Patterns with new choke tubes & Win LB XR shells
 

Here's some shots from a patterning session 10days ago. My turkey boomers ( a SBE II and Win 1300) now sport Carlson's XR chokes. My friend, Bobby and I hiked into a game mgt area (Makua Keeau GMA, of you know the islands) for the session. Our first shots were from 25-26" yds with Win LB XR 3" #4. (black targets) Then we backed up to 40.

We also tested some old (20+ yrs) 3.5" Win XX Supremes #4 I had. We shot the SBE II at 40yds. (white targets). My SBE II is a LH action, set up for lefty shooter, which may explain the difference between our targets.

L to R: SBE II at 26yds, Win 1300 AAT 26yds, shells, SBE II 3.5" (Joe), SBE II 3.5" (Bobby)

Hey Joe -

Not to put a damper on your high hopes - but there are ~240 pellets in a 1 3/4 oz #4 LB shell. You should be seeing 50-60% of the payload hit the target between 25-30 yards, so 120-140 hits in your paper. You've got a decent pattern and the bird is dead, but the pattern you see in your second target is what many guys are seeing at 40 (+) yards.

I recommend you try switching size - shoot a couple #5 or #6. I always used #6 until last year, when I grabbed a box of #5 by mistake. I shot the #5 and to my surprise had a much better pattern at all distances from 10 to 50 yards (and #4 LB was the worst out of my gun). My wife used it to drop a nice 3yr old at 51 steps, and he barely flinched...

S&R

Nice patterns. All of those targets are dead turkeys. I'm a big fan of #4 Winchester shells myself. You may not get the impressive hit counts that smaller shot will deliver, but each of those #4 pellets packs a wallop that smaller shot can't deliver, especially at longer ranges.

Those are all dead turkeys. I use a Mossberg 535 with a Carlson XR choke and Winchester XR #5's. The XR's are the best turkey shell on the market in my opinion. I have taken a turkey at 50+ yards the last 2 years. Both were downed immediately. Close shots are actually more difficult because the pattern is so tight out to 25 yards.