RE: Turkey Load Patterning Help
 

Depends what you like to shoot for shot size. With the tighter barrel bore I was told .650-.660 for 5/6 shot and .660-.670 for 5/4 shot and hevishot. I'm very happy with my .655 comp-n-choke. Although the folks there recommended Win. HV in 6/5. Mine liked the new fed HV Flitecontrol in 5 shot. The Win. HV #5 came in third, but still shot a very good pattern. Yours might like the Win. HV better. Ever gun is different. Even the same model/brand.

Borch

RE: Turkey Load Patterning Help
 

Tom

I would recommend having the forcing cone polished and lengthened if you're really serious about getting the most out of your shotgun.

In layman's terms, the forcing cone is the constriction in the barrel just beyond the shell's chamber. In a lot of popular guns, it will be less than 1" and be very rough. The wad will again be smashed down as it passes through the choke at the end of the barrel.

A short, rough forcing cone disrupts the smooth constriction of the wadding and bb's and it will ultimately send deformed bb's and an unevenly packed wad out the end of your muzzle.

A smooth, long forcing cone serves to make your pattern more even and consistent. Since your wad is compressed twice (once at the cone, and again at the choke) it is vital to make each compression as smooth as possible to maximize the effectiveness of the buffer material.

Obviously, it won't pack 100 bb's in the kill at 50 yards, but it will help make your gun more consistent.

If your curiosity is piqued, do some more reading about it online or call a good gunsmith.

I hope my advice was useful

Quik

RE: Turkey Load Patterning Help
 

Thanks for all the advice guys. I spoke with Stoeger on the phone. They were willing to mail me a new choke but I don't think that is the problem so I told them to hold off. I am going to go to the range and pattern but this time I am going to use a 4'X4' peice of paper. It was suggested by the Stoeger representative. Either way they want me to send them the gun. Something I don't want to do until my season is over of course.

Hopefully they can solve my problems.

Thanks
Tom

RE: Turkey Load Patterning Help
 

as stated earlier,it all depends on the load you want to use.the tube you have is about what is recommended for the hevishot..660-670 is typically for #6,#5,#4 lead shot.hevishot normally likes .670-675.i shoot #4 hevishot and nitro 4x5x7 with a .670 and am very pleased at 50 yards.both my 870 rem and browning a500g shoot hevishot well with .670 tubes.don't pattern your gun at 30 yards except to make sure your sights match the barrel.always shoot 40-45 yards to find your maximum range.

RE: Turkey Load Patterning Help
 

I've spent a hundred bucks or more to pattern my gun. For me it's almost a hobby. I've tried about every shell and I'm on my second choke. I shoot a Rem. 870 w/ 3" shells. Started with the Rem. Turkey chokc and I could get 6-8 in the brain/neck vertabre out to about 35 yards with Win XX Supreme 2ox. #5's. That was the best of all the loads. This year I bought a HS Undertaker and now all my loads will shoot that many pellets to 40 yards. The Hevi-shot just doesn't impress me much if you ever actually look at it. The pellets are not uniform shape or size and most of the pellets are actually smaller than the claimed size so I think that is part of how they achive better patterns. Not worth the money in my book.

I even tried the new Federal Mag Shock with Flight Control wad this spring but they didn't do any better than any other load. I'm sticking with the Win XX 2oz load for now (got my bird last week with them at around 20 yards). It's nice to be able to shoot out to 40 yards but most of the time you won't need to.

RE: Turkey Load Patterning Help
 

Another tip is to get a 30" piece of butcher paper to pattern on, at least at first. My gun shoot very high and to the right and I had to install sights to compensate for this. I still have to aim low on the turkeys to kill them (almost shot over my bird this year, only hits were in the head).