Home Forums Birds & Dogs Turkey Hunting Best turkey choke?

Hi all,

I'm setting up a new shotgun for turkey hunting. I've been shooting HeviShot 2oz 3 inch #5 or #6 for the past couple of years in my old gun, but the choke doesn't fit the new one. What choke would you recommend for best performance at 40+ yards? New gun is a Weatherby SA08, if it matters.

Indian Creek Black Diamond Strike...

Cabelas Hevi-Shot choke tube works great in my Benelli Super 90 and the cost is hard to beat.

THATS IT!!!

What constriction size are you guys running ont the Indian Creek?

I will have to check tomorrow but .665" comes to mind.

Indian Creek Black Diamond Choke Systems

Been using a ICBDS in a 1187 12ga for the past couple years ...... pricey, but worth it IMO. Can't beat the pattern - especially beyond 40yds.

The past few Spring hunts have been one-shot and done -
3" magnum with duplex shot load (#4 and #6) through a full choked 28" barrel. Other things seem to work as good for other folks.

Pure Gold .670 will perform excellently with a Hevi-shot 3"-2oz-#6 load.

Another vote for Indian Creek...

+5 on the IC BDS. Dang fine choke with H13s.

Good Luck

loder

Well, the Indian Creek looks like it has the majority vote. I'll start looking for one, thanks!

I miked mine at .665"

Mine comes out at .224....

Have you tried a tighter constriction?

Like .177?

Worked for me a few yrs back...

Not in Indiana in case someone questions.

.177 sounds pretty tight, 17 Rem? I would imagine the HMR would work well on close range shots as well.

Yes .17 Rem at 250 yds.....a small hole in and an equally small hole out.

Has anybody tried the Truglo Gobble-Stopper Xtreme? It seems to get really good ratings and the $19.99 price is a lot nicer...

as far as the choke dia goes it will depend on your bore size. if your gun is overbored (.770")like a Mossberg then a .665" choke would yield .105" of constriction, yet a 0.665" choke dia on a std bore of .728" would yield 0.063" of constriction. hevi shot does not compress like good old lead so i would let the choke mfr tell you what dia/constriction to use on your particular model shotgun.

I have had very good results with the "Widow Maker" on a 870 Express Remington 12ga. I also use a Carlson choke for the Browning Gold shotgun that shoots 3.5 inch shells.

FTR i have been very pleased with Comp-n-Choke but as of a year ago they did not offer chokes for hevi shot. that may have changed since then. their turkey chokes for lead though have shot very very well in 4 diff shotguns i've bought for.

For my supermag I have a Kicks Gobblin Thunder .665" choke, my only complaint was I couldnt shoot HS, I went to the ICBDS same constriction and now shoot heavyshot......I actually shoot a lighter load than I did with my KGT by almost a 1/2 ounce but I still get a tighter pattern at 40 yds......same shot size too.

Another vote for Indian Creek.

I own 6 Rhino chokes. Everyone of them throws awesome patterns useing Nitro ammo.

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the Boswells to bring out a Hevi-Shot tube. They are not at all interested in the liability factor of constricting a column of shot pellets which are of a Rockwell hardness far above that of choke tube steel.

For lead shot and Winchester's haevy shot in the Elite shells............you are going to have a hard time picking a tube that will be more consistantly tight-patterning than the Comp-N-Choke XXX-Full.

Kicks Gobblin Thunder tube..50 yards easy in my 1187 with nitro mags

I just wanted to add, that I used Winchester Supreme 12ga #5's in the 870 Remington and Winchester Supreme #4's in the Browning Gold shot gun 3 inch shells.

+1 on the Rhino chokes.... My buddy who is a master Turkey Hunter wouldn't own any other turkey chokes, as he did some comparisons.

i figured as much from talking to them in years past but didn't know if they had changed their stance or not. i myself like to shoot win surpream 3" in #5's and the C-n-C choke i have does them very well. i have bought them for the folloing guns so far, win winchoke, browning invector plus, Verona (I Rizzini), & Rem Sparta. every one a different gun make/model from the other and in all 4 times i got fantastic patterns with no holes.

I use the Kicks Gobbling Thunder in my Benelli Super 90 with 3.5 inch Number 5 Winchester Supreme. When using Hevi-Shot i use the Cabelas Hevi-Shot choke. I still have some of the Remington Hevi-Shot. The Hevi-13 , just can't make myself pay 20 bucks plus shipping for 5 shell when my Kicks kills them out to 50 yards and that is as far as care to shoot at one . If they are past 50 yards then call them in closer or user a rifle, just to much of a chance of crippling one no matter what your load and choke will do on paper.

I shoot Hevi 13 3-2-6 sometimes from a Kick's GT with zero issues. The Kick's won't quite keep up with the Indian Creek BDS with this load, but it isn't far off either. At 40 yards in a 10" circle the difference is about 25 pellet strikes. The Kick's will get around 175 - 180 strikes and the IC-BDS nudges over 200 hits from my Benelli M1S90. I also shoot Remington HD-BB's from a Kick's GT for predator hunting with zero troubles. I think the Comp-n-Choke is a bit less sturdy because of the radial cuts and material removed from the choke tube body and would not use anything other than lead from the C-n-C chokes.

