Free: Contests & Raffles.
Quote from: KimberRich on February 17, 2011, 02:05:30 PMQuote from: bobcat on February 17, 2011, 01:52:09 PM#4 shot out of a 410 is going to be a pretty sparse pattern. I'd go with 6's or even 7 1/2's.Quote from: bobcat on February 17, 2011, 01:18:00 PMI'd use 3 inch shells and #6 shot. Anything bigger and the pattern will have too many holes in it. You'd have to pattern it but I don't see why it wouldn't kill a turkey out to about 20 yards.You do that. Shoot one at 20 yards with 7 1/2's. My bet is the thing runs for roughly 2.7 miles. At 20 yards with the right choke and a solid head shot, I guarantee that would be a dead turkey and it wouldn't go anywhere but down.
Quote from: bobcat on February 17, 2011, 01:52:09 PM#4 shot out of a 410 is going to be a pretty sparse pattern. I'd go with 6's or even 7 1/2's.Quote from: bobcat on February 17, 2011, 01:18:00 PMI'd use 3 inch shells and #6 shot. Anything bigger and the pattern will have too many holes in it. You'd have to pattern it but I don't see why it wouldn't kill a turkey out to about 20 yards.You do that. Shoot one at 20 yards with 7 1/2's. My bet is the thing runs for roughly 2.7 miles.
#4 shot out of a 410 is going to be a pretty sparse pattern. I'd go with 6's or even 7 1/2's.
I'd use 3 inch shells and #6 shot. Anything bigger and the pattern will have too many holes in it. You'd have to pattern it but I don't see why it wouldn't kill a turkey out to about 20 yards.
The "right" choke is one that patterns tight enough to kill that turkey at 20 yards. That's why I can guarantee it would do it. Because if it didn't, it wasn't the right choke (for that particular load being used) You don't think 410's are made with a choke that will pattern tightly at 20 yards.
Thrill of hunt is a close callUsing a .410 shotgun for turkeys requires more skill but is rewardingMarch 06, 2009|By Steve WatersWhen the spring turkey season opens Saturday in South Florida, many diehard turkey hunters will head into the woods with some serious firepower.They'll be carrying a 12- or 10-gauge shotgun made just for hunting turkeys: a fully camouflaged pump or semiautomatic with a short barrel and a super-tight turkey choke that puts out a deadly pattern of shot pellets at 60 yards with 3 1/2 -inch shells.That's a big change from when I first started hunting turkeys 25 years ago. Back then the people who introduced me to the sport used the same beat up 12-gauge shotgun for turkeys that they used for deer, ducks, quail and rabbits.These new guns are great for killing wild turkeys, but when you're shooting birds at 50 or more yards, you're missing the point, and the fun, of hunting turkeys.To Glenn Sapir, what makes turkey hunting so challenging and enjoyable is calling a wary, mature gobbler to within 30 yards.And if you can call a bird in that close, you don't need a fancy turkey gun, or even a 12-gauge shotgun, to kill a turkey.Sapir, of Putnam Valley, N.Y., is a close friend who has hunted turkeys throughout the country and scored a grand slam - one of each of the four major turkey sub-species - in one season.A longtime outdoors writer who was the National Wild Turkey Federation's 2008 Communicator of the Year, Sapir is the author of Secrets of the Turkey Pros, an enlightening 176-page hardcover book that features tips and insights from experts such as Eddie Salter, Harold Knight, Dick Kirby, Rob Keck and Ray Eye.Topics include selecting your gear, locating turkeys, setting up on them, calling, using decoys, moving on birds and, when your hunt is successful, caring for and cooking your bird. (Signed copies are available by sending a check for $25, which includes postage, to Ashmark Communications, P.O. Box 74, Shrub Oak, NY 10588.)Sapir regularly hunts with a 12-gauge shotgun, but while he was researching his book's chapter on hunting with decoys, he learned that Dave Berkley of Feather Flex Decoys likes to hunt with a .410 shotgun, which shoots the smallest payload of any shotgun gauge.Intrigued, Sapir got a .410 Browning BPS pump shotgun and patterned it with 3-inch No. 6 Winchester Super-X shotshells. At 35 yards, he put more than six pellets in the turkey target's head and neck. At 25 yards, he had at least a dozen lethal hits.He used the .410 in Texas to hunt Rio Grande turkeys. It didn't take long for him to find out how effective a smaller shotgun can be on a big wild turkey."I got two gobblers," Sapir said. "The first one I shot at 33 steps and the gobbler dropped as stone dead as any bird I ever shot."Sapir went back out in the afternoon and dropped a second 3-year-old gobbler in its tracks at 30 yards. (Texas hunters are allowed four birds per season and they can take more than one per day.)Another hunter was so impressed that he borrowed Sapir's .410 the following afternoon and killed a gobbler at 30 yards.Besides the .410's effectiveness at close range, Sapir liked its lighter weight, which makes a noticeable difference when you tote a gun through the woods all day.He also noted that the .410's minimal recoil makes it ideal for women and youth hunters.Sapir acknowledged that some say it's unethical to hunt turkeys with such a small gun, but he said it's the ethics of the hunter that are the concern."You simply have to pattern the gun and know the limitations of the gun," he said. "Instead of taking 50-yard shots that some people might take with a 12 gauge, with the .410 I wouldn't allow myself that."
Close range of course.... 3 inch, BB's?? 2's?? Whatchya think? My daughter is really small and I have the first shotgun I ever got when I was 9.... it fits her (except she hates it cause she closed the action on her hand last night!!!! )Doable??? head shot?
Quote from: bobcat on February 17, 2011, 10:59:59 PMThe "right" choke is one that patterns tight enough to kill that turkey at 20 yards. That's why I can guarantee it would do it. Because if it didn't, it wasn't the right choke (for that particular load being used) You don't think 410's are made with a choke that will pattern tightly at 20 yards. Never said that. I'm sure some of them pattern great. I'm waiting to see your pics or hear your story about your experiences which backs up this guarantee. You're really sitting here arguing with me on how a .410 is a viable Turkey gun? Yes it's capable but ideal? Or even recomended? No. I can say that a .243 can drop a Moose at 900 yards. But I've never done it so I'm not about to say I guarantee it.
Ok, I appreciate the impassioned responses here!So, as far as the turkey locking up at 35/40 yards...well... then we wouldn't be shooting Turkey that day! Thats all there is to that. I am a traditional bowhunter as well and limit my shots to about 30 yards....what if I cant get closer than 50?? Should I just go buy a bowtech so I can stretch that range out?Lets stay somewhat on topic... This "hunt" is not all about the kill. Claire will be happy to go "hunting" with me. She would also be thrilled, as would I, if a tom "locked up" at 35-40 yards and put on a good show for us... So... Turkey.... 20 yards..... 410..... When I shoot a few shots I'll post the results...Thanks all!And ps...yeah, that article was telling. IF the writer is genuine.... then it sounds as if the 410 is very capable... I've seen 12 gauges and arrows with big broadheads NOT do a good job on Turkeys too.....
