I shot my longest bird ever this year, 47 paces ( the average step is 32 inches=42 yards). I could not get him to come to the calls like others have, only answer them. After two mornings of this I moved across the cornfield to a position just below his roost. And sure enough he walked away from my calls to this cornfield again that he strutted in and up over a rise. I knew he'd be back so I moved to a corner of the woods that poked out into the field and never made a call. He did indeed come back, and when he was straight out from me with his head straight up (I think he seen me as unfamiliar in his area and was scrutinizing me) I sent one downrange, BOOM!, dropped him. Twice in the neck and 4 in the upper body, missed his head. When I got there he was looking at me so I had to finish him off with the other end of "precious" my 1187. My second gobbler of the season and as a bonus was carrying DOUBLE SPURS. I will try to post pics later.
My question is this ; if I never shoot past 40 yards anyway why do I need to pay those ridiculous prices for Hevi-Shot when what I got has never failed me?
Rem 1187SP Mossy Oak Bottomland
Hastings .655 extended choke tube
Federal Premium #5, 3 inch
3 dot fiber optic sight
I also do not like Hevi-shot. It did not pattern worth a darn past 30 yards. So I stayed with my Winchester Supreme #4 loads though my 11-87. I also added a Nikon Monarch scope which was a tremendous improvement for an old guy who now has trouble seeing back Glo-dot open sites. The optics on this scope are exrtremely clear in low light conditions.
The reason I use #4s ( used to be a diehard #6 fan) was the knock down power of the copper plated shot. This load also does not have the hard kick of others and offers a higher muzzle felocity due to a slightly reduced shot charge. Which in fact gave me 5 more yards of good pattern.
Oh I also added a Cantelever barrel which shortened this gun up immensley. And I use a Hasting .663 extended choke.
JW
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I agree, I have killed all of my birds with lead shot. The first one I dropped this year was at 49 paces and the bird did not move when he went down. I shoot a Mossberg 3.5" with Winchester #6's and it's been deadly every time. The bird I dropped was a big bird and had 7 pellots in the head and neck region.
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I also don't like the hevi shot.[:'(]
I shoot Winchester # 6 copper plated.out to 40 yards,I get a great pattern,beyond that it gets less and less in the vitals.
I have shot 45 yards and 50 yards a lot in the pattern bench and am OK with the hits in the kill.I don't like to shoot that far. get them in close is the name of the game.
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No heavy shot here either.[:'(] Why bother, Winchester 2oz. #5's are a perfect match to my Mossberg 835U with ported Mad choke.....my farthest is 45 yards but my friend shot a superb longbeard at 55 yards with my gun without a flinch from the bird. I sighted in my scope and the wad full of shot went through 3/4" T111(plywood) at just shy of 20 yards....with that pattern, I need the bird out there a little farther...ouch.
I think there is a misconception floating around about hevi-shot that should be clarified. These loads were developed for waterfowlers to give better downrange performance than steel, not to replace lead. Given a choke specifically designed for hevi, it will out-pattern lead but is still not meant to encourage long(irresponsible) shots. Like you guys, I think I'll stick with lead for the time being, but the day may come when that is no longer an option. In a duck blind, after shooting steel for years with no other options, this stuff IS the holy grail that everyone has been searching for, but just hasn't caught up to todays best turkey loads in the copper-plated lead variety.
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RE: The Longshot Gobbler/how far?
At 15 yards, Win HV #6 will blow a slug hole through plywood from my Ithaca. At 50 yards I can still get 20 pellets in the head and neck---and I haven't got the pattern placed perfectly, as I left the allen wrenches for the fiber sights at home when I patterned!
Longest shot is 39 yards...although I almost took one this year at 50...until those 4 blasted hens got between me and Mr. Big []
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The Longshot Gobbler/how far?
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