gun870guy

I shoot beer cans on old arrow shafts... If I can see through the can after a shot, I'm good... I've never counted the holes in paper before.
Turkeys have round necks... I've never seen a flat one... shooting paper and counting holes is pointless... put the bead on a can 2 feet off the ground from a sittin position, pull the trigger.. if you killed the can, you killed the bird.

Buckhunter46755

Thanks for the info... I will try this for sure. Seems like the more I try to get things set up and tuned in, the more complicated it's getting. Pretty soon I know I'll be chasing the pattern around the paper. Take rabbit or pheasant hunting for instance.... I load up with some number 6's & go. I miss very few rabbits and they are running. Just saying... maybe I'm making this harder than it is.... Also, if I buy more shells I'm getting the $10 all lead turkey loads. I started with the copper-plated ones. My buddy who owns the property where I hunt walked right up within 20 feet of a whole flock of birds yesterday before they scattered. He said they didn't even act all that afraid of him. Granted.... he didn't have a gun in his hands!!! lol...

gun870guy

Well, I know I've watched this evolve since it became popular in the early 80's... gear gets more expensive every year and fads come and go, same as anything else... The pattern thing is a gimmick to sell stuff, does it work? Sure... I've killed turkeys with a modified choke and #7 shot.. I've probably shot more turkeys than most folks will see... get married up to a gun and shoot it, get a choke and some good shells and see how it patterns. If you can put 8-10 shots in a turkeys head/neck hes going down.

Mr. Longbeard

Dude sounds like your going to be just fine this spring!!!

Tell your buddy to stop scaring the birds... You want them to still be stupid by opening day

snapper1982

well the 100 hits in a 10 inch circle is to allow for a little le-way...
what you want is 80 hits in a 10 inch circle which accounts to 1 hit per square inch. i did not say a minimum of 100. the 100 hits is to allow for a little give because i do not care who you are you will not be able to say for certain if that bird is 40 yds or 43 yds.
obviously i am the one on here that doesnt know anything about turkey hunting or patterns so the best of luck. i am so glad the internet has guys on here that can over rule and make new acceptances...

jmedenf

My conception of all this is: the more shot in that ten inch circle, the better chance you have of killing the turkey humanely. I was questioning how many hits I needed myself. Feel better now. Just handed a friend (who will be a first time turkey hunter this year) one of my guns to use this spring. Mossburg 535 with a simmons prodiamond scope and a Winchester extra-full choke and a box of Winchester 3 1/2" #6 turkey shot. I patterned it at 40 yards and had 125 shots in the ten inch circle. I think my friend has a pretty good shot at his first turkey.

snapper1982

thats exactly what the 100 in a 10 is all about. a clean ethical harvest. absolutly knowing with out a doubt that turkey is dead and not going to maybe get wounded and if you pull the shot slightly he is still dead.and if you got 125 with the lead and not htl then you my friend have a super gun/shell combo right there.
people dont understand the ethics invoved in this......

Todd1700

The problem with just shooting at a turkey head target or any other small target is that you can't see what your whole pattern is doing or where your shotgun is throwing the center of your pattern. Trust me not all shotguns (even really expensive ones) throw their patterns perfect to the point of aim of the bead sight. Also different chokes and shells can shift your point of impact too.

Do what you like but you can shoot the same shell through the same gun and choke at a small turkey target and get 6 radically different results never knowing what the heck is going on. Did you pull the shot? Was the center of the pattern high, low, left, right? Who knows unless you shoot at a large sheet of paper. Only then can you truly tell which shell/choke combo is throwing the best pattern and whether you need an adjustable sight to get it centered to point of aim.

And it's not like it's a major expense to shoot a sheet of poster paper or a section of craft paper. If you like you can still tape a turkey head target in the center of it. But one shot at a large sheet of paper will tell you more about what you, your gun, shell and choke are doing than ten shots at a can or small target.

Rory/MO

Last time I checked a turkey's head wasn't a 10" circle? Guess they've changed since I saw one yesterday morning though.

JW

My aim point is in my Team 's Avatar and I still go by 8 to 12 pellets holes in that target only in the neck vertebrae and the skull that counts. That is how I determine my pattern and my distance. Have usd this for 25 years.

My gun's aim point is the Waddles - tha part where the feathers stop and the skin starts on a turkey's head. And that is the center of the bottom of my circular pattern. That way I know my whole pattern covers the head from the Waddles to the Snood!

Go ahead and shoot beer or soda cans. But I know where my pattern is with my round of choice.
And I strongly suggest that one use a form of Tru-Glo sights or a scope. With today's very tight turkey chokes it is far to easy to miss a bird. With sights such as I mentioned it forces the hunter to concentrate on correct linement of the front and rear sight to the target which stops head creep of making one sneak their cheek up off the stock.

But do like you want - all I know I missed a few birds and found out why. That has not happened now in over 23 yrs....

JW