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Bottom Hunter

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I have taken one turkey in my life and that was 15 years ago....

I go turkey hunting a few times each season, but never had a place to go that I liked.

Now I do.

The place I am hunting now has plenty of birds, as I am told by the owner and by a friend that has hunted there for many years.

I want to shoot the best shells for my gun.

I do not have a turkey gun. All I have is a 3" 870 pump with a screw in turkey choke....

What is the best shell to shoot.....?

thanks


Oh and while I'm here, what distance would be MAX with this combo....????

thanks again.
 
You can get a lot of good recommendations on a shell/choke combo. However, what shoots good in one guys 870 may not be good in anothers. Well, it may be good enough but not the best. The only way you are going to really know what is best out of your gun and your max distance is, is to get some different types of shells and try them.
 
Get you a ssx choke for that gun and some win hv #6. Thats what im shooting with mine. I have a hastings choke I could send you if you want to try it too. Waiting on grizz to chime in here, he seems to have alot of remis lol
 
Bottom Hunter said:
I do not have a turkey gun. All I have is a 3" 870 pump with a screw in turkey choke....

What is the best shell to shoot.....?

thanks

Oh and while I'm here, what distance would be MAX with this combo....????

thanks again.
Click to expand...


Trevor2 said:
Waiting on grizz to chime in here, he seems to have alot of remis lol
Click to expand...


Thanks Trevor for the recommendation.... :D


BH, the first question is how much are you willing to spend to reach the ultimate goal of cleanly taking a turkey?

If you want to go budget like, you can try several of the cheaper chokes found at WalMart (H.S. Undertaker, Primos Tight Wad, Tru-Glo, or even a factory Remington extended turkey choke) along with the cheaper turkey loads also found at WalMart (Federal, Remington, Winchester (gray box), Kent, Fiocchi).....

If you want to go a higher, you can try the Primos Jelly Head, Kicks Gobblin' Thunder, Sumtoy Custom, Carlson, Indian Creek BDS, Pattern Master, Rhino, Hevi-Shot tube, Pure Gold.... along with handloads, Winchester Supreme HV, Hevi-Shot shells, Winchester Extended Range, Federal HeavyWeight....

If you have the time and care to do it, I would suggest polishing your barrel to improve pattern density. There is a thread on OldGobbler.com that explains the process (I can post it here if need be).

My personal opinion/experience:

On the budget end: the Kicks GT .665 with the Winchester Supreme HV #5's.

On the higher end: Indian Creek BDS .665 and Hevi-Shot MagBlends or #6's.... The Primos Jelly Head .660 chokes and Hevi-Shot #7s seem to work well in several peoples guns I know of... and the Pure Gold .670 with Hevi-Shot MagBlends is another good combo.


As far as range.... the thrill is getting them close as possible.... but the max I would use as a rule with lead would be 40 yards.... with High Density type loads (Hevi, Federal HeavyWeight, or Extended Range) might stretch it out a tad, but not without pattern testing at those "extra" distances first.
 
Since you said the best shells, I would say use hevi 13 #7s. The pattern density can not be beat by any other factory shells. If you think the 7 shot is too small, shoot the hevi 13 magnum blends. I would highly recommend a Jelly Head 660 or 665. Whatever you choose, make sure you pattern the gun with whatever shell or choke you decide on. I have 4 870s and none of them pattern exactly where you aim.
 
Bottom Hunter said:
What is the best shell to shoot.....?
Click to expand...
No one can accurately tell you the best shell for your gun and factory turkey choke combination without shooting your exact setup with many different shells at the distances you typically shoot a turkey at to see. That will get costly quick. Each gun and choke and different barrel lengths will make for varied pattern results and sometimes even different point of aim, point of impact results. With that said, a dang good shell for the money is the Winchester High Velocity Turkey Loads (black shells). I shot the 3.5" #4s for 10+ years with great results. A box of 10 3" HV shells will cost you about $13 with tax. I'd recommend you start with the 3" #5s and see how they pattern at 10, 20, 30 and 40 yards with your setup. Make sure POA/POI is the same. If not, an adjustable sight may be needed. Rule of thumb for maximum effective distance should be 40 yards and less. Best of luck this turkey season.

http://www.cabelas.com/shotgun-ammuniti ... oads.shtml
 
ruger7mag said:
Since you said the best shells, I would say use hevi 13 #7s. The pattern density can not be beat by any other factory shells. If you think the 7 shot is too small, shoot the hevi 13 magnum blends. I would highly recommend a Jelly Head 660 or 665. Whatever you choose, make sure you pattern the gun with whatever shell or choke you decide on. I have 4 870s and none of them pattern exactly where you aim.
Click to expand...

Those #7's will definitely send a swarm of pellets at a gobblers head..... bad medicine for ole Tommy Three Toes. If your POA/POI isn't to your liking, you might try adjustable sights or changing load/choke combos.... I know it has made a difference in mine at times and I have seen a change shooting different handloads too.

I guess I am pretty lucky, I have patterned good combos that shoot POA/POI with rib bead....




jonnylong said:
Also Indian Creek and Somtoy will work with you in finding the best choke for your gun. I've seen where they exchange them if one doesn't suit you
Click to expand...

I have had extremely good all around results with an Indian Creek BDS .665 with both the Hevi MagBlends and the Hevi #6's.... I have a Pure Gold .670 and Hevi .662 to try with the MagBlends, but haven't had time to pattern those combos yet....
 
