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Does anyone here shoot three and a halves for turkey on a yearly basis? I plan on using it for turkey this spring and just want to know what everyone thinks the effeciveness is up close and what the effective range is. Thanks
BigBuck95:fighting0007:

I think three inch does just fine. To each his own, but the pros don't outweigh the cons to me.

The effective range is whatever the pattern tells you it is. I have seen some that will shoot well to 73 yards (Nitro's), and I have seen some that will shoot well to 34 yards.
Take your gun and shell of choice and pattern it. When you get down to 100 pellets in a 10" circle that is your farthest effective range.

I agree, patterning your turkey shotgun is like sighting in your deer rifle, it just needs to be done, except you don't have to pattern every year. Spend the time with a variety of shells of 3 and 3.5" to see which one shoots the best. I've seen 3" outpattern some 3.5" and the other way around. It is really just a matter of what your gun likes. Once you figure out which one patterns best at like 40 yards, you should be able to find one that hits out there good, you can step back to 50 yards with that round and see what it does. I like to think that about 40 yards is the longest range I will ever shoot a turkey. Those little balls start losing velocity quickly out at that range. They may pattern good, but the oomph is starting to disappear. I read and hear and know people that shoot longer shots than that at turkeys, but that is my personal feeling.

I use 3.5" and will continue to every year.

Same here. Why, because they work real good.

I hope your not trying to tell this guy that a turkey gun can kill a gobbler out to 73 yards:nonono2:

3.5 is all I use for turkey. Smaller shells will kill them but I like to throw as much at them as I can.

And what's your average shot at a gobbler?

Yes sir. Long thread on the second page addresses the topic. I shoot 3.5 Nitros and Hevi-13 7s from a Mossberg 835.