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Knothead

Knothead

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Just curious.......
what is the longest and the closest distance from which you have ever taken a Tom ?

For me, the closest was 11 yds.
The longest was 72 yds. Thats right! I know you may find that hard to believe, but I did have a witness that day. Prior to that day, my longest was at 52 yds.
These were all with a Mossberg 835 UltiMag with # 5 Winchester Supremes, 3" Mag, and Jelly Head choke.

I prefer a shot at 20 to 30 yds, as that is the best pattern from my gun.

Lotta folks bad mouth the 835, but I can tell ya, it is a deadly weapon on those wary Toms!! :cool:
 
This may go downhill fast.....

Newcomers to the sport may read this thread and think because some guns can do it, theirs can too.... resulting in wounded & lost birds. They may not take the time to test & pattern loads to see what shoots the best in their gun..... or even shoot it to check POA/POI, which is about like taking a bore-sighted rifle to the deer woods and expecting to kill a deer.

But for the sake of asking, why would you shoot a turkey @ 72 yards, especially with lead shot?



Mine is 15 steps for the closest with #5 lead & 48 paces with Hevi-13 #6 handloads.
 
I've shot 1 at 60 steps.....2 at 55 steps, both Dead when I got there. closest at 30.

All my long shots were last chance, messed with them for a couple of hours and was the closest they would come.

I shoot a benelli nova mad maxx choke with Remington Premium Turkey Load #5...the $15 box.
 
Closest was 7-8 of my steps, furthest was 61 of my steps (approx 55 yards based on my stride). Both in woods with 3.5" Win HV #4 lead shells. I aimed just above beard for the closest shot (to reduce likelihood of missing) and I misjudged the 61 step shot one afternoon. I thought he was about 50 or so steps. I remember both very vividly. These are both extreme cases as I much prefer a 25-35 yard shot.
 
6 yards and 23 yards. Stepped off, no rangefinder. All using win supreme high velocity 3" 5 or 6 shot. H&R pump 12 ga 28" barrel. Not the best patterns but sure does kill em.
 
Near - 4 steps, way too freaking close.

Far- hate to admit it, but smoked one years ago at 60 steps in a cotton field that pushed me over the edge after 7 hours of waiting for him to come closer. Other than that, I haven't shot one past 40.
 
7 hours? Man I'd have shot him after 3 hours, who cares if some call me unethical, I only take a shot I'm comfortable with anyway and haven't even shot one yet at 30 yards. But if I were a better shot and had a better choke/shell setup, I'd take the farther shot if he made me wait that long.
 
close 5 steps... agree w/Setterman, way to close, but he was on a beeline to me when he broke around a blow down.

far 52 of my steps.. I calculate 12 steps is about 10 yards..
I would call this the extent of my "sure" kill range..
Winchester super X2 28" barrel- Truglo gobble stopper - 3.5" win #5
 
Swamphunter said:
Seriously? Is there nothing else to discuss?

Here's a better topic: why do people think its impressive to talk about killing birds at ridiculous ranges? All it tells me is you are A) a ridiculously bad judge of distance or B) an unethical hunter.
Click to expand...
x2
 
I once had one that was literally a foot from the end of my gun. he ran too me from my offside and i got the gun turned and he stopped and started strutting a foot from the end of my gun. It was wild. I was new at turkey and everyone told me not too shot one strutting but i shoulda blasted him. i held my gun til my arm started to quiver a little and he noticed it and was gone. LOL It may be why i am so addicted now.
 
Swamphunter said:
Seriously? Is there nothing else to discuss?

Here's a better topic: why do people think its impressive to talk about killing birds at ridiculous ranges? All it tells me is you are A) a ridiculously bad judge of distance or B) an unethical hunter.
Click to expand...

Whoa Dude! Who pulled the string on your tampon! Take a chill pill. Gosh.
 
I agree, I'm not a big fan of talking or boasting about distance killing.

Closest for me was 8yds, furthest was 38yds.

That's over 70ish turkeys never having to have shot over 40yds. I personally like those kind of numbers.
 
Confidence in yourself, confidence in your equipment, and confidence in your abilities. That means a lot, and goes a long way toward putting meat on the table.
 
Grizzly Johnson said:
But for the sake of asking, why would you shoot a turkey @ 72 yards, especially with lead shot?
Click to expand...

Because I know what my gun will do up to 80 yds. It's all about patterning your gun & having confidence in it and in yourself. It's not for everyone, and that's ok, but if you know you can do it, why not ?
 
I too would like to see what an 80yd lead pattern looks like. Heck I'd like to see some of the 60yd patter claims on here but none have yet to be produced.

Hey if your gun can pattern it then go for if, just not a very high % shot.
 
catman529 said:
7 hours? Man I'd have shot him after 3 hours, who cares if some call me unethical, I only take a shot I'm comfortable with anyway and haven't even shot one yet at 30 yards. But if I were a better shot and had a better choke/shell setup, I'd take the farther shot if he made me wait that long.
Click to expand...

I don't do things because of what others might think. I do things because of my own personal reasons.

Killing turkeys is about calling birds in close, and I want to make clean ethical kills every single time I pull the trigger. Lobbing shot 60 yards down range is a great way to cripple birds, and something I won't do again.
 
REN said:
I too would like to see what an 80yd lead pattern looks like. Heck I'd like to see some of the 60yd patter claims on here but none have yet to be produced.

Hey if your gun can pattern it then go for if, just not a very high % shot.
Click to expand...

I have never shot mine at 60, 50, or even 40. I know what it does from 35 and inside, and you don't want to be in front of it at those ranges inside 35 yards.

I have never seen anyone anywhere post a 60 yards pattern, and with the amount of 1.5"+ spurred 25 lb turkeys killed each year I have some serious doubts about these 60 yards patterns.
 

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