Turkey choke REM 870 3”

I have a Remington 870 3” 28” barrel with a carlsons long beard Xr .660 choke. I was shooting Winchester long beard Xr 1 3/4 #6 at 50 yards. Didn’t give the pattern I wanted. Any ideas on new choke or loads. Don’t want to shoot tss to expensive

Just try some different loads-they all behave differently. It;s hard right now with limited ammo available but get a few different brands and bang away. You are on the right track with patterning-too many just buy a box and think they have a 70 yard combination.

I have REM choke wing master HD turkey/predator choke. I think it came with my gun, but I don’t remember. Shoot federal premiums high velocity 3 inch 1 3/4 ounce 5 shot (red box). Patterns well at 40 yards and will be forgiving for slight error in yardage judgement. Killed them out to 45 yards with load/choke combo a few times. 50 yards would be too much of a poke with the combo though, if you try it I’d stick with 40 yards and in, knowing that if you misjudge and they’re 45 yards they’ll be dead. If they’re 50 they’ll most likely fly away (my personal experience misjudging distance in field once).

Try a Kick's Gobblin' Thunder.

Love my longbeard Carlson choke like said above try some different combos shot size/ loads and brands.

Not longbeard ammo Browning ammo 30 yards.

The winchester long beards in #5 shoot way better in my 870 then the #6 do.

Indian creek choke tube. In a .665 or kicks gobbling thunder in .660 or .665

What exactly are you expecting at 50 yards? If TSS are too much you way want to consider shortening up your max range. You may or may not find a load/choke that shoots the way you want at that distance, particularly with only a 3” load.

What kind of numbers are you looking for and what are you getting? Try the same set up with # 5 shot and even # 4s. Are you getting the pattern your looking for at 40 yards? Lots of things that you can try, but that would be the first to try.

I have a fixed 30” full choke 3” 1100 barrel that shoots as well a 3” Hastings barrel I use a turkey choke in.

I shoot #6 lead shot.

Pattern is good at 35. I’m looking for a killing pattern at 50. I’ve tried the choke with lb #6 and double x #5 both didn’t do good at 50.

Odds are against you at 50 yards with a 3” shell and a stock 870. You’ll spend less on some TSS ammo than experimenting with chokes that still won’t likely give the pattern you’re looking for.

Just because the double x #5s did not shot well does not mean the LB won’t. The LB are in a different class than the old double x. Not that they won’t kill turkeys, have killed a pile with them. But unless you go with Hevi shot or SST it will be hard to outperform the LB. If you have the ammo, shoot 40, 45 then 50. To see where it starts to fall apart. You might find that the combo your shooting just won’t do it. You can also try the Mag loads with the LB, they have more shot but a little slower. I have seen that work wonders

Lose the #6 shot and call them closer than 50 yards. #4 shot will hit turkey harder than 6s especially down range. Bigger shot at same speed, difference in being run over with a dump truck versus a toyota, lol. If turkey real close it don’t really matter. Most my shots are 25-40 yards. Winchester double x magnum 2 3/4” #4s and it’s over. Remington 870 express with factory full choke, been using it for almost 30 years. I’ve killed more than 3 turkeys in my life so I guarantee you plenty of shot in the above mentioned load at 40 yards give or take.

Either a Kicks GT or Primos Jellyhead.
Or you can buy TSS. We started loading our own about 3-4 years ago before it was the cool thing to do. I shoot #9’s out of a custom choke for my 870 Youth 20ga. While it patterns great out to 50, I’ve miscalculated a few turkeys and have killed at 57 yards before. I prefer that 25-35 yard range...anything closer than 20 and I’m throwing a baseball size load, better be on him when they get that close, lol.

Jellyhead shoots great in my .870 , it’s silenced 2 birds per year in my woods for a bunch of years now!

Easiest solution is be a better hunter....get your birds inside 35 yards. stop trying to stretch things to the maximum. for the record I shoot an 870 SPS-T with a 23" barrel, last 35 or 40 turkeys i've killed have been with federal 2 3/4' #5's with the flight control wad.

Get off the greenfield and hunt them in the woods position so that to "see the hen" the bird is in range.

Another reason turkey hang up is overcalling, too loud, etc. Get in thick cover if possible and use topography against the bird with your calls. You won’t need to consider 50-60 yard shots. He be well in range.

Try 5 the kill better

best combo available today IMO, my 870 shoots amazing with this combo

https://indiancreekss.com/12-gauge-turkey-choke-tubes/

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/winchester-long-beard-xr-turkey-shotshells

They only place I’ve had to hunt these last few years have been fields and fence rows. I got a custom choke and shoot 3.5 hevi 13’s in a 6 shot. It will kill one at 70 yards. 62 yards was my farthest. At 30 yards the pattern is the size of a baseball. You have to shoot it like a rifle or you’ll miss. I’ve been hunting a new property the last couple of years so I went back to the Indian Creek and longboard. My boy killed his first turkey during the 2020 season with a Savage .410 and tss #9’s at 27 yards. He is only seven.

