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Ballistic products iirc sells all kinds of plastic wads . I know they arent traditional but i figured id mention them . Stiffer wad = tighter patterns . Some of those steel shot wads are Really Stiff !!! They got all kinds of stuff there for scatterguns . Hope this is of use........
Also bigger shot flies straighter cuz of weight . Same with hard shot or plated cuz rounder . Not so good for pattern density though with bigger shot . Maybe a tungsten shot would help but its pricey . I also dont remember how small its available in tungsten . Again i hope this helps......
About all my experiance has been to develelop a even flat pancake pattern to slap on grouse , pheasants ,quail , etc . Long narrow shot strings ive avoided like the plague !!! Wish i could offer more --- Good Luck !!!!!
 
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4s will thump a turkeys butt no doubt. Just pattern your gun on some big paper. I use 35” wide brown paper from hardware store. You get a real idea where patter is going as well as density. I’m a fan of smaller shot just for pattern density. But I’ll shoot what the gun likes
 
I

just got my 1st BP shotgun- Pedersoli 12ga Dbl Barrel 30" it has #11 nipples, if using T7 instead of BP should I change to a hotter cap as well to say mag#11 or 209? I haven't shot it yet & I'm some kinda chompin at the bit. I will be using it for this spring turkey season. I'm in about dead center of prime Osceola territory. We have huge flocks all around here, even right up to the house. My 31yr old blue & gold macaw yells at them out the window her cage is in front of all the time. I'm still doin lots of reading & YT vids learning as much as I can until I get everything I need to shoot it. Then hunt with it. Kind regards
one of hardest bird to hunt next to eastern, took one years ago on Reservation
 
I cannot tell any difference in my pattern, from about the same load and method you described to using a plastic shotgun wad. But I am shooting a TK2000 with the extra full choke.
 
one of hardest bird to hunt next to eastern, took one years ago on Reservation
Yes sir, I heard my kin in the mountains of western Md., Wva. & pa say that wild turkeys can see you think & hear you change your mind. On my very first WT hunt ( Easterns where in from ) my buddy called in a gobbler from way off in the swamp. We were set up on a finger of high ground. It stopped responding to his calls & outta nowhere it let out a shockingly loud & close gobble it startled the daylights outta me I come flyin up like I was wasp stung in the backside, my buddy busted out laughing & we never saw or heard from that turkey again. It came in close, saw us, shocked the heck outta me then split never being seen. I was hooked big time. Finally callin in a 17lb jake from across a field for a super close, super fast shot I somehow pulled off was amazing. Every bit matching that first encounter with a trophy buck or freakin black bear pop up 20yda away outta nowhere, stand straight up & roar lookin right at me. Yea fun fun times & awesome stories thru the yrs. I so hope to make many more with this BP shotgun with the time my broken up old body will let me do. This yr was a very hard pill to swallow takin 2.5hrs to drag a small deer out just a cpl hundred yds that before a near fatal fall to pavement & a near fatal high speed motorcycle crash 13 months apart when I was in my early 40's. I feel more like 90 than in my 50's way more often than I'd like to think about.
Thanks again, I'm super excited, it's just what I needed for a moral booster. Kind regards, Tom
 
Yes sir, I heard my kin in the mountains of western Md., Wva. & pa say that wild turkeys can see you think & hear you change your mind. On my very first WT hunt ( Easterns where in from ) my buddy called in a gobbler from way off in the swamp. We were set up on a finger of high ground. It stopped responding to his calls & outta nowhere it let out a shockingly loud & close gobble it startled the daylights outta me I come flyin up like I was wasp stung in the backside, my buddy busted out laughing & we never saw or heard from that turkey again. It came in close, saw us, shocked the heck outta me then split never being seen. I was hooked big time. Finally callin in a 17lb jake from across a field for a super close, super fast shot I somehow pulled off was amazing. Every bit matching that first encounter with a trophy buck or freakin black bear pop up 20yda away outta nowhere, stand straight up & roar lookin right at me. Yea fun fun times & awesome stories thru the yrs. I so hope to make many more with this BP shotgun with the time my broken up old body will let me do. This yr was a very hard pill to swallow takin 2.5hrs to drag a small deer out just a cpl hundred yds that before a near fatal fall to pavement & a near fatal high speed motorcycle crash 13 months apart when I was in my early 40's. I feel more like 90 than in my 50's way more often than I'd like to think about.
Thanks again, I'm super excited, it's just what I needed for a moral booster. Kind regards, Tom
I dont play with 2 wheeled toys anymore . U of M hospital calls them "donor cycles" after my life flight i learned that . Never Again .
Look to herbs , vitamins , probiotics , collagen , etc to feel better --Seriously !!! What saved us from the trama can leave its mark too !!! AMA medicine has its LIMITS !!!!! Ive Learned ive HAD to do this......

