One of the most important preparations a turkey hunter can take is patterning their shotguns before hitting the spring woods. Colonel Tom Kelly, the well-known author of turkey literature, expressed it best in saying, “So you’ve called him into 40 yards, Great! You haven’t done anything.” You now have to finish the job. Part of this job entails composure or keeping your wits about you in these final tense moments. If you’ve never had the opportunity to play “stare eyes” with an ole swamp bottom herald then frankly, I'm of the opinion you’ve just not lived yet. When a gobbler is making his final approach into your set up, the nerves that these times can stimulate is indescribable. So the composure aspect is quite important. Often you may well have now been sitting for several hours, with stiff legs. And even though that spot at the base of that old oak seemed soft at first daylight it now seems to feel as though a root has stemmed up from the ground and is attempting to graft itself with your ass bone. Mosquitoes won't leave you alone, your pretty sure you’ve felt at least three different ticks crawling that you hope to remember to search for. And your now certain you should have skipped the second cup of coffee. Sounds fun right? You have no idea. When that gobbler comes into view I can assure you all those things will be forgotten and your suffering is about to come to fruition. You just have to keep that bead in the right spot.
Now, this brings us to the next step in these final moments and the blunt of this article. This is having an understanding of your shotgun’s performance at various ranges. With advances in technology in firearms and ammunition, hunters are getting incredible patterns at ranges once considered sacrilegious to fire upon a turkey at. With the use of Tungsten Super Shot or TSS, like the Apex Ammunitions handcrafted turkey shots, hunters have effectively increased their killing ranges upward of 80% or more with the right gun and choke combination. There are several other options for turkey loads that can deliver deadly patterns as well that may not carry the price tag that tungsten shot does. But always remember, you get what you pay for. Ammunition manufactures have been increasingly competitive in developing range-extending shotshells over the last decade, and it will be interesting to see what the future holds.
When patterning a shotgun, it's important to first understand shot sizes and how that relates to patterns. The lower the number of the shot size, the larger the diameter of the shot. This will equate to less shot per load for obvious reasons. Hunters seeking more “knockdown” went for the larger shot, whereas those desiring more shot count opted for the smaller shot like #6s. Then for those of us that were slightly confused, we chose the middle of the road which is likely what made use #4’s and #5’s such a popular choice in turkey loads. On that note I want to add that until recent years and these advanced loads, I’ve harvested my share of turkey with 3” copper plated lead #5 Winchester Supremes. Coupled with my old Mossberg 835 and a Kick’s Gobbling Thunder Choke tube, these shotshells delivered devasting results nearly every time the opportunity arose. When it didn’t, it was always an operator error or a miss as it's more commonly referred to... The best advice I can give you on picking a shot size is to do some further research for your gun. If you shoot a Benelli M2 20 gauge with a 26” barrel, do some reading to see what the consensus on a reliable choke tube and shotshell for that weapon is. There are numerous online forums and groups that you can join to read up on these combinations and interact with other hunters.
Unless you’ve purchased a shotgun that is choked for turkey from the factory, You're going to need to look at some of the aftermarket choke tube options. I have had great results with both Jeb's choke tubes and Indian Creek Shooting Systems. Often the manufactures of these choke tubes can be very helpful in getting you the right shot and choke combination for your shotgun. But just remember every gun (even identical models) may likely perform a bit differently. In an effort to not purchase numerous shotgun chokes a tactic I have used is to find out if other friends shoot the same shotguns and you can pattern shotguns together in an effort to see if a choke tube they use works better for your set up.
You’re going to need to understand that while guns may now perform well out to 70 yards, can you actually see the bird's head to make an ethical shot at that distance with your sight? You need to pick a comfortable and effective range that works for you. With all that said, if you’re just looking for a good starting point it’s best to revert to the gold standard of turkey gun yardage which is 40 yards. If you’re getting sufficient payload from your shell in a 10” circle at that distance, your set. The typical ranges that I will shoot my turkey guns are 15, 25, and 40 yards. This gives me a good understanding of all scenarios. If it is still tight at 40 yards I will experiment with 50 and 60 yards so I understand what my gun is capable of in the event I need that distance. However, most of the time, what I’ve found is that a bird is either coming or he’s not. And more times than not, I’ve seen where when those Hail-Mary shots are taken then that birds getting out of dodge, and possibly wounded. Let him keep coming or try him again another time. I will also add that while I prefer a sub-forty-yard shot, when I hit the road in spring for different states, I have an objective to call in and kill turkeys, I certainly want all the odds in my favor for punching those tags that I've purchased. And having extended effective ranges from my shotgun is definitely one of them.
Now if you’ve never shot the gun, choke and shell combination or if you are experimenting with different shotgun shells, Then I like to start at about 10-15 yards. This lets me understand my point of aim with the shotgun. If the shotgun's point of aim (POA) is off then this can oftentimes be corrected with a red dot sight. Another technique when determining POA is to utilize low brass birdshot while determining this and making the proper adjustments as necessary. After the POA is determined then you can start working out the different ranges. Be sure and use a quality laser rangefinder to determine distances and mark them with flags so you can be consistent while experimenting. Use a solid bench with range bags so you can get the bead or dot affixed right where you anticipate the shot. For initial patterning, I like to go to a home and hardware supply store and buy rolls of craft paper or paper drop cloth rolls. This gives me an abundant amount of large width paper targets that I can easily put a circle or a turkey head target onto and know exactly what the gun is doing at every range. Plus it's super cheap and easily disposed of. When patterning, use the targets to write down the data from each shot so you can know which choke tube and shot combination delivered the load that best suits what you are looking for.
Some folks will actually count each shot so they can determine a percentage of shot within a 10” circle at so many yards. This will give the combination a percent of effectiveness. For example if a 3” shell has 450 shot count. Inside a 10” circle at 40 yards it the shotgun delivered 306 shots, this combination would have delivered 68% of the shot into that effective zone. Personally, I don’t count the shots. I have done it, but I can look at a pattern at any specific range and determine if it will deliver or not.
When it’s game time and your ready to deliver a hot load of #6’s through a swamp bottom, you want to know exactly how effectively those shots are going to place. The days of simply shooting at a Pepsi can to see how many shots hit this similar-sized area are not what could be considered adequate. You really want to study your gun and know exactly what it does at these various ranges. And remember, if you're delivering a deadly tight forty-yard group from your rig. Then be mindful of the lack of forgiveness at 15 and 20 yards. That same load might be throwing a baseball-sized group at those distances and a bird in exodus mode may be a bit tougher to square up with.
The most important take away is to completely understand what the load and choke are going to do and make good estimates on ranges when you get into the field. Use a target like the one provided here and find a balanced combination at various ranges. This will ensure you are ready for him whatever he may try and pull off. And one final note, I like to tell kids that I take hunting to aim for where the head meets the neck. Right where the waddles are at. If you deliver an effective pattern there you’ll be leaving the woods about 20 pounds heavier than when you showed up.
Good luck and Make Him Gobble! Edward McKellar
Free Downloadable Turkey Head Patterning Target
11x17 & 8.5x11 are available below.
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