It's hunting not sniping

When he hangs up at that distance and that’s the only choice you got, I take it. I was fortunate to harvest the Tom’s I did on the property because that’s all it was is open fields and fence rows. I’m just using the tools available to me.

Is there good ballistics tables on shotgun shells? I know tungsten is more expensive but also know they carry more energy.

I don’t have an issue with someone killing at that distance, as long as one can kill at that distance every single time. I know people that buy TSS and think they now have a 70yd gun. TSS just hits harder. I like seeing that mist of red when a gobblers noggin is hit by it.
EVERYONE needs to pattern their gun every single year.

I am with a lot of the other guys- there are 3 things I would tell anyone:
1) Carlson is top of the line. I also have an old Undertaker in a Mossberg the will do the job
2) Every gun and choke combination has a load it likes better than all the rest- your job is to find it
3) 50 is reaching. Some might even throw the less than ethical flag onto the field. Find out what your gun can do and adjuster your set up

I have the same gun. I have been using a hevi shot .662 choke and hevi shot magnum 3” blend 5, 6, 7 shot. Great combination with my 870. Upside, I pull the trigger and the birds are dead. No need to rush over. Most of my shots are 25-40 yards. Longest was 53yards. Each bird tipped over and a leg or wing twitched a couple times and died. Downside of this combination is the cost of shells $5-6 per shot before rebate

Sumtoy Choke shooting TSS or Hevi Shot Mag Blend.

Both of my guns have that setup and I have killed birds at 65.

Bingo, slip in as close as physically possible, sit down, get your gun up, yelp three times and SHUT UP.

If your shooting at birds 50 yards away I’d be working on my calling more then a pattern.

We have a lot of pressured birds around here. A lot of them are 4 and 5 years old. I don’t care how good of a caller you are. When he comes out into the field and he sees your decoys he is only going to come so far. He is the dominant bird and not going to budge a inch. He is use to the hens coming to him and he is not going to come within 10 yards of your decoy spread. The majority of the time he is going to skirt the decoys and move to another part of the field and wait to the hens come to him. I’ve killed Tom’s that you wouldn’t even know they was on the property because of the hunting pressure. They never gobble. There use to hearing every call that a hunter has. I understand what you guys are saying but saying someone is a bad hunter because they shoot birds at 50 yards is stupid. That would be like me putting down a sportsmen who hunts deer with a high powered rifle. We’re all in this together.

stop making excuses dude. bottom line sometimes you pass the shot, thats all there is to it. if you just have to shoot cause thats as close as he was gonna get then sell your huntin gear and buy some golf clubs. you right we're in this together and im gonna call out anybody who makes excuses to justify flingin hail mary's at game animals.

Late season or shy birds are not easy for sure them later season gobbler come in walking fast and run when they don’t like what they see, 35 yard max shots for me.

stop making excuses dude. bottom line sometimes you pass the shot, thats all there is to it. if you just have to shoot cause thats as close as he was gonna get then sell your huntin gear and buy some golf clubs. you right we're in this together and im gonna call out anybody who makes excuses to justify flingin hail mary's at game animals.[/quote]

I’m not making excuses “dude”. I’m just telling you my experience here in Ohio and you guys are trying to call me some unethical hunter for shooting and killing a turkey at 60 yards. I know my equipment and what it will do. If he strolls in at 35 yards then I’m going to take the shot but if he hangs up out there at 65 I know with out a doubt I can ethically kill that bird.

Enormous hunting pressure here too, if it gobbles someone is trying to kill him. If you want to kill boss birds consistently then get in cover, call sparingly or as necessary, and be patient. He knows where you are. Killing boss birds is not shooting squirrels. Many will get quiet once committed and closing the final gap, may or may not gobble again. He’s looking and listening so a lot hunters get impatient and call too much or too loud and spook the bird unknowingly.

A rifle must not be legal to use there? I would just use a rifle to field hunt if killing was only objective.

No Ohio is a shotgun only with deer slugs or straight walled cartridge such as .444 marlin, .45-70 etc.

When does 50 become 55 or 60 yards would be my concern I’ll stick with 35 yards because 40 is good if I’m off a bit.

I’m not making excuses “dude”. I’m just telling you my experience here in Ohio and you guys are trying to call me some unethical hunter for shooting and killing a turkey at 60 yards. I know my equipment and what it will do. If he strolls in at 35 yards then I’m going to take the shot but if he hangs up out there at 65 I know with out a doubt I can ethically kill that bird. [/quote]


no your the kind of person who takes 50 and 60 yard shots and if you do happen to kill the bird you think you've done good and brag about shootin one so far away, and if you just wound or maim an animal you dont care you just go try to find another one. seen plenty of guys just like ya. its sad when your willing to risk wounding game just so you can say you killed something.

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.