SwampCollie

You never "have" to shoot. Thats the kind of thinking that cripples game. Turkey hunting, and hunting in general for me is not about how far, but about how close. I happen to shoot an 835 that will kill birds at 60 yards...and I have killed them at 56 before. However, the older I become the wiser I get. I limit myself to 40...and thats when I am not hunting with the bow...where the limit is 25. If you just want to kill turkey's...go get a .22-250...you don't have to worry about calls, or decoys or getting up early. Nay the price of shells.


What stalking bear said about the ten gauge and the 3.5" 12ga is RIGHT DEAD ON THE MONEY. My 835 (which I have spent Lord knows how much time and money on, testing chokes, shells, etc etc) shoots better (as in tightness and eveness) than all buy ONE other 12ga I have ever seen. That gun belongs to my best friend...and it too is an 835. That said, I haven't seen too many 10 gauges dedicated to turkeys that can't flat out perform them. It might be close at 50...but I have shot 10 gauges in testing that will shoot a pattern at 80 yards like most guns will at 40.

My taste in turkey guns has changed over the years as well. I used to want just the tightest shooting gun around...and for the most part I have it in a 12ga. But, after barely killing a few birds at 15 yards or so with it (cause that pattern is about the size of a dixie cup), I started going back the other way again. Normally, if a turkey comes within 70 yards...he will come within 30 yards if you are set up right. More often than not....they will sneak in on you and you won't see them until they are already inside of 25.

Stop worrying about shooting birds a mile off. And also, a pump gun makes a better turkey gun, because it is less expensive and lighter in weight. Yes it kicks more...but you will never feel recoil shooting a turkey. And if you do..then you ought to quit hunting.

James B

My shotgun will shoot the 31/2 inch shells but I have never bought any and never will. 99 percent opf the time I shoot the 2 3/4 inch and now and then a 3 inch.

younggun308

What? Your shotgun shoots all three rounds? What kind is it?

younggun308

Well, I just don't want to get a shotgun I don't want to use later, why is it, that most people choose an auto-loader, instead of a pump? There has to be a reason.

I was just saying, my uncle and friend use 3.5 magnums, and have never had any regrets.

I always did think, though, that the Benelli Nova Pump was cool, heavy, but it always seemed like a sweet turkey gun.

I honestly doubt I'll have to shoot turkeys at 50 yards, since my uncle never had to until that point, but I think I must have a great pattern at 40 yards at the least, no less.

My uncle's Charles Daly, isn't heavy at all, it's a very slick handling gun, not heavy, it's pretty light, the 935 can be a bit more heavy, but, when turkey hunting, weight oughtn't to be an issue, until you have to go back to the truck, with the weight of your equipment, gun, and a turkey.

But wouldn't a sling help the weight issue? It sure as heck helps when I am deer hunting with my rifle, and I never had any issues with the weight of my rifle.

I work out, with wieghts, so weight hasn't been much ofa problem for me, and the thought of getting a gobbler, keeps me lugging along that gun in my hand, blind over my shoulder, backpack, chair, whatever.

My friend, who was testing the Hevi-Shot with his Patternmaster, I was there too, he first fired at 20 yards, and it patterned well, about the size of a mouse-pad, at 30 yards and 40, the spread was very large, as is normal.

Funny thing, though, my uncle had to shoot his turkey on opening day, for 5 yards away, because, it was getting time to roosting time, and the gobblers were entering the field, so my uncle got out of the blind, and entered a ditch that ran the length of the field, he then got out near the riverbank, below the ridge onwhich the turkeys were on, so the plan was, for him to sneak around, and stick his head up over the rise, and get a shot at one of those gobblers.

Well, the gobblers started to head into the woods he was at, so we called him, and after we told him, my uncle was hanging up the phone, when he saw a beardedturkey 10 yards away! He just froze, hoping they wouldn't see him, and they didn't, so they were passing by a tree, and my uncle got his gun lifted and ready to fire, and when the turkey stepped out, this time at 5 yards, he shot it. Of course, the pattern was pretty small, but he got it.
Later on, looking at the pictures, we found out it was a bearded hen. Needless to say, all that action got him pumped up!

