Originally Posted by mouthcaller

Yours is a question that will be asked many times between now and the start of turkey season. There are so many good chokes out there now the answer is that there probably isn't a "best choke tube" because you can get a great pattern with many of them shooting heavier-than-lead turkey loads.

Questions to help determine a "best" choke for an individual hunter and gun are as follows:

1. What shell do you plan to shoot? Federal makes a shell with a wad designed to stay with the shot column longer. These shells generally shoot best out of non-ported chokes that are not super constricted. Ported chokes are designed to strip the wad from the shot at the muzzle or slightly beyond and the porting also reduces felt recoil but increases muzzle blast and noise.

2. Hevishot or lead? Hevishot is denser and harder than lead, produces tighter patterns and allows you to use a smaller shot size due to greater retained energy. It is also much more expensive than lead loads.

3. How tight do you want to go? Super tight patterns are great if you aim perfectly every time. I look for uniformity in a pattern first, then try to tighten it. In general (not always), tighter tubes produce tighter patterns up to a certain point. You can overchoke a gun, expecially if you are using "traditional" lead loads, with the result being blown patterns. "Heavier than lead" shot is less susecptible to this because it is much harder than lead.

4. How much money and time do you wish to spend finding the "best" choke? Some of these chokes are expensive, as are the hevishot loads made by both the large companies and custom manufacturers. The Nitro Company custom 3.5", 2.25oz triplex (4X5X7) loads I shoot in my Mossberg 835 cost nearly $6.00 per shell, but nothing compares with the pattern they shoot. Prior to that I used Winchester or Federal 3", 2 oz lead turkey loads out of an 870 Express (factory Remington "turkey" tube) and was very satisfied for 20 years of turkey hunting with that gun. The turkeys I killed with it over the years didn't seem to care either.

My recommendations:

1. If you plan on shooting lead loads, aren't really interested on spending the money or time finding the absolute "best" choke for your new 870, then buy a Primos Jellyhead, Undertaker, or Remington turkey choke. Shoot it to verify that it is throwing a reasonably uniform pattern at 40 yards. Make sure the POI of the center of the pattern matches your point of aim. Go hunting.

2. If you really want to find the "best" choke for your gun and get the tightest, most uniform pattern possible, then go with an Indian Creek or Pure Gold. I believe both these companies allow you exchange tubes of different constrictions to find the right one for your gun and load. You will need to shoot hevier-than-lead loads from different manufacturers to determine which load and shot size is best for your gun and choke. This process is time consuming and expensive. You may choose to upgrade your aiming system from a bead to more precise devices such as red-dot or low-power scopes. I use a low-power scope and really like it.

At the top of the page there is a section called tips and tactics. Swamp Collie wrote a nice post about how to pattern a turkey gun. You can find some things there that would be helpful.

The shotgunning forum on the NWTF website is also a terrific source of information for those wishing to optimize their turkey gun patterns. In addition to this site I might suggest it as well. The difference is that board is pretty technical while this one is more oriented to hunters.

Good luck

Originally Posted by mouthcaller

Adrian,

I hate when that happens. Would like to know what your thoughts were.

I don't want to come off as looking like some kind of expert with regards to setting up a turkey gun because I am not. I have set up or assisted in setting up a few guns for family and friends. Most of my knowledge has been gained through a lifetime of turkey hunting experience, trial and a lot of error, and talking with knowlegable people live and on the internet (especially the NWTF shotgunning board I mentioned). Since I live 2 hours from Nashville I usually make it over there every year for the NWTF annual convention. I am sure that you have been before and know that exibit hall is full of people who are truly experts in the field of shotgunning, chokes, gunsmithing, ammo, competitive still target shooting, and hunting (professional guides such as yourself). I really enjoy picking their brians and have learned a great deal from them.

Will you be in Nashville this year for the NWTF. If so I would love to meet you.

Edit: I forgot to mention that I really liked those 20 gauge targets you posted the other day. The idea of "going back" (I shot a 20 gauge waterfowl hunting from an early age until I was about 15) to the 20 really appeals to me. My son (now 13) has killed two with his 870 youth gun and the results were impressive indeed. I set him up with a pattern that wasn't too tight to give him some margin for aiming error. He is shooting the Nitro 4X5X7s through a Primos Tightwad. I know you are not crazy for the Nitros but that is the only load I can get locally with Hevishot 7s. Hevishot 7 makes a lot of sense to me for the 20 gauge. Heck, it makes a lot of sense to me for any gauge. I am absolutely in love with 7s. It is my new favorite number :-)

Would be interested in your thoughts.

Mouthcaller
(Tom)