Originally Posted by jwalker77
Maybe I was being a bit ambitious. As tight a pattern as I can get at 50yds. I would like to feel confident in making a 50yd shot.



I think you are still asking for 2 different things - the tightest pattern possible is not gonna give me the most confidence. In fact, such a pattern would have the opposite effect on me and force me to wait until everything was perfect before pulling the trigger, and some turkeys I would have killed will get to walk away.

What I want is the widest pattern possible at 50 yards that is still dense enough to kill the turkey every time. 50 yards is as far as I want to shoot one, so that's a good yardage to work with. With most any TSS load in a decent gun, it's easy to get a 50 yd kill pattern. The kill pattern on the gun I use now averages about 20" wide at 50, and is about 16" wide at 40. It starts to thin out beyond 50, but I'm not gonna shoot one that far so it doesn't matter. I want room for aiming error, so with a 20" wide kill pattern I can be 10" off in my aim and still kill the turkey.

Up/down aiming error can be managed by aiming halfway up the neck. It is 16" from the top of a gobbler's head to the base of his neck. Aim halfway up it and I can be 8-10" off and still get the turkey. I try to go ahead and shoot the turkey once he I think he is around 40 yards away. I don't really want him any closer. To me, the turkeys posture and mine are far more important than distance to get a clean kill. I want the turkey standing tall with his neck straight. I want to be sitting down with my left hand on my knee and the forend of the gun resting steady in it. With room for 8" of aiming error in any direction, there isn't much reason to miss, and I don't remember ever missing one in that situation.

More information than you asked for, but I think you asked the wrong question. smile

The shells you shoot are miles more important than the gun or choke. Get some high density shells and you will soon develop confidence in your equipment, and the shot becomes anticlimactic to the hunt.


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