I don't want to make a practise of shooting turkeys at 50 yards, 'cause likelier than not, I'm not going to get that chance very often, but like I said before, 40 yards is what I really want to have a great pattern at.

My friend, who shot his turkey with the Hevi-Shot and Patternmaster choke, shot his at 25 yards, and, it patterned great, wasn't too tight, wasn't too little.

I enjoy hunting the turkeys, sorry if it sounded like I just wanted to break the law and hunt them with a .22-250.


I just was wanting to get what the people I hunt with have, which works.
I don't know if it's peer pressure, or just sticking to what I'm familiar with.

I'll talk more to my uncle, and see what he also thinks about it as well, I never heard himsaythat he thought it patterned too tight, but he may have since changed his mind.


Sorry I'm taking so long and spending all your time, it's just this kind of investment isn't a small deal for me.

younggun308

Sorry, I've been feeling brain-dead the yeasterday on this thread, it almost seems grueling to talk here, it's depressing. I feel like I'm insulting everyone, because they talk about their experiances, and I just say that what they're saying is dumb, and I go on talking about how "my friend uses Hevi-shot, anda patterm..a.......ste....."

Sorry about all that. I don't know what to do now, I'll just go and read my Bible for awhile.

stalkingbear

Younggun,it takes a man to realize and admit when you are wrong,especially in public. All we are trying to do is help you avoid the costly mistakes that we made before finally discovering the hows,whay not to dos,and best equipment. I admire you for being big enough to accept our opinions based directly from experience.

SwampCollie

Same here.

younggun308

From what I could tell, and from experiance of buying a gun in a gun store, you don't really go to the gun store knowing what certain gun you want, but you have an idea of what you want, and if you see a gun that fits what you want in every way you want, that's the gun.

I will not know what I will get, but I know what I willwant from my shotgun, and the only way to get any gun is to find it first, then pay, etc.

WhenI get enough money and get in the shopping mood, I will go to the two gun dealers in my area, (not Wal-Mart), and look at their guns, their specials, the used ones, and look at all the guns, find the best choices from both stores, and eliminate them, and get the one that's the best of what I can get.

This doesn't mean I won't get a pump, if I see an excellentpump-action that's got everything I need, I might just get it. I'll just have to wait and see.

A good example of this is that when I was lookingfor a rifle, Ithought I wanted a Remington 700 SPS in 7mm-08, but I saw one, and suddenly, the rifle looked boring to me, and didn't "speak" to me much, and it was just under $500, very expensive for what appeared to be nothing, so we left and went to another gun store, where one of the guys that worked there was helping us out in choosing a rifle.

I told him I wanted a 7mm-08, and there were none in the used guns, so I thought "Be ready to rip out the cash", I was looking at some others, and there was one, but it was a youth model, and something about that didn't appeal to me.

I saw a Remington673, and hours of drooling over the Remington website made me know exactly what it was. I recalled seeing the very expensive prices on the website, and I thought, well, it's always cool to hold an expensive rifle, andI looked at the price tag, and it was $300 less than usual, because it was from a Christmas sale.
I saw that it was in the .308 cartridge, but I figured, "It's an excellent cartridge, and it's a popular sniper round, whereas the 7mm-08 isn't."
Suddenly, I felt really good about that rifle, and I never let it go, since I was afraid someone would take it.

I am still proud of that gun, and always will be, but the funny thing is, I didn't get what I set out to get, I got better.

But, the point is, I will have to wait till I actually see what the gun stores have.

Thanks for all your help, you've helped to give me an idea of what I do want, and that'll make all the difference in what I get.
Thanks again, I'll try to remember what you guys said, and hopefully, the next time I have a thread about shotguns, I will be more specific.

Josiah