Best turkey choke
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Best turkey choke? Depends on your gun and turkey load. A number of pattern comparisons have been done, along with different turkey loads.
You can check the archives on the NWTF conversation forums under "Shotguns and Shotgunning." You don't have to register to view the forums.
Other turkey hunting discussion forums have similar info.
What make of gun did you have in mind?
You can check the archives on the NWTF conversation forums under "Shotguns and Shotgunning." You don't have to register to view the forums.
Other turkey hunting discussion forums have similar info.
What make of gun did you have in mind?
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Which ever one patterns best out of your gun!
There are so many options and opinions on this it can make you crazy!
First of all what type gun will you be using? Secondly what type ammo do you intend on using?
As a general rule the smaller the shot size, the tighter the constriction on the choke. You can go from a standard full choke at about.700 constriction down to some of the "super fulls" at about .650 constriction. You also have to consider if you will shoot lead or one of the "heavier than lead" loads.
As a general rule of thumb, at whatever distance you shoot, you should have a minimum of 100 pellets in a 10 inch circle. Most guys strive for closer to two hundred. Most also consider 40 yards as the standard range to compare everything to. However you should take a shot at 15-20 yards just to see how tight you pattern is at close range
I use the 12 ga. 3 1/2 Federal Heavyweight load in #7 shot with a trulock .650 choke tube. Prior to the trulock I used a Carlson's .660 tube. Here are a few patterning picks with it.
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Lastly, I bought a Caldwell's lead sled, makes sighting in those 3 1/2's a whole lot more tolerable:thumbs_up:
There are so many options and opinions on this it can make you crazy!
First of all what type gun will you be using? Secondly what type ammo do you intend on using?
As a general rule the smaller the shot size, the tighter the constriction on the choke. You can go from a standard full choke at about.700 constriction down to some of the "super fulls" at about .650 constriction. You also have to consider if you will shoot lead or one of the "heavier than lead" loads.
As a general rule of thumb, at whatever distance you shoot, you should have a minimum of 100 pellets in a 10 inch circle. Most guys strive for closer to two hundred. Most also consider 40 yards as the standard range to compare everything to. However you should take a shot at 15-20 yards just to see how tight you pattern is at close range
I use the 12 ga. 3 1/2 Federal Heavyweight load in #7 shot with a trulock .650 choke tube. Prior to the trulock I used a Carlson's .660 tube. Here are a few patterning picks with it.
Lastly, I bought a Caldwell's lead sled, makes sighting in those 3 1/2's a whole lot more tolerable:thumbs_up:
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Hahaha! X2!!!
I went through that pre-season. I'm very pleased with the pattern my Beneli SBE gets with Hevi Mag Load with the HeviShot choke tube.
nice patterns! Those federal HW 7's are a gobblers worst nightmare. Probably the best load on the market. I would also put the H-13's 7's up there as well. The only thing I don't like about the HW 7's is due to their weight you don't have the shot count as the H-13 7's. The H-13 7's in a 2oz load have over 500 pellets. I guess you can't have both. I shoot the feds in my 20 and the H-13 7's in my 12ga....both out of a truglo SSX
IMO, for the money....you can't beat the SSX for $30. I have yet to see a bad pattern from this choke while using HTL loads.
IMO, for the money....you can't beat the SSX for $30. I have yet to see a bad pattern from this choke while using HTL loads.
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I use a Mossberg 9200 with an Undertaker choke shooting 2 3/4" Winchester High Vel. Magnums. I have a good pattern out to 40 yards. I normally don't shoot pass 35 yards.
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143 Posts
OKAY EVERY GUN HAS A BORE it is different for each type of gun like standerd is .730 benellis are .732 ..some are overbored to .742 every choke is different you can put the same choke say its constriction is .660 it will preform different in all 3 types of guns ..so to ask anybody whats the best choke you really have to try them out .and find what is best for you ... and then you have ported and non ported ..i go with non ported 3/4 extened choke..the way i see it is 9 out of 10 times your only shooting one shot at a time so why not make it the best you can ..now with a ported choke is best for duck and goose hunting.. i use non ported chokes because with a ported choke lots of your gasses are lost at the end of your gun and not pushing you load down range to your target .. and your ammo makes a big differents it really a long prosses to get a great turkey gun you need to ask a gun smith to help you out
my 870 12 ga is great with a extera full and federal premium high velocity turkey 3.5 in loads at 1300 fps shot size 5 2 oz
my 887 12 ga is great with a super full and federal premium magum turkey loads 3.5 in at 1150 fps shot size 6 copper plated 2 1/4 oz
my 870 20 ga is great with a full and winchester double x 3 in high velocity turkey load 1200 fps 1 5/16 shot size 5
you just have to play with them till you find what makes you happy :biggrin:
If you go by the 100 hit rule inside a 10" circle at a measured 40 yards I would go out on a limb to say there are bunch of guys hunting turkeys with a non-effective pattern.....especially those shooting lead.
If you have never shot any of the HTL loads like hevi shot or federal HW you really should give them a try. They put up MUCH better patterns than lead. Sure they are expensive, but how many are you going to shoot in a year? Great example.......