Grizzly Johnson said:
ruger7mag said:
Since you said the best shells, I would say use hevi 13 #7s. The pattern density can not be beat by any other factory shells. If you think the 7 shot is too small, shoot the hevi 13 magnum blends. I would highly recommend a Jelly Head 660 or 665. Whatever you choose, make sure you pattern the gun with whatever shell or choke you decide on. I have 4 870s and none of them pattern exactly where you aim.
Click to expand...

Those #7's will definitely send a swarm of pellets at a gobblers head..... bad medicine for ole Tommy Three Toes. If your POA/POI isn't to your liking, you might try adjustable sights or changing load/choke combos.... I know it has made a difference in mine at times and I have seen a change shooting different handloads too.

I guess I am pretty lucky, I have patterned good combos that shoot POA/POI with rib bead....




jonnylong said:
Also Indian Creek and Somtoy will work with you in finding the best choke for your gun. I've seen where they exchange them if one doesn't suit you
Click to expand...

I have had extremely good all around results with an Indian Creek BDS .665 with both the Hevi MagBlends and the Hevi #6's.... I have a Pure Gold .670 and Hevi .662 to try with the MagBlends, but haven't had time to pattern those combos yet....
Click to expand...

I use a leupold 1.5-4x20 scope on my dedicated turkey gun. I would say 3 out of 4 of my 870s shoot a little to the left, it's not too bad but when I'm shooting a golfball size paattern at 20 yards, it has to be dead on. As far as switching shells, that won't be happening anytime soon since I have 16 or 17 boxes of the hevi 7s :grin:
 
Yep, if using an optic, your good to go.... I'm just lucky, out of the 3-4 870s I have used, all of them patterned POA/POI.... Going to be using #7's some this year as well.
 
Maybe my dad and I are just unlucky. His 870s always need some tweaking when it comes to poa/poi. The 7s have worked really well for us over the last 3 years.
 
I have shot many 870's and I can tell you the 3" guns are all different. I got a buddy whose 3" 870 shoots Win supreme(red shells)#5s like nobodys business with a Kicks GT 640 my gun with same set up sucks. Mine likes a GT.655 with Win Supreme HV(black Shells). However my gun needs a .660 to shoot the Hevi-13 well. If you are trying to save money I would suggest a Hasting choke and the constriction depends on the size of shot and shell you want to use. I would try something around a .650 if I were just gonna shoot lead but more open for hevi-shot. However with the right combonation lead can be lethal at 50yds.....
 
the choke tube that I have is a Remington Turkey Super Full...I have had it for some 15 years or so.

The shells I now have are Federal Premium mag-shok 12ga. 3 " 2oz. 6 shot.

Only shot at two birds in my life, killing one.

One was killed at about 30 yards, the other saw me just before I shot, flushed straight up and got out of there unscathed...I did take a couple of shots at him in the process...

I think I'll go out and pattern the gun, as is, before I decide...

any more thoughts are welcome...thanks so much.
 
If your shooting the non-ported Rem factory extended choke, you might try the Federal shells with the Fight-Control wads... might give you a little better pattern as the wad is supposed to stay with the shot longer....
 
Bottom Hunter said:
the choke tube that I have is a Remington Turkey Super Full...I have had it for some 15 years or so.
Click to expand...
I have that choke, it came with my 870 SP years ago. It is matte (rough finish) on the end that sticks out of the barrel as seen in pic below. It is .665 constriction. I have a few friends that are darn good turkey hunters that shoot that exact choke out of their 870 Express and they kill their share of turkeys every year. One of them shoots 3" Nitros triplex loads and the other shoots 3.5" Winchester Supreme Double X turkey loads #5s (red shells in link below).

RemSuperFullTurkeychoke.jpg


http://www.winchester.com/products/shot ... T12L5.aspx
 
LSUtigers said:
Why do u guys hang up at 40 yards; have taken several birds at 55 to 60 yards.
Click to expand...
I have taken a few at 45-60 of my steps, by mistake, not by choice. I misjudged those birds and was fortunate to come away with a clean kill. I have also misjudged a few and watched them fly off. In my neck of the woods, 40 yards has always been the rule of thumb for higher probability ethical clean kills with lead shot. I will agree HTL shot has increased that somewhat if the hunter knows his gun well and what its limitations are. I know several field goals have been kicked/made from 55+ yards over the course of football history, but I would not want to wager a bet on any kicker kicking at those distances on a regular occurrence. Kind of the same line of thinking in my eyes. To add to that, for me it is a lot more of an adrenalin rush to have a turkey at 30 than at 60, just my personal preference. I am not saying everyone should hunt like I do. Hope this helps explain my line of thinking.
 
LSUtigers said:
Why do u guys hang up at 40 yards; have taken several birds at 55 to 60 yards.
Click to expand...

Because for me, it's turkey hunting, not turkey killing.... I like to get them into the 40yd range or closer.... otherwise, why not just be shooting them with a rifle a 100 yards away.... that would be no fun (yes I know it's not legal in TN, but is in some other states).

I guess if your gun patterns like a rifle and you can get 100-200 pellets in a 10" circle at 60+ yards, your good to go.... but shooting 60 yards and hoping 1 pellet makes a lethal hit is just plain wreckless.... why even take the chance of wounding a turkey only for it to go off and die somewhere.

The fun part is playing the game and calling ole Tommy Three Toes within ethical range.
 

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