+1 Brad The concept has been around about as many decades as our NWTF has been! I specifically refer to this paragraph in the NWTF link, as it's exactly what you've been stating and not something that you have come up with on your own:

Why 40 yards?
We pattern our turkey guns out to 40 yards because that is the maximum distance promoted by the Turkey Hunting Safety Task Force as the proper range to ethically and cleanly kill a turkey with a shotgun

RR---I respectfully have to disagree with your hypothesis, as I think most people are now using fiber optic, halo sight, or some other type of scope on their turkey guns. I feel that with the equipment most are using now that they can shoot just as good when they are sitting with the gun on a shooting stick or firmly balanced on the knee, which is the position that most are taught to have their gun in as a gobbler is coming in so you don't move much and bust the bird as he closes the distance.

RR---Yes, I think with my shotgun setup with fiber optic sights and the 40 yard limitation I put on myself that I can shoot off a firm knee like I always do just as accurately as I can on the bench and I never miss at that distance on in.

I use a lower power scope with a diamond (simmons pro diamond) in it. the crosshairs are dead center. if the turkeys head is in the diamond then his head will be hit by the 10inch core pattern of my gun. my 10 pattern is very even so it does not matter if I hit him with the edge of it or the center he is 100% dead.

I too have said all I am going to say on this matter. I hope this thread will remain for there is a lot of great information on it for others to learn from and use it for their future patterning needs. And everything I said on the matter of patterning will hold water. Some who can't accept it will go by their own set of rules.

The birds deserve more respect than a chanced shot.

There is alot of good information on this thread here to help others after I went through and took all the bashing out.
Hunters who have ethics do pattern their shotgun and do so each year like the majority of you have stated on here.
That should be stressed - a Ethical hunter knows the limitations of their equipment.

Gentlemen debate is healthy - flat out name calling will not be tolerated.

All temp bans where lifted after I had a chance to edit.

So this thread is back.....
Man I hate editing...

Dave......JW

Well I respect you getting the thread put back up.

I also repsect the reply here and the ban removal.

I know being a mod is'nt an easy job. I used to be an admin(2nd in command) at another gun forum years ago. So I do know how the cookie crumbles. But I just wanted to thank you for leaving the thread on here for those that want to use the info that was provided.

And again, the 100 in the 10" has been around for decades. I hope more and more guys will follow it and apply it to their setups.

And I also wanted to better clarify why the NWTF came up with the 100 in the 10" for a 40yd pattern. They decided years ago to get a standard so any turkey hunter could know for sure what would be an acceptable pattern for 100% clean kills for no turkey head to escape no matter where you put that head in the area of that 10" circle. That's why the 100 shot standard was issued and the accepted pattern for turkey hunters to follow. It was all based on a set number of shot to fill that area with lethal hits no matter how you sliced it.

Well again I can find out for sure if you want to know the exact date it was implemented.

But it's been in existance before 2000.

I will have to respectfully disagree w not being able to hit a 10 inch circle imagine shooting a rifle using this analogy no one would ever kill a deer past 100 yards due to the blood in their shoulder? Just shoot a few targets from your knee which I often do and you will realize the center of your pattern is never more than an inch or two off even w my 870 that is still just a front bead. Today's modern guns are more like shooting a rifle and on a moving bird you fortunately have abt a 20 in halo that will still put that bird down.

IMO the ultra tight patterns pose more of a threat at 20 yards and in when a bird is moving at 15 yards you pattern looks like a softball making a clean whiff much more probable than at 40 with today's guns.