a 40 yard gun?
 

I finally was able to get out to the range yesterday and try out my new 23" barrel on my 870. The first shot was a winchester #5 1 3/4 oz 3in shell with Remington .675 superful choke at 25 yards. I was able to put 187 hits in a 10 inch circle, not bad. The second shot was with the same shell but with my indian creek choke which yielded 201 hits in the same area at the same range. Then I put in a heavi-13 3in shell with 2oz of #6 shot (with my indian creek choke). That round put an impressive 301 hits in the 10 inch circle at 25 yards. I then moved the target back to 50 yards (this range only had 25, 50 75 and 100 yard intervals to place the target at) and shot another # 6 heavi-shot shell in. The pattern definitely opened up quite a bit and I had 97 hits in the same 10 inch circle. The good news is after an adjustment in my open sight at 25 yards, my pattern was centered on my aim point at 50 yards. Since my pattern only had 97 hits at 50 yards, should I limit my range to 40 yards?

On another note, I swung by Cabelas on my way home from the range and I picked up some of the heavi-shot 5,6,7 magnum blend, can't wait to shoot one to see what the pattern looks like :cool2:.

Ya know how I get the most acurate guesstimation as to what loads will kill a turkey? I put a can on an old arrow shaft an put it out at 35yards and kill it.
It's the best representation of a turkeys head/ neck and you can see the damage...
easier than paper.... and more realistic.

In my book as long as you get that pattern consistently (and I mean consistent) I say you have a 50 yard gun max.

As for the can idea, its not a realistic representation and I wouldn't recommend it.

Really? How many flat turkeys against a white background you seen?

Did ya take any pix of your pattern? It would have made this thread a LOT more popular and you would have got a lot more replies. Just seems to help to make patern chats visual. It's hard to visualize the number of pellets in a 10" circle ???

Haven't yet but I will, the 50 yard pattern is spread pretty evenly (looks that way to me anyway), so I'm happy with it.

Here use one of these paper targets and then count pellet holes only in the Neck bone, Skull or Eye.

http://lewand.tripod.com/turkeytargets.html

I use the second target down onthe page is you scroll down a bit.
My rule is 8 to 12 consistent pellet holes in only the areas I indicated above.

That determines my lethal range.

JW

None, how many turkeys have you seen carrying around a can on an arrow? How many turkeys have you seen that dont move their heads at all? How many turkeys have you seen carrying a can and an arrow, and not moving their heads at all?

The point is a 10" circle is a better representation of your actual pattern than a can on an arrow. With the can all you get is how many pellets hit the can or the arrow. With the paper you see what kind of a pattern you are getting and what kind of pattern you can get if your poi/poa is off. It also allows you to establish your maximum range since once again you can see what your pattern is doing at that range.

How do you put up a pic. if it is on your computer?

photobucket.com is the easiest way

I've seen more round heads a foot and a half or 2 off the ground than anything else. While I don't see the harm in what your doing, its all a gimmick, theres money in them choke tubes and fancy loads.... Guys have been shootin turkeys with fixed choke guns and winchester loads without issues for years, but thats not good enough with the gimmick guys, haven't spent enough for it to be truly effective... The can a good representative of the head casue most guys dont miss turkeys cause they didnt pattern there gun, its cause they are not used to shooting at something that size against a dark background thats moving. I know your tryin to make a point, but your gettin too caught up in something thats been blown all out of proportion so that someone can make a whole buncha money. Go shoot a can, if you tear a can in half at 35 yards... It'll kill a turkey... the number of pellets in a circle is good if the wads fly the exact same with every shot, which isn't going to happen. Shooting with a ported choke tube will change this too.

Agree with the tight pattern remark RR - fully and that is why I strongly recomend a pair of those clamp on True Glo sites. I use the ones that allow for windage and elevation.

Why - with today's chokes and tight patterns you actually are shooting a bird shot slug IMO.
The sights force you to keep your head down, if you have done your homework you know once you put that bead on your aiming spot and the distance is correct - you ain't missin'!

JW

It's surprising how different folks' opinion can be on the importance of shot, chokes, etc.

To me, it isn't over-rated.... in fact, it's foolish to suggest otherwise. Todays custom guns and loads have proven to be FAR more than hype.

This pattern was fired from a T/C Encore Pro Hunter 12, an Indian Creek- Black Diamond Strike choke, topped with a TRU Glo Gobble Stopper red dot and shooting 3", 2oz Magnum Blend Hevi-13 loads.

Whats most impressive.... is this pattern, even though just a bit to the right,... was fired by my 9 year old son... from 40 yards!

I had the tru glo magnum gobbler dot sights but took them back when I got my new turkey barrel, it already an adjustable tru glo sight on it.

Your making my point right here. If you pattern your gun you will know what kind of pattern you shoot everytime. There might be a variance each time, but you will know what the variance is and adjust your tactics from there.
If you shoot a can you know you hit a can and thats it.

Nothing gimmicky about patterning your gun. Heck you can shoot 1/2oz of #9's out of an old .410 choked skeet, but you should still pattern it to figure out what your max range should be.


Ridge Runner; While I dont agree with the way you go about patterning, it is effective, you know what your pattern will do, and you can set your maximum and minimum effective ranges this way. So two thumbs up!