As for turkey hunting i ve never done it . Got the stuff but never took the time !!! Shamefull , i know...... Helped quite a few guys get their guns to shoot a nice pattern (choke work) to get the job done . I seem to do that sort of thing alot !!! Lol !!! Oh well , i dont charge either so i dont blame them .

IF i do decide to finally go is there a difference between fall and spring birds ??? Spring would be best for me . MICHIGAN HAS ALOT OF TURKEYS !!!!! Fyi.......
Everybody seems awfully hush hush i ask........
 
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I dont play with 2 wheeled toys anymore . U of M hospital calls them "donor cycles" after my life flight i learned that . Never Again .
Look to herbs , vitamins , probiotics , collagen , etc to feel better --Seriously !!! What saved us from the trama can leave its mark too !!! AMA medicine has its LIMITS !!!!! Ive Learned ive HAD to do this......

As for turkey hunting i ve never done it . Got the stuff but never took the time !!! Shamefull , i know...... Helped quite a few guys get their guns to shoot a nice pattern (choke work) to get the job done . I seem to do that sort of thing alot !!! Lol !!! Oh well , i dont charge either so i dont blame them .

IF i do decide to finally go is there a difference between fall and spring birds ??? Spring would be best for me . MICHIGAN HAS ALOT OF TURKEYS !!!!! Fyi.......
Everybody seems awfully hush hush i ask........
I've been helo'ed to shock trauma 2 times in 13 mo. One of those stays was 33days in critical care ward in Balt. Md.
To your spring/fall turkey - no diff. same birds, diff weather & some of the same tactics applied in spring applies to fall as well. Then there are some diff tactics/tricks ya learn & use throughout. Mating season throws in it's own set of dynamics to the equation of having a successful hunt & not necessarily failure, but you'll be eating chicken instead is exciting & can be very challenging sometimes futile. Welcome to turkey hunting. One thing I loved was the immense amount of ground we'd end up covering turkey hunting. Only rabbit hunting comes even close. One great thing to do is go out where you plan to hunt the eve before when they are heading to roost or are roosted & use a crow or owl call to shock gobble them do you can plan where to set up in the morn when they fly down. It works every time. Kind regards
 
I've been helo'ed to shock trauma 2 times in 13 mo. One of those stays was 33days in critical care ward in Balt. Md.
To your spring/fall turkey - no diff. same birds, diff weather & some of the same tactics applied in spring applies to fall as well. Then there are some diff tactics/tricks ya learn & use throughout. Mating season throws in it's own set of dynamics to the equation of having a successful hunt & not necessarily failure, but you'll be eating chicken instead is exciting & can be very challenging sometimes futile. Welcome to turkey hunting. One thing I loved was the immense amount of ground we'd end up covering turkey hunting. Only rabbit hunting comes even close. One great thing to do is go out where you plan to hunt the eve before when they are heading to roost or are roosted & use a crow or owl call to shock gobble them do you can plan where to set up in the morn when they fly down. It works every time. Kind regards
Thanks Ninering62 !!! I didnt know if they acted the same or not .
Buddy youve really been put through it . I got a love/hate thing with hospitals ever since my bike crash . The treatments with the antibiotics for road rash and bones sticking out through the skin , bone infections ,etc , etc , etc left my digestive track in a MESS !!! Constant battle for Many things now . Energy , inflamation ,immune system , etc . The Health food stuff is what REALLY HELPS !!!! If you dont know about this google "leaky gut" and start there . Just about the best thing i ever did !!!
Hope ive helped a bit my friend :lewis:
You helped me !!!!! :)
 
