-plated lead pellets loaded in a 12-gauge 3-inch magnum shot shell. With this setup, you’ll be good out to 40 yards, and perhaps 50 if your gun is patterned tight. If you want better range and lethality, you’ll need to consider using tungsten shot.
Can you shoot a turkey at 70 yards?
With the right shotgun, choke, and TSS load, it is possible (with a lot of time spent patterning) to kill a turkey at 70 yards.
How far will a turkey load go?
Today, ballistics have advanced significantly; your average turkey load in a standard shotgun is reliable at 35 yards but the right combination of ammo, shotgun, choke, and red dot extend your reach to 50 yards and beyond.
How far do wild turkeys travel in a day?
So in summary, turkeys can travel anywhere from 1 to 3 miles per day. Their decisions are heavily influenced by predators, food, and water. When looking for a good area to hunt turkey, keep their possible food sources in mind.
What is good turkey habitat?
It is now recognized that turkeys do best in areas with a wide variety of habitat types and plant species. One recent researcher has described the ideal turkey habitat as one-half wooded, one quarter abandoned fields, and one quarter active agriculture.
Is a turkey choke tighter than a full choke?
It may seem a small amount, but it is actually quite a bit of constriction when you consider all that shot has to squeeze through that narrow tunnel. So, a full choke is . 030 of an inch tighter than cylinder and most turkey chokes are another 30 thousandths of an inch tighter than full chokes.
Do turkey chokes make a difference?
For best results, always use turkey loads when possible, along with extended choke tubes for the extra constriction. The right amount of choking can result in a denser pattern downrange at longer distances, and hopefully result in more shot pellets lethally penetrating the turkey’s head [and neck].
What is the best gauge shotgun for turkey hunting?
Plenty of Power
As mentioned above, there was a time when 40 yards was considered the far side of a turkey hunter’s effective range with a 12-gauge. However, with the introduction of TSS loads, 40 yards and beyond, is easily accomplished with the 20-gauge shotgun.
What’s the best turkey shot?
Tungsten and bismuth shot have taken the turkey hunting and waterfowling world by storm, and Federal TSS loads are among the best. Non-toxic loads began as an alternative to steel for waterfowl hunters but were quickly recognized for their lethality and long-range performance in the turkey woods.
Can I use steel shot for turkey?
To compensate for the lower weight, lesser density and loss of velocity, it’s not uncommon for turkey hunters to load up with steel shot one or two sizes larger than what they would use in a lead load.
Can you use a modified choke for turkey hunting?
Re: Turkey with a Modified Choke? You’ll be perfectly fine, just pattern your gun to know how far you should reasonably shoot. Just about any choke with a decent load will kill a turkey at 30 yards.
Is it common to miss a turkey?
It can also be a heartbreaker when hunters, caught up in the moment, flub the shot. For those one-shot, one-bird hunters, it may be difficult to wrap their heads around the notion that a turkey could be missed when leveling a shotgun on a gobbler at less than 30 yards. Yet, it happens…often.
Will a turkey come back after being shot at?
Typically, a bird that is fatally injured by a shotgun won’t travel far. Most turkeys are recovered within about a 200-yard radius. The best place to start your search is right where you shot the bird.
Is 5 shot or 6 shot better for turkey?
6s are ideal. More guns pattern the smaller shot better and out to typical turkey killing ranges, the high pellet count can literally swarm a turkey’s vitals with a combined abundance of energy.
Can you shoot a turkey at 60 yards?
However, just because we… Given the state of turkey chokes and loads, we can now kill turkeys to 60 yards. However, just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should, and the best range to shoot a wild turkey remains 20-30 yards.
How far away should I shoot at a turkey?
40 yards is the typical shot distance for most turkey hunting scenarios, and so many turkey hunters start at this distance.
What shot for 20-gauge turkey?
Produced for 12-gauge or 20-gauge, 3” or 3.5” shells, #7 or #9 shot. Tungsten shot with a muzzle velocity between 1,000 – 1,200 fps. This load offers the highest pellet count possible in a shell (634).