Benelli M1 12ga SSX choke winchester HV 6's- 120 inside 10" circle (just barely effective)
Benelli M1 12ga SSX choke hevi-13 7's- 280-300 inside a 10" circle (that's almost 2.5x more shot on paper at 40 yards than the lead)
JMO, but for those of you who shoot #4's you're really going to struggle to get anywhere near 100 pellets inside a 10" circle at 40 yards. Even 5's I would say would be a struggle.
If you have never shot any of the HTL loads like hevi shot or federal HW you really should give them a try. They put up MUCH better patterns than lead. Sure they are expensive, but how many are you going to shoot in a year? Great example.......
Benelli M1 12ga SSX choke winchester HV 6's- 120 inside 10" circle (just barely effective)
Benelli M1 12ga SSX choke hevi-13 7's- 280-300 inside a 10" circle (that's almost 2.5x more shot on paper at 40 yards than the lead)
JMO, but for those of you who shoot #4's you're really going to struggle to get anywhere near 100 pellets inside a 10" circle at 40 yards. Even 5's I would say would be a struggle.
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truth be told you only need that one golden bb to hit its mark :yikes:
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I haven't had any birds complain about the 1 3/4 oz of 5's that I have been using for 10 years now. Just sayin.....
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The best is speculative from one shotgun to the next. The reasons for that are barrel lengths, bore diameters, ammo...all of which vary from one brand to the next.Live2Hunt said:
Extended non-ported are the best, IMO. Extended to get the longer parallel section of the choke tube to get the best performance from the restriction of the tube. Non-ported because they're not as loud. The ports don't reduce recoil, as advertised. :cheeky-smiley-022:
The best thing that any shotgun hunter can do is pattern the choke and ammo...at the distance(s) it's intended to be used. Patterning gives the shooter a lot of confidence in the weapon and its' ability/range.Live2Hunt said:
There are several shotgun forums that are good for reading about suggested choke and ammo combinations. However, I highly recommend calling Carlson's and telling them what you want to do with your shotgun and they'll give you the right information to achieve your goals.
I purchased a Dead Coyote choke tube (.660" restriction) and the Dead Coyote ammo (T sized shot) to go with it. After patterning this combination, I wouldn't trust the pattern past 30 yards...and it's advertised to be good out to 70 yards.
I called Carlson's and talked with Shane Carlson. We discussed the range that I wanted to kill coyotes (inside 50 yards) and I prefer alloy ammo (Hevi-Shot, HD, etc.) in large sizes of T, BB or #4 buck. He recommended a .680" restriction. All I had to do was mail it to him with a note on it saying "replace with a .680" restriction" and he mailed it back a.s.a.p....no charge.
Give them a call.
www.choketube.com
My turkey choke tube is a H.S. Strut in .665" and it produces 47 pellets inside a 10" circle at 40 yards. I was using Remington Nitro 3" with a 1 7/8 oz. load of #5s. I wasn't about to shoot those bruiser 2 1/2 oz. loads.
My shotgun is a 12 gauge, 3" chamber, Mossberg 500 Turkey Special with a 20" barrel.
Keep in mind, that a 30" circle is for waterfowl patterns. A 10" circle is for turkeys and predators.
Bowhunter57
Yep......but why not have 200+?
Never said the 5's wouldn't kill turkeys.......I've killed plenty with them back when I shot lead......however, let a bird hang up at 40-45 yards and I personally would think twice about shooting that bird. Putting 280+ inside a 10" circle at 40 yards....I wouldn't think twice.I haven't had any birds complain about the 1 3/4 oz of 5's that I have been using for 10 years now. Just sayin.....
What kind of #'s are you getting with that 1-3/4oz load of 5's at 40 yards? You are probably barely pushing 100, if that. Simply because of the size of shot and the payload. You only have 296 pellets in that load.
Just about any gun will kill a turkey out to 20-25 yards. It's that 40 yard mark where a lot of turkey guns go down hill.
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Honestly, I can't remember. I found a load that patterned well and have stuck with it. Most of my birds have been killed inside of 25 yards, and the few shots that I have stretched to 35-40 have killed them just as dead. I used to use 2 oz of 5's, but this 1 3/4 oz load out of my 870 3" mag really works well. The terrain in Jefferson County that I hunt, does not lend itself to long shots anyhow.
I understand what you are saying, and if I needed better range, I would probably have to pattern my gun with a different load. I hope to have my project gun done in time for next year (single barrel Savage 220 hammerless) and I may have to try some of the new loads, but I bought a bunch of the Remington 1 3/4 oz loads a number of years ago and still have more. Actually, I looked at them today, and I paid $6.99 a box LOL.
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agree with everyone else just depends on the gun, me personally i have getting custom chokes made for as long as i been turkey hunting only around 5 yrs but my h&r 10ga with 3 1/2 mags will kill turkeys out to 60 yards.. just cant let them get to close patterns to tight at 15yds.. .710 constriction and if you take the cone out of the back , let sum gas pressure off and it will shoot alot better too.
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My favorite choke is the one screwed into the barrel of my shotgun!
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