Thanks Ninering62 !!! I didnt know if they acted the same or not .
Buddy youve really been put through it . I got a love/hate thing with hospitals ever since my bike crash . The treatments with the antibiotics for road rash and bones sticking out through the skin , bone infections ,etc , etc , etc left my digestive track in a MESS !!! Constant battle for Many things now . Energy , inflamation ,immune system , etc . The Health food stuff is what REALLY HELPS !!!! If you dont know about this google "leaky gut" and start there . Just about the best thing i ever did !!!
Hope ive helped a bit my friend :lewis:
You helped me !!!!! :)
Perhaps one day I'll tell ya about one of my Ex's she practiced holistic medicine. She saved my right arm from being amputated from above the elbow due to the pin sites got badly infected even as hard as we tried to keep my many injuries clean & fresh bandages. No prescribed antibiotics worked, I was scheduled for amputation & due to only my ex's " witch's brew" she concocted the day before surgery the doc was astounded & canceled the surgery. I took all the holistic witch's brew concoctions she thought I needed without complaint.
Heck Sideshow, if I am able to help out anyone even remotely as much as I've been helped in here & learned from being in here I'd really be doin somethin. Thats why we are all here with all our differences aside, our love of all things 2nd Amnd. & ML's unites us all & the pursuit of knowledge & the ones with it being willing to share it are the thread cohesiveness that keeps us here. Anything I can do/offer with turkey hunting or anything else, just ask. NO secrets about hunting tactics & tricks here. I sure didn't learn everything all by my self. I am in a cpl other ML/shooting forums & messg boards, but in here is where I'm comfortable & really enjoying the exp & the great bunch of guys I'm gettiing to meet, interact with, learn from & hopefully build some life long friendships along the way. Kind regards
 
I dont play with 2 wheeled toys anymore . U of M hospital calls them "donor cycles" after my life flight i learned that . Never Again .
Look to herbs , vitamins , probiotics , collagen , etc to feel better --Seriously !!! What saved us from the trama can leave its mark too !!! AMA medicine has its LIMITS !!!!! Ive Learned ive HAD to do this......

As for turkey hunting i ve never done it . Got the stuff but never took the time !!! Shamefull , i know...... Helped quite a few guys get their guns to shoot a nice pattern (choke work) to get the job done . I seem to do that sort of thing alot !!! Lol !!! Oh well , i dont charge either so i dont blame them .

IF i do decide to finally go is there a difference between fall and spring birds ??? Spring would be best for me . MICHIGAN HAS ALOT OF TURKEYS !!!!! Fyi.......
Everybody seems awfully hush hush i ask........
Spring birds are defiantly horny around here. Maybe I'm just lucky but there easy to call in the spring. If your in Turkey country it's a lot of fun. Merriam's are most all we have, but to the west of me there are some Rio's.
 
Spring birds are defiantly horny around here. Maybe I'm just lucky but there easy to call in the spring. If your in Turkey country it's a lot of fun. Merriam's are most all we have, but to the west of me there are some Rio's.
A horny gobbler by itself or only with other males will usually come runnin like a fat kid to a free doughnut announcement. But tryin to call in a horny gobbler that's " hen'd up " can be a frustrating futile endeavor. Kind regards
 
A horny gobbler by itself or only with other males will usually come runnin like a fat kid to a free doughnut announcement. But tryin to call in a horny gobbler that's " hen'd up " can be a frustrating futile endeavor. Kind regards
How long should i wait before moving if theres no action for Mrs Kablam ???
 
I like to find a spot they hang at . Where I'm at Turkeys fly down from the roost at first light. Then spend there day making a large loop so to speak ending up back at the same roosting area in the evening . The trick is to find which way there going and be in that area to work them.IMG_0093.JPG IMG_0095.JPG IMG_0094.JPG
 
