At what range did everyone sight in at, 20,30,40 or 50 yds?
And what constitutes a good pattern?
Thanks,
Brew
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At what range did everyone sight in at, 20,30,40 or 50 yds?
And what constitutes a good pattern?
Thanks,
Brew
I shoot my guns in from a bench at 25 yards. This will make the pattern good from 10 yards out to 40 or so which is the standard killing range for a turkey.
Some guys shoot 3.5" magnum guns out to 50+ yards and some guys can call a turkey in to where they can touch it.
A lot depends on if you have a scope or red dot optic. Adjustable sights or a bead sight?
For the most part you want the gun to shoot dead on at 25 yards.
Take a few turkey head targets to the range and put one up at 25 yards.
You want the pattern to be centered. With 50% of the pellets above the aim point and 50% below. Same thing left and right.
A good pattern will be centered on the target with no voids in the pattern. You want the majority of the pellets in the kill zone of the head. If none of the pellets hit the eye, brain, or spine/ neck bones....odds are that turkey will run and or fly away.
A good centered dense pattern is what you want. This is done by adjusting the sights, or optic like a scope. OR learning where the gun shoots if you have a fixed bead sight. The pattern itself is adjusted by use of different loads and choke tubes.
#4-#6 shot sizes are the most used along with a minimum of a FULL choke. Xtra Full or Turkey Full is even better.
This entire process takes a hour or so, and uses quite a few rounds and targets. But it pays off, and most of the time only needs to be done once, unless you remove the sights or optics from the gun.
Good luck, and be safe!
Thanks much.