Mossberg 835 and hevi-shot?

[quick]

I am hunting the very last turkey season which begins on Friday and was wondering if it was ok if I used 3 inch remington hevi-shot #6 with my mossberg 835? It has an ultra full turkey choke. I think I may have read somewhere that you should only use hevi-shot with certain chokes. I shot this setup once and only fired it a couple times at 35+ yards and didnt get a very tight pattern. Tried a different non hevi-shot load and it only got worse. When I got home I was cleaning the gun and noticed that the choke was a little loose (not screwed on tightly) I assumed this was affecting it, and ultimately would like to get out and try and get a grouping again but am afraid I won't have the time. Also the only place I have to hunt is a 40 acre farm and that is also pretty much the only place I have to sight in my gun, do you think it would be alright to this the day before the hunt without spooking any birds that may be in the area? There have already been two gobblers taken off this farm, and I'm afraid the other birds know what a gunshot means. IF you would be kind enough to help a first timer out I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for the help.

[LABS4ME]

I wouldn't be firing a gun on a farm you are about ready to begin hunting... especially if it's been hunted already.

Go to a shooting range, trap range or sporting clays range and pattern that gun again. I can tell you I used an 835 with an undertaker choke tube for a couple years before selling it to a friend and that gun patterned #5 copper plated beautiful at 35 yards and I was confident to 45. Another of my buddies used 3" - #4 heavi-shot and dumped his bird at 32 yards this year. He was confident to a 40 yards max., this is where his pattern really fell apart. This is with a factory x-tra full tube from Mossberg. He is going to an undertaker next year.

For confidence issues and to see where your gun will perform to, I'd pattern it before you go out. You owe it to the bird, you hate to cripple him up. I also would look at #5 shot for longer range shots as they retain more foot pounds of the energy needed to make "jellyhead" out of a big ol' Tom. I'd say #6 is deadly at 35 or under, but #5 or #4 would be wise beyond that.

Good Luck!

Ken

[walleye_guy18]

quick,

your 835 should be patterning much better than that. my dad shot an 835 with the undertaker this year, he almost missed his bird because it came in at 15 stides and his pattern was so tightly grouped that he just hit it. his gun patterned very well out to 45yards.