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dblcluck

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Posts posted by dblcluck

  1. I have a Leupold 1X4 Shotgun scope mounted to my gun since 1992 without a single issue. I love that extra heavy reticle that comes with that model, it really stands out in the woods!! My gun always shot high left no matter what loads I ran through it. So by scoping it, I can dial in the crosshairs right to the very center of the pattern, hence making it a real killing machine. I prefer a scope since it actually "gather's light" which is benefical in early morning conditions. I mostly keep mine on the 2.5X setting because if I place it on 1X, the end of the barrel is in the field of view, which is very distracting to me. Now that I have been using a scoped turkey gun all this time, I don't know if I'll ever go back to plain sights again.

  2. How much time left until your Turkey opener? What is your #1 priority at this point in time,as far as getting ready?Some folks are past the patterning stage,while others havn't even started yet.Some are still trying to pick out which camo pattern they want to wear,or polish up on their calling.Where are you at,in your own pre season program?

     

     

    Still very early up here in NY, our season doesn't start until May 1st!! I usually wait until the month of April before doing any serious patterning of my gun, since the temps are still very cold around here until then. Best temp I have heard for pattern testing is in the mid 60's. I also start to practice up on my calls at the beginning of April as well. That way, I'll have a month to get the rust out!!

  3. You have to remember, since heavishot pellets hit much harder than lead pellets of the same size, you can go to a smaller size shot with heavishot. So #6's will work better pattern wise, than #5's, plus they willl hit as hard as #5 lead!!! Best of both worlds!!

  4. When shooting strictly lead or copper plated lead, I always preferred #5's over #6's and #4's.

    Sure #4 lead would work best, Energy wise, but the patterns weren't that great!! #6's pattern best over #4 and #5's, but have that energy problem at the 40+ yard mark, they seem to run out of steam!!

    So #5's are the perfect compromise, better patterns than #4's, and better energy levels than #6's.

     

    Now having said that, with the advent of hevishot hitting the market several years ago, and seeing first hand the damage done to a gobblers head while using it, I'll never go back to lead or copper plated lead loads ever again.

    I'm presently shooting Nitro H378 3" 4X5X7 plated tri-plex hevishot loads. I also see that Winchester and Federal have both jumped on the hevishot train as well. I did try Remington's earlier version of their Hevishot loads when they had an agreement with Environmetal to use their products years ago, but Remington has since decided to come out with their own product. Like mentioned before, now that hevishot has proven how superior it is over lead, I'll never switch back to lead.

  5. Awesome deal on that Rhino choke!!!! That's the very same tube and restriction I'm using as well, along with the H378 Nito 4X5X7 loads. Out of my 1300, in a 10" circle at 40 yards, I counted an honest 316 pellets!! After many years of searching, that is the best pattern I ever found, bar none.

  6. the most frustrating thing I have found in ALL my years of turkey hunting in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Texas has been knuckleheads on both private and public lands! I can't count the number of times my opening day hunts were screwed up by guys who seem to only care about them selves....sneak into a hen yelp, shoot my decoy, try to flank a gobbler I have roosted and set up on (knowing someone is in there calling), or shooting at a gobbler 40-50 yards away only to miss him but give him a good education! Most of these events have happened on private land and from guys who don't have permission to hunt (trespassing) others have happened on public land. I've had guys on public land drive down the long winding gravel road, see my truck and pull in directly behind me and try to beat me into the woods....when there is hundreds of miles of gravel or dirt road this is simply rude behavior! There have been a couple of times that I have walked into an area that I have scouted for several days prior to the opening day hiked in and found a guy (or two) set up on a ridge I had planned to hunt and I simply leave quietly and resort to "plan b".....some of these knuckleheads don't have a "plan B". So here are a couple of tips;

     

    1.) have a "plan b"...."plan c" and a "plan d"!!!

    2.) don't be irresponsible and hunt close to a fellow hunter.

    3.) don't trespass

    4.) stop shooting at turkeys that are further than 20 yards!!!

     

    With respect to the last tip, I have killed many turkeys since I began turkey hunting in the 80's and I have never shot one beyond 20 yards.....most have been at 10 yards or less and my biggest gobbler was a 26# 11 inch beard 1-1/2" spur beast taken at less than 8 yards with a 70 year old 16 ga double choked full & modified....nope I didn't fire both barrels hit him with the modified and was using #6 shot (upland game loads! My point here is you don't need a mega choked gun and 3-1/2" magnums to kill gobblers, half the fun is trying to "talk" him into that magical 10 yard distance (IMHO).

     

    Happy Hunting and Good Luck!

     

    10Gauge

     

    I agree with most of what your saying except #4, but if you want to restrict yourself to 20 yards or less, nock yourself out!!!!

     

    I have searched for many years trying to find the ultimate choke/shell to give me the BEST pattern at the fabled 40 yard marker. If you hunt birds long enough, you'll find that some gobblers don't come waltzing in to 20 yards or less. It's those birds that make you smile, since you did your homework and know your gun can take them out to that 40 yard distance every single time.

  7. I have been using a scope on my turkey gun since 1992, and have loved this set up ever since.

    I'm shooting a Winchester 1300 NWTF 1992 edition model that never shot to the point of aim. It always shot "high left" with any shell I put through it. Hence, that was the main reason going to a scope. All you have to do is dial in the reticle to the very center of your pattern and your done. I also prefer the sight picture from using a scope VS open or fiber optic sights. I've heard some great reviews on Red Dots, especially the Aimpoints. To each his own on the preferred method of aiming a shotgun.

  8. I mainly hunt in an area that has now been allowed to use rifles. You can't beat the accuracy or the energy of a rifle to a shotgun at ranges over 100 yards. My shotgun did good up to about 75 yards, after that it was a guess at best!! So I'm very glad to have picked up a new rifle to use instead of a distance limited weapon with a rainbow trajectory, such as the shotgun.

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