Turkey Hunt Choke

[Gunowner99]

I think I may give spring gobbler a go. I have a Remington 870 with a modified rem choke. Do I need to switch out the choke for a turkey hunt and if so what choke would I need?

I appreciate any advice.

[eatmydust]

You can hunt turkey with your current choke tube, however, you will probably fare better with an extra-full choke tube. The extra-full choke tubes will keep your shot column tighter at longer distances. I'd recommend buying a mid-priced tube and some 2D turkey targets and patterning you full and any after market tubes from about 25 yds. out to 40-45 yds. Try to limit your shots to inside 50 yds.

I've always used my Mossberg 835 with a 24" barrel and the included ex-full tube for Spring gobbler and my Savage 24, .223/.12 ga. with a Benelli ex-full tube in the Fall. I used to shoot 3 1/2" turkey loads but have become comfortable with 3" turkey loads containing #4 or #5 shot, these work for me. There are innumerable combos of chokes, shells, shot size and composition, I'm not that picky, I use Fiocchi, Winchester, Federal, whatever is affordable and they seem to kill turkeys just fine.

[God's Country]

I'm not a turkey hunter.

That said you should pattern your gun against a turkey silhouette regardless of the choke. The more pellets in the head the better. The further that can be accomplished the better.

[Parrisk]

I run "Gobble Stopper" chokes in my Remington 870 and my Winchester SPX.. Step son and father in-law both run Gobble Stoppers..

Not the best choke on the market but by far the best choke for the money!!!

[JenniferG]

I have the Remington Ex Full turkey choke and use the Winchester Super X copper plated #4's out of a Remington 11-87 SP. The pattern is very tight. Brownell's has the Ex Full Turkey for $25 or so. That is sufficient to kill a nice Tom but your skills at calling is what brings them in. Less is better when calling.

https://www.brownells.com/shotgun-pa...prod10965.aspx

[Gunowner99]

I'll look into those. Thanks a lot. Seems full choke is the way to go.

[TooBigToFit]

I'll look into those. Thanks a lot. Seems full choke is the way to go.

If you already have a full choke lying around and are on a budget, use that, it'll work fine. If you only have a modified choke, and have no need for a full choke, go ahead and get a reasonably priced extra full turkey choke. Just keep in mind that sometimes, too tight is bad. It'll give you less margin for error up close if it's too tight.

The most important thing to do is to pattern your shotgun. Not just to see how tight it is, but to see where your POI is relative to your POA. If you have a shotgun with only a front bead, you need to keep in mind that your eye is the rear sight. That means that you must keep your mount consistent, otherwise your POI will shift. If you can add a rear sight or a red dot of some sort easily to your gun, then it wouldn't be a bad idea. Otherwise, just make sure you know how your sight picture ought to look, and in either case, practice shooting your shotgun like a rifle. Also, start learning how to estimate range (even if you have a range finder).

I'm ashamed to say I missed a turkey twice last year. I patterned my Benelli, and I knew the thing patterns really high, but I just didn't aim properly to account for that. I'm attaching a red dot, and patterning a lot this year, because I don't plan on making the same mistake again this year.

[Gunowner99]

I have the Remington Ex Full turkey choke and use the Winchester Super X copper plated #4's out of a Remington 11-87 SP. The pattern is very tight. Brownell's has the Ex Full Turkey for $25 or so. That is sufficient to kill a nice Tom but your skills at calling is what brings them in. Less is better when calling.

https://www.brownells.com/shotgun-pa...prod10965.aspx

I see that is lead shot only and not copper?

[TooBigToFit]

You should be fine. The shot isn't fully copper, but rather copper plated lead. Turkey loads are expensive enough... Pure copper loads would be out of this world!

The copper plating is there to prevent shot deformation in an attempt to improve your pattern.

[Gunowner99]

Oh yeah I get that however I wonder if that means you can't use copper plated shot?