As a caller it's about the calling for me but you do what works for you. I just hate to see the 50-65 yard talk as it encourages the unskilled to poke and hope, it would be hard to believe your not losing birds at those ranges but Ill never know.

Most of my gobblers are shot within 10 yards so an extended choke is a non-issue for me. However, I agree with huntmd94 my 870 provides the best pattern with no. 5 load (Winchester 3 in 1 7/8oz Super X). Unless you are shooting them at very close range, shooting various loads at various distance will help you decide what you will need. Pushing the limit will not help you killing birds with consistency. Just my opinion.

I had to shoot a gobbler in self-defense once.

He was gobbling off the roost and flew down on top of a ridge. He started walking away from me. I scrambled up the steep slope I was on to the top of the ridge and followed him, staying about 100 yards back. He answered everything I threw at him but clearly had a destination in mind.

Finally, in desperation I used my paddle call to gobble at him. He went nuts. He turned around and charged me, double a triple gobbling the whole time. I had just enough time to throw myself behind an old blow-down. When he crested a low rise at twenty yards going full bore and focused on kicking my arse, I took him out. Clearly a case of self-defense.

I've been hunting spring gobblers a long time and killed my share. There may have been two or three a yard or two past the forty yard mark but all the rest were inside it.

My turkey gun is a Remington 870 and I use either a X-Full Rem-Choke or a Super Full Rem-Choke. Oh, and I only shoot 2 3/4" loads, they pattern way better than 3" out of my gun/choke combo. I shoot Winchester XX # 6 Copper Plated Turkey Loads.

While all these super duper long range tight patterned guns are cool you create a problem for those birds that manage to get in close. When you got one almost in your lap the patterns at that range aren't much wider than the shotshell itself. Kind of sucks missing at knife fighting distances.

50 yards is tss territory. All the time and money trying loads you may be ahead to just go tss.

Skinned many birds with unplated smaller shot under the skin usually in breast area or legs. I only use copper plated large shot so easy to know bird been shot previously. That’s what happens shooting at birds way out of range.