What Loads would be best for turkey hunting?
 

I recently received a new mossberg model 500 12 ga for christmas. it has a xx-full turkey choke for lead only. i was wondering what would be a good load to shoot in the hardwoods of nw alabama? any info would greatly be appreciated. thanks

RE: What Loads would be best for turkey hunting?
 

Well, you will need to hit the range and try some differn't loads to see what works best in your gun and choke. I'm shooting a Mossberg 500 also, and use Federal Premium 3" #5's. I have tried about 15 differn't turkey load combo's plus 4 chokes to find my "perfect" setup.

If you have a friend or releative, or several for that matter, it helps for you all to share differn't loads. My friend and I will buy about 3-4 boxes apeice of differn't loads and then share to pattern. Since you have a Mossberg 500 you can also borrow differn't chokes with people who use Winchesters and some Brownings.

Good Luck.

RE: What Loads would be best for turkey hunting?
 

Yeah, The best load for your gun will have to be determined by your gun. There are some constants though. A tighter choke will generally work better with smaller shot (#6), a more open choke will pattern better with larger (#4) shot. 5's are a compromise. For instance my gun patterns #4's, and #6's very well. but #5's are inconsistant. I'll get a good pattern one time and a pattern full of holes the next.

RE: What Loads would be best for turkey hunting?
 

I cannot really tell you what load will work well out of your gun, I can tell you what has worked well out of my gun though. I shoot a three inch remington nitro mag with #4's.;)