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20 gauge tss
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<blockquote data-quote="TheLBLman" data-source="post: 5834860" data-attributes="member: 1409"><p>All the banter about longer range loads and longer range "turkey" chokes providing "rifle" like (baseball to softball) size patterns at closer ranges . . . . . . .</p><p>Just made me think a bit.</p><p></p><p>Over many decades, I suspect 90% of my turkeys have been killed under 30 yds, probably 70% under 25. That's in part because I Day One tried to limit my shots to the then recommended maximum of 40 yds.</p><p></p><p>But in reality, it really wouldn't have mattered much just what choke or what shell I was shooting. All the banter we get engaged in, is mostly spawned by slick marketing into making you think you "need" something different to be successful. Happens with just about everything, not just turkey hunting.</p><p></p><p>So why did it not matter much?</p><p>Because with most traditional turkey hunting set-ups (unless you focus on fields), you're commonly just not going to see a turkey farther than 40 yds. So no surprise, most must be killed under 40.</p><p></p><p>Because we've been misled a bit by long-range "marketing" (which includes most of those TV & DVD <em>"<s>hunting</s>"</em> "<em><strong>shooting</strong></em>" shows), I suspect many hunters are doing themselves more harm than good with their "long range" turkey chokes. And this long-range mindset contributes greatly to many more wounding losses, both up close and long-range.</p><p></p><p>IMO, more <em>EASY</em> shots at turkeys under 25 yds have been missed, than really long shots made, because the hunter had too tight a choke (and no optical sight). If you're going to shoot a rifle at a turkey's head at 20 yds, you might need a very precise aiming point beyond a front bead.</p><p></p><p>I forget which renowned turkey hunter it was, many moons ago, but he only used a factory <em>modified</em> choke, as opposed to a <em>"Full"</em>, or tighter than full, <em>"turkey"</em> choke. When asked why, his simple answer was because it was too easy to miss a bird up close with a full choke, and many were going to step into view under 25 yds. And, he didn't even see many, while set up for the kill, beyond 40 yds. This conversation pre-dated the now common use of optical sights on turkey shotguns.</p><p></p><p>Thing is, he was right, for most turkey hunting, maybe with the exception of large field hunting, which is often more like deer hunting from a stand than what has traditionally been called turkey hunting.</p><p></p><p>I bet Setterman would agree that most turkey hunters would kill more turkeys if they were using a more open choke, such as the factory "modified" one that comes with about every new gun now.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="TheLBLman, post: 5834860, member: 1409"] All the banter about longer range loads and longer range "turkey" chokes providing "rifle" like (baseball to softball) size patterns at closer ranges . . . . . . . Just made me think a bit. Over many decades, I suspect 90% of my turkeys have been killed under 30 yds, probably 70% under 25. That's in part because I Day One tried to limit my shots to the then recommended maximum of 40 yds. But in reality, it really wouldn't have mattered much just what choke or what shell I was shooting. All the banter we get engaged in, is mostly spawned by slick marketing into making you think you "need" something different to be successful. Happens with just about everything, not just turkey hunting. So why did it not matter much? Because with most traditional turkey hunting set-ups (unless you focus on fields), you're commonly just not going to see a turkey farther than 40 yds. So no surprise, most must be killed under 40. Because we've been misled a bit by long-range "marketing" (which includes most of those TV & DVD [I]"[S]hunting[/S]"[/I] "[I][B]shooting[/B][/I]" shows), I suspect many hunters are doing themselves more harm than good with their "long range" turkey chokes. And this long-range mindset contributes greatly to many more wounding losses, both up close and long-range. IMO, more [I]EASY[/I] shots at turkeys under 25 yds have been missed, than really long shots made, because the hunter had too tight a choke (and no optical sight). If you're going to shoot a rifle at a turkey's head at 20 yds, you might need a very precise aiming point beyond a front bead. I forget which renowned turkey hunter it was, many moons ago, but he only used a factory [I]modified[/I] choke, as opposed to a [I]"Full"[/I], or tighter than full, [I]"turkey"[/I] choke. When asked why, his simple answer was because it was too easy to miss a bird up close with a full choke, and many were going to step into view under 25 yds. And, he didn't even see many, while set up for the kill, beyond 40 yds. This conversation pre-dated the now common use of optical sights on turkey shotguns. Thing is, he was right, for most turkey hunting, maybe with the exception of large field hunting, which is often more like deer hunting from a stand than what has traditionally been called turkey hunting. I bet Setterman would agree that most turkey hunters would kill more turkeys if they were using a more open choke, such as the factory "modified" one that comes with about every new gun now. [/QUOTE]
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