Mossberg 185KC 2 3/4 20 gauge bolt action
02-28-2024, 11:42 AM
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Pennsylvania USA
Posts: 39
Mossberg 185KC 2 3/4 20 gauge bolt action
Reading all the threads about hunting turkeys with a 20 gauge so I pulled my old Mossberg out I used to hunt squirrels with some 50 yrs ago. Definitely lighter than my dad's old Browning A-5. Just wondering if any turkey hunters or shotgun 'knowledgeable' people out there would know what the best turkey load would be for it? Would the TSS turkey loads be too much for it? Having a hard time finding a lead turkey specific load in the 20ga 2 3/4 size.
02-29-2024, 02:23 AM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: west central wi USA
Posts: 2,256
Each gun is a law unto itself. You'll have to try some loads to see what the gun patterns the best with. And, you'll need to determine what's your maximum range. A 20 gauge with 2 3/4" shells probably won't have the range of a 3" 12 ga. You may have to limit your shooting range. My personal standard for a good killing pattern is 20 pellets in the head/neck of a turkey target.
02-29-2024, 12:58 PM
#3
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Eastern wv
Posts: 3,729
Apex has a 2 3/4" 20 ga. TSS load, that would be my choice
https://apexmunition.com/shop/turkey...8-oz-5-shells/
https://apexmunition.com/shop/turkey...8-oz-5-shells/
03-03-2024, 05:09 AM
#5
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location:
Posts: 1,785
I have an old Westernfield bolt action 20 ga I hunted with as a kid in the 70’s, and I was going to try to kill a turkey with it this year. I remember the gun seeming to be tightly choked, but after trying several loads, I couldn’t get a pattern I’m confident with and abandoned the project. I have other guns that do pattern well, so I can’t justify paying stupid money just to try TSS for nostalgia.
03-04-2024, 02:27 AM
#6
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: west central wi USA
Posts: 2,256
It's probably not a good idea to shoot TSS through a conventional full choke anyway. It's hard enough to bulge the end of the barrel. Chokes designed to specifically have TSS shot through them are more open and gradual.
03-14-2024, 11:03 AM
#8
Super Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 7,443
Why take a chance on a relic?
Stick to any #5 shot 20 ga load. Call the bird in to less than 20 yds. Put a stick out at 20 yds. Order like I do no more than 10 steps from where you sit with a decoy. That's your goal. With a head shot placement any shotgun/ any shot load will work at that range.
Be sure to check your pattern tho before you do.
JW
Stick to any #5 shot 20 ga load. Call the bird in to less than 20 yds. Put a stick out at 20 yds. Order like I do no more than 10 steps from where you sit with a decoy. That's your goal. With a head shot placement any shotgun/ any shot load will work at that range.
Be sure to check your pattern tho before you do.
JW
03-14-2024, 01:22 PM
#9
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Eastern wv
Posts: 3,729
Why take a chance on a relic?
Stick to any #5 shot 20 ga load. Call the bird in to less than 20 yds. Put a stick out at 20 yds. Order like I do no more than 10 steps from where you sit with a decoy. That's your goal. With a head shot placement any shotgun/ any shot load will work at that range.
Be sure to check your pattern tho before you do.
JW
Stick to any #5 shot 20 ga load. Call the bird in to less than 20 yds. Put a stick out at 20 yds. Order like I do no more than 10 steps from where you sit with a decoy. That's your goal. With a head shot placement any shotgun/ any shot load will work at that range.
Be sure to check your pattern tho before you do.
JW
03-16-2024, 06:29 PM
#10
Super Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Trumbull County, Ohio
Posts: 9,566
Sounds like an invite to me, JW. Better buy your WV tag.
I haven't seen or heard a gobble yet. There's a farm about 2 miles from me that has had 70-100 birds pretty consistently in the evenings the last few weeks. Hoping they spread out and come my way soon
- Jake
