I have a Mossberg 835 24" ported barrel I want to make into a turkey's worst nightmare. Which shell and choke combo's work best for you guys?

I'm not a big fan of the hevi shot... I think a load of copper plated shot going 1300fps will devastate a gobblers head out to 50 yards so I don't see the need to pay 6 dollars a shot for hevier than lead loads...

I've had real good patterns with my kicks GT and win HV #5's...

I've shot several gobblers past 45 yards with them shells...

Last spring me and a friend were working a gobbler off the roost and the bird was comin in slow and cousious... Anyhow the bird seen something he didn't like and my 20 years of turkey hunting expierience told me this bird was gettin ready to roll out I put the hammer to him... My buddy jumped up and said "holly crap how far was that 50 yards"... I told him I've shot them that far plenty of times... It was really more like 40-45 yards... (Prime example of a guy not knowing how to judge yardage)...

Anyhow buy what you want... If your wanting hevi shot you better buy em now!!!

Just went through all of this. Now my mossberg has a .680 kicks gobblin thunder choke, and I shoot winchester supreme's #6 in 3 1/2. Now I have a gun that will reach out and touch one. Wouldn't be afraid to whack one out at 60 yards. I know that sounds like a long ways but the pellets don't lie. My son shoots same gun with a .675 primos tight wad and it does ok but doesn't hold the pattern of the kicks choke.

I've got a Mossburg 535 with a Winchester Extra Full choke (fits and works quite well) and shoot the Winchester Super X 3 1/2 #6 shot. Patterns pretty good out to 50 yards. It works so well, I have to take my Marlin 55 instead to make things a little more interesting, even though it works just as well, just without a scope and only shoots 3" shells.

I don't think the Winchester chokes fit the 835, but works with the 535. The 835s are made a little different. You probably just need to choose a choke and select a few different types of ammo and see which one shoots better. No two guns will shoot the same, sometimes even if they are using the same choke/ammo combination.

http://www.choketube.com/downloads/C...hangeGuide.pdf

I shoot an 835 with the factory turkey choke and federal 3 1/2" number 5 turkey loads. I feel confident that 50 yard shots are no problem and shot one this fall at 40 yards nocking him flat!

I've got an 835. I wasn't happy with the factory turkey choke, Jelly-Head, or Kick's, so I sent it to Rob Roberts in Arkansas. He made me a custom choke, it's good out to about 60 yards now. The gun likes Winchester 3 1/2" HD #6s (unavailable now), so I'm going to try Hev-Shot blended shot this year.

I shoot Hevi MagBlend 5,6,7 3" with a .670 Kicks choke and get 253 hits @ 40 yds. No doubt I could kill them at 50. Them Kicks chokes are wicked in some guns. I'm shooting an SX3. A friend of mine has a 835. He turned me on to Kicks chokes. The last hunt we went on he killed a bird at 56 steps and it tore his head up. He shoots Winchester HV #[email protected] inches.

Lots of info here:

http://oldgobbler.com/Forum/index.php/board,7.0.html

Every gun shoots a bit differently, but onfo here should give you some suggestions to try.

I also have a 835 and went through 7 chokes and handfulls of different ammo to get the gun to pattern the way i wanted it. I even sent the barrel back to mossberg thinking it was tweaked or something. All my shooting pattern were open in the middle and was real mind boggling. I shoot 3 1/2 Federals 5 shot. Im actually thinking of getting a new gun because it still has a opening in the middle of my shots.

Every shotgun is a bit of an entity unto itself. Two shotguns, both the same exact model, are not guaranteed to shoot equal patterns even if you use the same shells and chokes in each. So it's impossible to promise you that a certain shell and choke combo will be best in your gun. Unfortunately it takes some money and range time to find what's best for your gun.

That said here is my two cents worth.

Start with denser than lead shot. Denser than lead shot will out pattern lead shot of the same size by a wide margin. For me this this the primary reason to switch to DTL shot before even discussing how much better it penetrates. But of course it penetrates better as well. I hear people talk about amazing patterns they get with lead. Some even claim great patterns to 50 yards. (Mostly I hear this on the internet) Not calling anyone a lie but I'd have to see a good laser ranged 50 yard lead pattern fired in my presence before I would believe it. Never seen one in person in 15 years of seriously testing multiple shotguns, chokes and shells belonging to me and half a dozen friends. And we are talking at least 9 different types of shotguns, at least 20 different types of chokes and lord knows how many different kinds of shells. Spent more money than I care to try an add up. I call a good pattern at least 100 pellets inside a 10 inch circle. In all my years I never found a shotgun/choke combo that would consistently meet that minimum standard with lead 4's or 5's at 40 yards much less 50. I found one load of lead 6's that would do it but lead 6's start running out of steam fast at 35 to 40 yards. A shotgun that will consistently put 100 lead number 5 pellets inside 10 inches at 50 yards is as rare as a unicorn. If it even exists at all, which I doubt.

Try some Hevi-13 6's or some Hevi-13 Magblends. I promise they will pattern way better than any lead shell. Also there is "ABSOLUTELY NO REASON TO SHOOT ANY SHOT SIZE BIGGER THAN 6's WITH DENSER THAN LEAD SHOT". The 6's in Hevi-13 will kill turkeys as far as your gun will hold a killing pattern. And they will pattern way better than the 5's or 4's. So it is senseless to shoot the Hevi-13 4's or 5's.

As for chokes? Indian Creek BDS, Rhino, Pure Gold, and the new Hevishot chokes are the ones I have had the best luck with in my 835. But as said before which of those would be best in your individual gun is impossible to say. But one of those paired with some Hevi-13 will stomp a mudhole in any lead shells @$$.

To evaluate each shell/choke fairly clean your gun in between shots. And shoot at a big sheet of paper so you can see what your whole pattern is doing. Forget the turkey head targets unless you are going to tape them to the center of a big sheet of paper.

If you really want to get hardcore about it look up how to give the inside of your guns barrel a good polishing. It will improve patterns by as much as 20% in some cases.