Rhino .660 Extended choke in my SBE2 + Nitro 5013A shells = 325 hits in a 10 inch circle at a lasered 40 yards.

That was today in windy conditions.

I also shot at 20 yards - basically 100% of the pellets hit inside the 10" circle at that range.

From the folks at C-N-C's standpoint, it has nothing to do with the port design of the tube. It is all about Rockwell hardness conflict when it comes to compression of the shot column. In conversations with Chuck, he has told me straight out......... you might fire 99 or 999 Hevi Shot shells through our tube and the shot will all line up & constrict down just fine. It's that 100th or 1000th one that doesn't.........and blows the side out of your muzzle, that they don't want to assume the liability for.

It can and will happen. A buddy of mine lost the muzzle of his 1100 right beside me on a goose hunt one morning. It didn't even have tubes. It was a standard full choke and steel-safe. It was just that 100th or 1000th shot that time. The shot column didn't have enough give. The barrel did.

There ya have it. My Mossy 935 works best with a mirror polished bore and Rhino choke w/ Hevi-shot Co. triplex loads.

It goes past the claims of design beign a problem with their chokes, they had disagreements with EM in the past and it's the main reason they don't intend to produce hevi tubes or say it's ok in their tubes. There's been quite a few posts on other forums about this in detail, so I'm sure if you dig around you'll find more info. I've never heard about any problems with shooting small hevi from CBs chokes. They say themselves Nitro's hevis are ok in their chokes. Hmmm, Nitro hevi ok, but EM not? Yeah right. They use the same buffer, same shot, and HTL wads. I'm not saying to go against what the manufacturer suggest, but just that there's more to the story.

Have a good one,

loder

kcnboise,

By now you've gotten all kinds of advice about chokes.

The answer to your question (best performance at 40+ yards) isn't just in the choke, but the combination of choke and ammo which will produce the best patterns.

Unfortunately, nobody can give you 'the' choke recommendation, nor 'the' ammo recommendation, that is going to be ideal for your shotgun- you are going to have to do some experimentation on your own to determine what works best for you.

There are a lot of 'turkey' chokes out there- I'd pick one, then try it with the ammo you have been using. If you get lucky, and you have the pattern density at range that you desire, then great. If not, I would try some different ammo brands, shot sizes, even different 12 ga. ammo lengths and velocities. If still not satisfied, then try a different choke.
In some instances, the ultra-full turkey chokes do not give the pattern density that a normal full choke will deliver. If your Weatherby came with a full choke, by all means pattern it!

Yeah, I'm familiar with that. I have a box full of chokes from over the years, and another box full of different types of ammo... From that experience (and other people's that mirrors mine) I've learned that turkey chokes fall into two categories - those that are marketed to work, and those that actually work. I've also found that there's some trends between choke/load combinations that are stronger than gun/choke or gun/load combinations. My BPS choke I'd rate as okay, but I'm looking for something better or I'd buy what I currently have for my new gun.

I have a new choke I'm going to try in my Benelli Super90 . I have heard good and bad about it but will find out for myself. The choke is the Patter Master. I purchased it to shoot Number 4 buck and Heavy T shot for coyote calling but will try some of my Turkey loads with it.

I just use an old undertaker and it gets them big toms good and dead cause if n it aint broke dont fix it.....

Since i already have the new choke might as well try it with the turkey loads

I shoot a Kicks in my Benelli SBE 2 with Nitro ammo and it is deadly. Around 250 pellets in a 10" circle at 40 yds. I recently bought an Indian Creek though and will give it a try this week. I have a Rhino for Extrema 2 but haven't really played with it much. I had a M.A.D for my old Browning Gold and it was a thumper with Nitro's (never should have sold that gun!). Hard to beat Rhino's plus Nitro shells. They have done a lot of testing and can tell you which constriction and ammo works best in different guns. Go to the Nitro Ammunition website. Indian creek seems like a champ as well and I'm anxious to try mine out.

Anybody shooting a Mossy 835? If so, what chokes/loads have you found to work the best for Turkey? Thanks, Paul

The best I've found is the discontinued Star Dot .676. They are hard to find, but there are still a few around. The JH 690 isn't bad with hevi 6s. Many 835 shooters have had great luck with the Star Dot and the Pure Gold.

+1 on the 835 and StarDot choke....I just so happen to have probably the last new in package star dot for the 835 in my gun safe.....

Kick's Gobblin Thunder,,,,,,,,,,,870 Super Mag,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,#5 Federal Premium. All I've been usni for years now. BTW I also use the same choke and load in my 10ga H&R. Why????????? God only knows. 3 1/2" 12 and 3 1/2" 10 are virtually the same load.

...what are the chances you want to sell that?

Not to be rude and welcome,not at this time for you... I would let it go but to a member that has been here for a bit...stick around post a while great place here with great knowledgeable members

Pure Gold
Primos Jellyhead
Rhino
Indian Creek

Rhino Choke and Nitro Aammo here

Rhino/Nitro all the way! Unbellievable

Some people balk at the price of Rhino Chokes and Nitro shells but it would have saved me a lot of money if I had purchased that combo from the word go instead of trying 6 other chokes and at least 8 other brands of ammo. Nothing else comes close.

Rhino...