General18

I just bought the mossberg model 835, great looking and shooting gun so far! It came with a accu choke or ulti choke on it. i dont have it with meatwork i cant remember, whatever comes stock. what is the best choke for my gun? And about patterns, what should i be expecting from 30 yards? how many in the kill zone do i need? Or does it all depend on the load im using? I know its a lot of questions, but its the only way to learn Thanks!

gmil6184

Turkeys really aren't all that tough, you only need a handful of pellets in the head and neck to put one down. That being said, everyone wants to put as many in there as possible for the quickest kill. As far as what is the best choke, i'm sure a lot of people will recommend a lot of different ones, but chances are any stock full or super full choke will be more then enough at 30 yards. As you guessed though a lot of it depends on the load, as different ones will perform totally different in different gun/choke combinations. Not to worry though, most shotguns aren't nearly as picky as rifles when it comes to ammo, remember you are shooting a cloud of pellets, not a single bullet. So if i were you i'd start with the factory choke tube that you already have, and the cheapest box of turkey shells and try them, chances are they will shoot pretty good.

mouthcaller

Try using the search feature on this site to access numerous threads dealing with the 835 and choke combinations.

I have a ported Star Dot .676 on my 24" barrel 835 and I shoot the 3.5", 2.25 oz Nitro 4X5X7s. I get 246 hits in a 10" circle at 40 yards.

My dad doesn't bother with a lot of patterning. He uses the Ultimag or whatever the name of the stock extra full Mossberg choke that came with the gun and uses 3.5" lead turkey loads (I don't know which brand or shot size). He kills turkeys with it, but note that he missed one last year at about 40 yards. I don't know why and I'm not blaming it on the loads or choke, just pointing out all I know.

If you want the ultimate combo for the Mossberg by a Primos Jellyhead or Rino extended choke and pony up for some of the loads from the Nitro Company, specifically load #H51013M.

http://www.nitrocompany.com/

nchawkeye

My hunting buddy has the same combo, his prefers the Federal Premium 3 inch #5s...It patterns better than the 3.5 inch in his gun...

kdsberman

I have the same gun as you, with the same choke as you General. I absolutely love the gun. It is THE ultimate turkey gun in my opinion. As of now, I shoot 3.5" Winchester Surpeme Double-X Magnums (2 1/4oz #5's). They seem to shoot very well. But after posting and reading a lot lately on Nitro shells, "Mouthcaller" has me convinced that the Nitro's are the way to go. But if you dont want to spend a ton of money, you definetly cant go wrong with Winchesters either.

General18

Some guys at work were telling me about hevi shot! They say that there pretty good, but i will check into that nitro shot. I just wanted to shoot the gun so i bought some small game shells like 2 3/4 rabbit shot, and man it is a great shooting gun, I did my homework on it, everyone said it was the ultimate turkey gun. But i guess what i need to do is buy a bunch of different loads and shoot and see which one works best, i was just trying to narrow my selection down cause there is like 500 different types. I appreciate all the help, Anymore info u think i might need would help out too thanks

SpurIA

It is definitly a wise choice to try different shells from your turkey setup, BUT I would bet the farm that none of them will out pattern nitro hevishot. The stuff is unbelieveable, period. I know it only takes a few well placed BB's to dump a turkey but this stuff is crazy good.but crazy good does come with a price tag .