Duck gun for turkeys
 

Going on a turkey hunt and wanted to know what kind of choke I can use and what kind of shells and range.
I've got a super vinci and the chokes that came with it, and I've got some kicks high flyer chokes supposed to be for steel but never use them.
I'd rather not buy anything new other than shells.
Any advice appreciated.

All I do is use a full choke and buy 3" turkey loads and I have never had a problem killing them.

What kind of range is that giving you? Recommendation on turkey loads?
Thanks.

Duck gun for turkeys
 

Attachment 103468. Winchester long beard #5 full choke 52 steps. Try them they work great.


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Winchester 3" HV turkey load #5. I have shot out to 50 yards and think you could go a little further. Keep in mind these things kick like a mule. That is the only reason I dont shoot the 3 1/2.

I second the Winchester Long Beard shells.

I tried several different shells and only got about 70 pellets in a 10" dia circle at 40 yards. This is not very good, but shot that for several years and killed a few turkey.

Then 2 years ago, I hit a turkey at about 40 yards, but it flew off.

I then bought some 3.5" Long Beards after reading several good reports.

Here is the results with the same gun and choke that only got ~ 70 pellets in the target.

I also made one "change" to my shotgun before shooting the Long beard shells. I polished the barrel. I have read that doing this can make a big difference [5% to 25% depending on how dirty the barrel is] in how the gun patterns. My shotgun barrel was very shinny when I finished.
.

Im going to have to try those when I finish the box I have. Only shoot 1 or 2 rounds a year so it may be a while.

After I shot that pattern...... I went and bought a second box [Under $ 20], at Academy just so I would probably never run out of these shells or incase they stopped making them.

Life is too short to not give them a try.....NOW.

Good and bad
 

You should pattern every shell you plan to shoot with the choke that you plan to hunt with. You will get vastly different results from different chokes, lengths, and types of loads. I have tried the Longbeard shells and ended up with different results.

Just saying.... you should try them at different ranges also. If a bird comes in close when you are loaded with long range ammo, you can easily miss! I've seen it!

Pattern your gun and pay attention to where your pattern is on the paper. Use a big enough sheet so that you can clearly see the center of your pattern. Most turkey loads will shoot a bit higher than regular shot for some reason. Check this and adjust for it. I tell my kids to shoot turkeys where the red meets the black. Most misses are from birds being too close or people shooting over the birds head.

It's always a good plan to shoot good quality ammo and test it out. I think my preference is Hevishot magnum blend.

Good Luck!

I just got my shotgun out to make sure it is ready for Sat. morning. Saw a few specks of "dirt" in the barrel so ran a cloth through the barrel. I is nice and shinny now and ready for the hunt.

Mine is just like I like it, full of dust and un burnt powder

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Just shoot the winchesters up to 50 yards and you will never change shells! Just like geralds Pictures shows. That is enough proof for anyone. PS. i have shoot a turkey in Nebraska at 61 steps and killed him dead. I just do not like that for of a shot.

I am a fairly experienced turkey hunter and have tried many chokes and shells.
One experience that I want to mention that I saw this year.

I had a turkey gun I custom built that was stolen last year. This year I bought a new gun and with same brand choke and same shells (Winchester LB XR's) I was having allot of difficulty sighting in my gun. I use a Burris FFIII reflex sight and I would use low power shells to sight in the gun at close range before switching to my LB XR's for patterning at 40 yards. My patterns were terrible, finally I used a bigger sheet and figured out my pattern was over a foot high and left.

I then shot my XR's at 15 yards to sight in the gun and they were aprrox. 1.5" off at that range.
Once I sighted the gun in for the correct range and shell I had close to 200 at 40 yards and 70 and 80 + in turkey head and neck at same range.

I agree with Crawl79 ALLWAYS shot your gun and pattern it. Every gun is different. I shot a winchester pump this year for my friends kid and in a 10 inch circle it had only 26 pellets in it.. He went and got his old remington pump and put 58 pellets in it. This was with same shells and same chokes. So yes by all means shoot your gun and know what will do before you make that shot. Good luck!

Make sure you have a rear bead or sight on the rail. I have seen so many guys miss or loose kills me gobblers from 40-70 yards because they thought a rear site was not needed.

If you are going to west Texas for Rios, leave the shotgun and bring the rifle.


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I killed first and only turkey with BB steel, 35 yards. I have a friend the uses Winchester high brass #5, 2 3/4" shells and kills his 2 every year as long as I've known him. He says within 30 yards he'd shoot them with 20ga 7 1/2.

A few years back, I was able to get turkey loads to pattern well from my duck gun with a full or extra full choke.

It kicked like a mule, and a turkey never showed up to volunteer for a live fire trial.

I since moved on to other interests.

But I think if you are willing to try a few things on paper, you will find a combination that works.

Attachment 103627Attachment 103628. Remember the kid that I shoot his gun. 3 inch Winchester long beard #5 48 steps. His first turkey.


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You will be fine with the gun. You can use a full or some sort of xtra full, just make sure to pattern the gun first.

The fun of turkey hunting is to get them as close as possible, not to shoot them at 50+ yards:)