How long should i wait before moving if theres no action for Mrs Kablam ???
We'll bud I'm prob the last cat on the planet ya oughta be askin anything " time related or time sensitive " I have always had one of the worst concepts of elapsed time or keepin track of time in gen. Since I was a kid the woods , huntin & fishin were no darn place for watches or clocks. Waiting for a response from a gibber to your calls is never ever the same & each situation is it's own so a set time to wait/move/call more is always a calculated guess combined with a little experience & numerous mistakes & failures. That's hunting. My best advise I could give you or anyone else is apply the same patience, common sense & discipline you use to hunt anything else & learn as much as you can before you ever take a step toward actual hunting. But I know from a whole life time runnun round in the woods n swamps & farm lands that there is no such thing as a bad day in nature. We can chat more in PM's instead of in the public thread if ya want. I'm happy to pass along what I know thru experience, trial & lots of errors. Kind regards
 
I like to find a spot they hang at . Where I'm at Turkeys fly down from the roost at first light. Then spend there day making a large loop so to speak ending up back at the same roosting area in the evening . The trick is to find which way there going and be in that area to work them.View attachment 7708 View attachment 7709 View attachment 7710
Great post & great pics, thanks. I've been fortunate to have had opportunities to turkey hunt in 4 states on the east coast & 1 state in mid west ( Oklahoma ) and you are spot on with general turkey behavior. They start headin to roost at or before dusk & at first light in the morn, they fly down . It pays off in spades to spend as much Pre Hunt time as you can do familiarizing yourself with the areas you plan to hunt, go out the night before & locate them in their roost with shock calls from crow or owl ( they'll give their position away every single time) then set up accordingly in the morn. That alone made a huge difference in my success rate. I will say that turkey huntin in Ok. was way more challenging due to the vast wide openness there, not a lot in the way of trees except in hedge row type formations between huge open flat areas that critters ( especially turkey ) can see ya comin from miles away and you'll never get close to them. And you are on point with then moving in a relit ice circle from morn fly down to eve roost even tho during the day they look like constantly bickering children on a playground. There's nothin else like turkey huntin. Hooked for life here. Kind regards
 
Rule #1, pattern your gun to every kind of shell you use or load in the muzzleloader . #2 never shoot past the guns capabilities. #3 don't over call. Our first spring hunt for gobbler here in Pa was in 1968 , started making my own calls in the the early 80s , and now that I am into blackpowder gun building it's a new thrill for me . My new rule in hunting now is getting game with my own made stuff. Except for my archery .put getting a gob with a bow is a thrill. And I am not talking shooting a farm bird from a blind either. Have fun ,spring time is beautiful, remember it's about the hunt not the kill.
,
 
Rule #1, pattern your gun to every kind of shell you use or load in the muzzleloader . #2 never shoot past the guns capabilities. #3 don't over call. Our first spring hunt for gobbler here in Pa was in 1968 , started making my own calls in the the early 80s , and now that I am into blackpowder gun building it's a new thrill for me . My new rule in hunting now is getting game with my own made stuff. Except for my archery .put getting a gob with a bow is a thrill. And I am not talking shooting a farm bird from a blind either. Have fun ,spring time is beautiful, remember it's about the hunt not the kill.
,
AWESOME POST TY
 
Rule #1, pattern your gun to every kind of shell you use or load in the muzzleloader . #2 never shoot past the guns capabilities. #3 don't over call. Our first spring hunt for gobbler here in Pa was in 1968 , started making my own calls in the the early 80s , and now that I am into blackpowder gun building it's a new thrill for me . My new rule in hunting now is getting game with my own made stuff. Except for my archery .put getting a gob with a bow is a thrill. And I am not talking shooting a farm bird from a blind either. Have fun ,spring time is beautiful, remember it's about the hunt not the kill.
,
I've hunted/fished/partied in several diff areas of Pa. from Conowingo Dam to the Wva line. My 1st black bear I got was in Pa. with my .35 Rem 141 with 200gr round nose.
 
AWESOME POST TY
I'm so glad to see that you touched on " Over calling" a mistake myself in the beginning & many other guys make. Also, Like every other creature on the planet with any vocal capabilities- Learn their language, buy a DVD or something like that. Learn what calls to make & when to use them, what the different calls mean to a turkey when they hear them. Clucks/Purrs/Yelps/& cutting all mean different things & can & will cause different reactions with the birds. Learn to use diaphragm calls, box calls & friction calls. I still kinda suck with the mouth calls,I sometimes still get sounds from time to time that make me cringe LOL The use of good decoys are a plus as well. Kind regards
 

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