RE: too close?
nobody but your gun can answer that for you. You have to shoot it and see. You should be blasting a whole in a target at 15 yds.
The other thing is even if the pattern is only a couple inches that should be no problem. I mean if I asked you if can you shoot a squirrel at 15 yds with a .22 would you say no problem? A turkey is bigger than a squirrel and a tiny little tight pattern of #5's is still bigger than a .22 bullet.
Just get out there and shoot a bunch. Know your gun and know how to shoot it.