With a 12 gauge Mossberg 500 modified barrel, what would be the best bet in shot size for turkey hunting?

save yourself the aggravation. unless you limit shots to 20 yards, your gonna wind up dissapointed. get a full choke.

good luck,
moose

Honestly, it almost doesn't matter because you are going to have to be close. Personally, I would use #6s, as it will give you the highest pellet count, and thats what its all about.


Been a hell of a lot of turkeys shot with a modified barrel. It'll do the job just fine.

get some 3" turkey loads in 4, 5, and 6 shot...different brands and such...

pattern them all at 20 yards and see what ones pattern well.

pattern those loads at 25, 30, 35 etc till you dont get an effective pattern. many guys go by 8 or so hits in the brain and spine of a turkey targets to be called effective.

a modified choke can and will work fine. just gotta be smart and know your weapon. patterning will be important.


*right around this time Walmart and other chain stores put turkey loads on sale to get them sold....GREAT time to pick up loads at a GOOD price.


IF your gun has removable chokes(i cant say ive seen a mossberg that doesnt) id recommend a turkey choke if your gunna be turkey hunting...will give a much better patter and extend the effective range of your weapon. i had good results with the Undertaker Hevishot choke in my 870...it was about 20$..not bad at all...actually i got it AND hevishot after the season CHEAP...got bot for less then the price of one....

best of luck....be sure to take shots within the effective range of your shotgun setup...trying to shoot farther can and will result into lost, wounded birds...

im not sure id shoot one with a modified barrel unless i had too, but i would probably use #6s or maybe even #7s

You can pickup a cheap barrel with screw in chokes,I'm guessing under $100 or a new one for a little more.You could have a little bit of money tied up in finding a load that patterns good out of the mod barrel.IMHO Good luck.

have you guys patterened a modified barrel???

its not as bad as you think....ive seen WORSE patterns from super full turkey chokes....

and ive seen those open chokes throw some dandy patterns with bigger shot, where a super full turkey choke will sometimes throw bad patterns due to the large pellets smashing together wildly...

just gotta pattern the gun and stick to the effective range.

a couple years ago a 40yd turkey gun was practically a DREAM....i remember a couple years back one of the big magazines had a big write up about "the 40yd turkey gun" now 40yds is NOTHING for some of us...we all kinda forget that at one time we were all somewhat limited to 25-30yds before....and we ALL know that you do NOT NEED a 40yd gun for turkeys...all about the setup and tactics...

maybe the guy isnt 100% serious about turkey chasin...or maybe doesnt want/have the cash to spend on a new barrel, loads, chokes etc...nothin wrong with that...he got a shotgun..thats all he needs..a shotgun and a couple turkey loads..pattern it and stick to the range and you'll drop em dead

I totally agree that plenty of modified choked shotguns have killed turkeys. Americans have been brainwashed to think that they constantly need the latest and newest equipment to be successful in hunting and pretty much everything else. I got news for them, however. Good hunting skills with plain old equipment will beat poor hunting skill with the latest high tech equipment just about every time!!

In 86 I bought, my dad bought, a sportsman pump 3' magnum Remington 12 gauge. It had the mod. barrel and for 3 years it killed many dove, squirrel, 8 deer and 1 turkey at 35 yards. I only switched because someone told me that I will shoot the choke out as much as I shoot. I got a screw in choke but still have that old pump adn used it three years ago when my new gun was sent back to Remington. Even though I do have a three year old gun I do believe that we go for the latest and greatest.

Thanks guys for expressing your opinions, and especially mauser06 for the practical suggestions.