Way too expensive for me to waste patterning a load. Point and shoot and take the chance I guess.

Oh boy

Yeah...practicing on your target game animal is "always a great idea."

Smh

.....well according to some folks on here instead of asking I should just go out and shoot a bunch of critters till I figure out what works the best ...

I don't know, I use the same gun for rabbits, ducks and fox, just change chokes and loads. I don't see the difficulty in it?

Actually I'm curious now ...how much can point of impact change from load to load with a shotgun? Well same kinda shell and choke of course... If I understand it right pattering is really just to see what the spread does at certain distances... If you use the same thing every year it should change too much right ?

I don't check mine year to year, I use the same loads and choke out of the same gun.

When I did pattern the gun, different loads threw VERY different patters to different points of aim.

I agree with k snow. Find the right combo and stick with it. Use the same gun, choke, and load and there is no need to burn shells and abuse your shoulder any more at the gun range

You shoot turkey more like shooting a rifle in a way just shooting different loads can leave a poor pattern with some guns so ya it’s important to pattern the loads you plan on using. With the out to 60 yard shooters it’s even more important but 45 yards is tops with me 30 yards preferably.

at least use back shot similar to the load your using to pattern kinda or there's no point in hunting if you're not sure you can hit anything

Apex 3” 20ga 1 5/8oz #9


Foxtrot 3” 20ga 1 5/8oz #9


Same gun, two identical loads except for powder apparently. One perfect and one blown out to the right. Not every load shoots the same. If I order and even get a different lot number I’ll take a shell out to shoot. All the Apex loads I’ve tried shoot identical, but I spend too much time, money, and effort to leave anything to chance.

Ive never patterned a turkey load, i always aim where feathers skin meet and never had a problem i likem at 20 yards.

clint

Think about this. NOT all shells are loaded the same. Might be more pellets overlapped on one side versus the other. LOL.
I own a Remington double barrel that you can kill a fox squirrel in the tallest hickory with 7.5 Shoot 6 ,5, 4 they laugh at you.

I don't poke em out to 50 either. I like em closer, so I'm not too worried.

80 % of turkeys killed could be killed with a full choke (factory) with a standard trap load! The rest is marketing.

I have the 4-H kids pattern on the first night of shotgun because it can be all your pattern below the clay at 32 yards or all of it above at 32 yards , I use 32 because 16 yards to the trap and about 16 is a sweet spot out in front of the trap.

maybe it shouldn't be a surprise but the way we teach it most kids are better then 15 of 25 by the 2nd night , we end up with a lot of 17-20 rounds , then it is a lot of diagnosing what you are doing different or how the clay flies different to get in to the 22-23 consistently , then nerves often play in 24-25



at 20 yards #6 low brass cheapy squirrel loads would work

#4 high brass lead pheasant loads would probably work fine to 35

you start playing games to get 40, 45, 50

I would follow the buy 5 or 10 rounds shoot 2 to pattern if those look good at 40 yards call it fine but to not pattern at all is a waste of all that time calling a turkey.

Id agree with this. The majority if mine have been 25 yards or in id guess. I think 42ish has probably been the farthest.

I grabbed a box of tss 12 ga last year for 28 bucks. Im toying with goin factory full just on one piece of public that i may/may not hunt that requires nontox, without patterning. Its discontinued stuff so i cant stick with it and dont wanna blow 20 percent of my shells. I dont have much worry about the pattern with 8 shot i guess. Id be setting up so that the 2nd i pulled a bird off private, boom, so could range that at 40. Otherwise, my normal lead load patterns well

I patterned my pheasant guns last fall and federal prairie storm was absolutely horrible. Shooting at a 48 by 48 paper, hardly any holes on the entire thing. 40 yds with imp cyl and mod. Almost the same with both.

wow lots of guns shoot different depending on choke or load shooting ducks with steel is way different than shooting turkeys with lead even shooting a rabbit is different on a turkey you want to hammer the head with as many pellets as possible where ducks and rabbits you want a nice even spread to take up errors in leading as for fox your probably getting into heavier loads and guns shoot different again

22 hornet patterns pretty tight.

I’ve used a 12 Gauge extra full dead coyote choke and blown a limb off a tree and the squirrel went 20 feet with a #7 dove load. Didn’t have to skin or gut it. Does that count?

I’ve also dropped coyotes at 82 yards with dead coyote load…same gun, same choke. Furthest turkey was 70 yards with #4 tungsten. Also same gun, same choke. Everything was DRT. I don’t monkey around wasting ammunition on paper anymore. I know what it’s capable of and when I drop the hammer, stuff drops.