Home Forums Birds & Dogs Turkey Hunting Some 2 3/4" and 3" patterns

I took 3 guns out today to pattern them. I forgot my rest and shot these off hand at 40 yards.

First up, my new old New Haven 600AT (Mossberg 500) with C-Lect choke. This is the same make and model ghun I used when I first started turkey hunting in the 80s. Back then, I used whatever shell I had on hand. Usually a high brass #4 or #6 shell. Back then there really wasn't any specialized turkey load. Back then, I patterned my gun on a piece of cardboard stuck in an old tire at 40 paces. So I decided to pattern this gun with shells similar to what I used back then.

The gun:



The choke:


40 yards with 2 3/4" Winchester Super X #4 1 1/4oz 1220fps


40 yard with 2 3/4" Federal Hi Bird #6 1 1/4oz 1330fps


Not great at 40 yards. But a hit can kill and it does hit.

And with 3" Winchester Long Beard XR #5 1 3/4oz 1200fps



Back in the early 80s, this was pretty average.