Turkey Chokes

[Snow Fish]

I was wondering how many people out there use turkey chokes? I patterned my Benelli Nova 12 ga. over the weekend and wasn't real impressed with the stock full choke. I was shooting the new Winchester Extended 5 shot Turkey Load. It would be effective at 30 yds, but at 50 it gets real iffy. Can anyone recommend a good turkey choke for my gun?

[Borch]

I'd recommend Comp n Choke. I've got one ordered for my new stoeger. Joe there recommeds .655 if you plan on shooting #5 or #6 shot. If you plan on #4 .658. I know several guys using that choke with the Winchester Ext. Loads and getting excellent results. But remember that every gun is different.

Other good after market chokes are Hastings, (did very well at this years NWTF still competion), rhino, Kicks, Madd Max...

I you want to try the comp n choke you can order it from them or I have a friend who sells then as well.

Borch

[Nova]

I have a nova as well and it took me 4 different loads to figure out which shot best. I now shoot winchester #5 shot and have a great pattern at 30 yards and a decent pattern at 50 yards. Last years bird was taken at 38 yards with the #5's and went down like a sack of tators. My sons nova shoots the federal #4 shot best. Both guns have just the standard full choke that came with the gun. Each gun is different so try sevral different loads from different manufacturers.

[strat-o-caster]

Snow fish, Go out and buy a turkey choke, then try the diferent load and shot size's.. you'll be amased the diferece it makes.. Strat

[Snow Fish]

Thanks for the help everyone! I will definitely try a Turkey Choke, probably a Comp N Choke

[Guest]

Even though I have a tight pattern at 40 yards with my turkey gun,

I probably wouldn't take a shot that far unless I had no choice.

All of the turkeys I have shot have been 25 yards and under.

It wouldn't hurt to get a tighter choke.

[Saw557]

Heres my expierence: I shoot a Remington 870 and I got the new Remington "Ventilator" choke tube. It' a extended and ported tube cost about $30.00. Antway I patterned it the other day and what I found worked the best was Winchester 3" 1-3/4 oz #5 shot.At 30 yds I counted 52 pellets in the "outline" of the turkey head target and 18 of them were in the "kill" zone. I also shot Remington Flight Control loads and just plain Remington loads but Win. was a little better. Just for comparison I shot the same Win. load with a standard full choke at 30 yds and had 10 pellets in the "outline" and 3 in the "Kill" zone. The Ventilator choke has a pretty impressive pattern in a 12" circle and nearly all the pattern was in a 30" circle.

FYI

Scott

[Hotspotter]

Borch, Nova, others:

What do you know about Winchester's Xtended load and how it performs against Remington's Hevi-shot? From all I can find, it seems to be nearly the same, with hopefully the same patterning and energy characteristics.

With Hevi-shot, a major concern was over-choking it and "blowing out" the pattern. With the constrictions talked about for the Comp n Choke, is this not a problem for Winchester's Xtended non-toxic shot? It would be nice to know that you could choke it tight like lead.

I feel like i've found a great combination for my gun with the Remington hevi-shot, but am always looking to improve upon it! I have to re-pattern soon, will hopefully post pics and pellet counts here.

Joel

[Borch]

This is what I know.

Winchester Extended Loads: Folks I know who have been testing the stuff are getting excellent results with typical restriction use for lead(.655-.670 in most standard bores). By the way it's rated safe in Comp n Choke choke(hevi shot isn't). This stuff is 10% denser than lead and softer than most the tungston based loads. Most folks I've talked to have found that this load is outshooting the Remington Hevishot loads. But they needed the tighter choke to get the results.

Federals Heavy Loads with FliteControl wads: Prefers a more open choke(.670-.690 in most standard bores). Also performs best in non ported chokes or ported chokes of the non wad stripping type. The loads seem to perform better on non back bored barrels. The wad design is a thick solid design with little wings on the back. These wads will travel 30+ yards down range(many will bounce off the target at 30 yards). Also 10% denser than lead. I'm not sure how hard it is yet.

Federal Mag Shock with Flight Control: This is the lead version with the flite Control wads. Same issue with the ported and wads stripping chokes. Shoots well in .660 - .665 restiction in standard bore. Wads fly nearly as far with these as with the Heavy Loads.

HeviShot Hevi-13: New molycoated heavy shot load. This stuff likes a lot of choke. Most guys are getting unbelievable results with .640-.655 constrictions in a standard bore. Although the .640 choke may provide patterns too tight for hunting situations. Shoot it in a more open choke than .665 and you'll be disappointed. Same or slightly heavier than the old hevishot. I hear reports that it's softer than the old hevishot but haven't been able to confirm it yet. Only place I've seen these are at Cabelas or Natchez Supply. About $20 a box.

That's what I know.

[Nova]

WOW Borch, that's a lot of info. Nice job. I have never and don't think I ever will use the after-market chokes. I have patterned both the Benelli Nova's with their standard full choke and 3.5" shells and get great results at 40 and 50 yards. I would never chance a shot at a turkey over 50 yards and that is pushing it. I do know that both Novas patterned different, but found standard lead 3.5" loads that work very well for them.

[Hotspotter]

Thanks for keeping us all on the cutting edge Borch.

These new denser shot types are revolutionizing the way we think about turkey hunting with guns. I won't touch the subject of range, but the data supports the fact that they plain hit harder and kill better. From what I can see, they pattern much better too.

We need more information.......please see the post:

"Turkey Gun Patterning"

Joel

[Neiko]

Jnelson, I shoot the Gold Hunter with Hevi shot but I was told by a gentlemen at one of the Ganders to use the HS Undertaker choke. They have one for lead and one for Hevi/Bismuth and I knocked it dead the first shot. The year before I was using lead and hit a bird and it still got away. I couldn't believe it. That is why I went Hevi. I think I got a .675 choke and the pattern was great. I will try to get out next week and see if I can get a pattern to post on here.

[Hotspotter]

Neiko:

Just patterned my gun this morning. Check out the post on "Turkey Gun Patterning."

Joel