Leo Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 It's pretty easy to become obsessed with 40 yard targets and beyond. That's good to fine tune and get the best at that range. Just don't take for granted that short range pattern is gonna go exactly where you want it. Your pattern is pretty darn small under 20yds if you have a 50yd gun. You better be sited in. Not much room for error here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaCoyote Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 It's pretty easy to become obsessed with 40 yard targets and beyond. That's good to fine tune and get the best at that range. Just don't take for granted that short range pattern is gonna go exactly where you want it. Your pattern is pretty darn small under 20yds if you have a 50yd gun. You better be sited in. Not much room for error here. Howdy Leo, Long time no see. I agree but I am one of those pattern obsessive folks who thinks about 40 more than 20 yards. Oh' Well. I'm gonna do it a bit different this year. I'm taking My CZ Bobwhite SxS out with a turkey choke in #1 and a Improved Mod, or full in #2. Depends on how she patterns though. Hopefully I'll be able to do that this week. Good luck this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoythunter37 Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 That is one heck of a pattern at 40 yards. Good luck this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Posted February 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 That is one heck of a pattern at 40 yards. Good luck this year. Yeah it would be incredible at 40 yards but this was at 17 yards. The point I was trying to make is don't take your super close yardages for granted. Those are tough shots. If your sites are off they can be impossible. This same gun puts 117 #5s in a 10in circle at 40yards and 89 #4s in a 10inch circle at 40yards. Both loads are more than adequate at that distance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA_RIDGE_RUNNER Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Leo you are right. That is why I put sights on my turkey gun just to be sure that I concentrate when the shot is close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodnottygy Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 I have killed numerous turkeys at 20 to 50 yards.... however, missed more at 5 or 10 yards because of the tight patterns than 40 yards! So... just remember that there is not much room for error at close ranges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljmelea Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Amen on that!If that gobbler moves his head an inch you miss.great point.larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maytom Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Good advice. Be sure to check your patterns at all ranges!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pendog Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 At real close ranges i aim a little lower on the neck. I found at that close range down into the feathers is where you want to be. It pivots less than the upper neck. Does anyone else aim lower the closer they get? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Posted February 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 At real close ranges i aim a little lower on the neck. I found at that close range down into the feathers is where you want to be. It pivots less than the upper neck. Does anyone else aim lower the closer they get? Absolutely CORRECT!!! At point blank range broadside aim just above the beard in the feathers. Believe it or not if you hit right there you won't tear up the breast as it actually starts a little further back. The head is the quickest moving part of a turkey's anatomy. At point blank range it can move 6 inches almost instantly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adjam5 Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Leo I have had a personal experience with a Tom at close range. I just about assassinated this bird like Lincoln at the theater:D. He came in all quiet behind us, while my son Joe and I were working birds in front of us. He turned his back with fan spread to get past a downed branch on the trail and that gave me a chance to swing my gun around. The barrel was practically touching its head when I fired. MAYBE 6" from it... The gun had to send out a pattern no bigger than the size of the barrel. I was luck to have dropped him where he stood. After that, I have really gotten to know how this gun shoots and have done 1 yard, 5 yard and 10 yard patterns. Just this past Saturday, at a gun show here in NY, I was able to purchase a shorter bbl for this Mossberg 835. I was using a 28"bbl then, with a HS Strut Undertaker tube and now I have a 24 incher. The long one caught every branch as I walked in the turkey woods. Excellent advice Leo to know your gun at close range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaCoyote Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 Not to hijack but I've got two chokes for sale in the classifieds if interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dakota Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 Aim lower ar closer ranges, got it! Dakota Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 Sighting systems are your friend. A bird that gets in really, really tight on me is going to get body shot. Probably on the butt of the wing so as to miss the breast meat. So........Leo.........whatcha gonna do about those 18 flyers in your pattern??? Looks like you need to tighten that up a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Covehnter Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 You gotta be real real careful up tight. I wish i could figure out how to get our videos from last year up. I have a toad at 8 yards catching the center of my 3.5" #6's. Its something to watchin in slow motion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Posted February 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 Sighting systems are your friend. A bird that gets in really, really tight on me is going to get body shot. Probably on the butt of the wing so as to miss the breast meat. So........Leo.........whatcha gonna do about those 18 flyers in your pattern??? Looks like you need to tighten that up a little. I actually have a plan Strut10. Too late to try it this year. I suspect lengthening the forcing cone will reduce the deformation of pellets that causes the flyers. You are pointing out another very good reason to shoot the short range shot though. It is much easier to identify fliers on a pattern shot between 15 and 20 yards. If I could pull just half of those fliers into the pattern that will dramatically improve downrange performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Leo............ I've had the barrels worked on a couple of my turkey shooters and left a couple of them "as-is". There's two schools of thought on forcing cone lengthening when it comes to turkey shooters. The first is that the lenghtening will reduce the initial, sudden squeeze thereby reducing pellet deformation thereby giving an evener pattern and reducing flyers. The second school is that the lenghtening will give an evener pattern thereby possibly eliminating some of the pattern's core density........which is really what a good "turkey killing pattern" is all about. I can't really say whether cone work did one or the other to my guns as I had other factors changed at the same time. So as far as raw, reliable data........I have none first-hand. Some say that cone work spreads the initial pressure spike after ignition along a longer section of the curve and reduces fely recoil. I've not noticed that effect. If you decide to get it done, maybe you could log a good sample of patterns beforehand then compare the "after" results......as long as you are only changing the one variable at a time. Good luck with your project!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.