Patterning your shotgun in today’s turkey world is a given, but do you have it down to a science? If you’re simply looking to get a good enough pattern to simply kill a turkey, then this might not be the right article for you. If you’re looking to achieve the best your shotgun has to offer, then you made it to the right place.
The first step is picking out your weapon of choice. This can be as easy as opening your safe door and picking up your trusty old 870 or as complicated (fun) as buying a brand new Mossberg 500 Turkey Thug decked out with a Zeiss Z-point sight.
At any rate, I’m trying to say it doesn’t really matter, as long as your gun has the option of removable choke tubes, you’re in business!
This is the part where things can potentially get a little expensive but before your write off this patterning regimine hear me out. Joel Nelson once put it to me this way, you spent countless dollars on tags, lodging, gas money, food, time off work and hours of effort, what’s a few extra bucks to ensure when the moment of truth comes around, you’re going to be turning turkey heads into jello!
The nice thing about the 21st century is we have this handy thing called the internet machines. What it means, is you’ll often be able to see what shotgun/choke tube/shell combinations perform the best, instead of having to go out and spend hundreds of dollars on trial and error.
If you’re one of the hunters who want to see for yourself, here are few chokes that are known performers:
HeviShot Hevi-13
Turkey loads are another hot topic, but remember, go into the experience with an open mind. I’ve seen people, myself included, talk themselves into going with a certain round based off of the “cool factor”, even though it doesn’t produce the best pattern.
Here are a few of the best turkey loads on the market right now:
Hevi Shot HEVI-13 Magnum Blend – This stuff is flat out BA! I know a lot of people who have found this stuff to pattern extremely well, myself included. It mixes No. 5, 6, and 7 Hevi-13 shot which creates a dense pattern and has some devastating results downrange.
Winchester Long Beard XR – The times are changing fast! A year or so ago Winchester came out with an awesome new recipe. Instead of throwing the shot in the cup and going to town, Long Beard XR encases their shot in resin and the shock from the round firing cracks the resin. The resin forms a protective barrier around the pellet, keeping them from hitting each other, deforming the wad, and keeps the shot round, resulting in some awesome patterns. The downfall of this round in my mind lives and dies with three words, copper-plated lead.
Federal 3rd Degree – To tell you the truth, this round gets me a little gitty. I haven’t tested it yet, but from what I hear, it’s the cat’s meow! If you’ve ever seen the devastating results of black cloud on waterfowl, you’ll know this is special. 3rd degree uses a three stage payload comprised of No. 6 nickel-platted FLITESTOPPER Lead, copper-plated No. 5 lead, and finally No. 7 HEAVYWEIGHT pellets. All packaged into the legendary FLITECONTROL wad. I hope it patterns well, because the reason I stopped using Blackcloud for waterfowl is because of the carnage it was able to produce! You’ll definitely see a review of this stuff in the Turkey Forum in the near future.
If you look at the prices of these rounds, you’ll notice they aren’t going to be on the cheap end of the spectrum but again if you spent all that money to go shoot a turkey, why wouldn’t you spend the extra few bucks per shot to know you’re getting the best.
Now onto the patterning business!
You’re going to want to start with a large target, this means leaving those pretty little turkey targets on the store shelf and opting for the hardware store instead. Pick up a large piece of cardboard, or a 4×8 sheet of plywood works wonders. You’ll also want to pick up a large sheet of paper, you can often get 36″ rolls which are 100′ feet long for 10 or 15 bucks. You’ll probably never have to buy another roll!
Cut a 4′ section off and draw a hockey puck sized circle in the middle, this will be your aiming point. In a corner write down the date, which gun you are using, the specific load, and shot size you are using.
You’ll want to back up to 30 yards and find a solid shooting platform, I’ve used the ground, truck beds, and stacked up hunting bags before but if you have access to some sort of lead sled, it will prove to be very useful and easier on your shoulder! Aim and the 3″ circle and let her fly.
Now we get down into the bread and butter! You’ll want to find the densest part of the pattern and mark that as the center. Now a lot of times this isn’t going to be right in the middle of the 3″ circle you shot at, this could be due to human error, sights, or specific load/gun combination. Take a 10 in. string attached to a marker and place one side of the string in the densest part of the pattern and draw a circle from that point.
Count the number of pellets in that 10 in circle, and write it next to the previously recorded information. Next mark all of the hits on the entire paper, to make it easier put a dash through each pellet hole to ensure you account for each pellet. Then determine percentage of pellets in the 10 in circle by dividing (pellets in 10in. circle/total number of pellets). If possible do this twice for each load you test.
A lot of the time pattern density isn’t the only concern when choosing a load. Look for areas on the paper where there are holes in the pattern where a longbeard could escape its fate!
Once I have narrowed it down to 1 or 2 front running loads I’ll back up to fifty yards and redo the test again.
This is the best way to weed out the poor performing shells and find that perfect fit for you! It’s easiest when you get a few like minded buddies together and split the cost of shells and often times choke tubes to make it more cost effective. It will give you the piece of mind when that longbeard struts into range or even more so when he hangs up at 50 yards. All you’ll be thinking is adios Mr. Gobbler!
Ha – way cool read. Take it from someone who has seen firsthand the carnage and folly resulting from failure to pattern, and you learn really quickly that this is a necessary step before hunting turkeys! Thanks for laying it out in a fun and digestible piece Ben!
Joel