turkey "card" shooting
- Thread starter crunch68
- Start date
- Location
- SW Ontario
My club holds card shoots the first Sunday of each month during the winter months. The guys that show up there mosty use Remington 870's with special "card shooting" chokes screwed in. Here's an example: www.choke-tube.com/proddetail.asp?prod=TL_PHIP12640 (this particular choke is a Browning Invictor). Anything can work though including normal turkey chokes. A regular full choke won't do the trick against these guys however.
I usually win at least one turkey or ham with my full choke (fixed) trap gun. My stratagy is to wait until the "specialists" have won their fill, and then sign up on the last 5 or so cards.
I have seen somebody win with an original beat up Winchester 1897, a CIL 402 single shot & a Mossberg bolt action, so don't get discouraged!
I saw a custom built turkey card shoot gun in a magazine a while ago, Unfortunately, I can't find it now, but it was a scoped, single shot,with a 50" barrel with wire struts holding the long barrel straight.
I have seen somebody win with an original beat up Winchester 1897, a CIL 402 single shot & a Mossberg bolt action, so don't get discouraged!
I saw a custom built turkey card shoot gun in a magazine a while ago, Unfortunately, I can't find it now, but it was a scoped, single shot,with a 50" barrel with wire struts holding the long barrel straight.
Beretta687EELL
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- SW Ontario
Lots of the old guns shoot a really tight core. A couple of my friends that shoot them all the time during the winter have tested guns with different loads and some shoot hot spots. When you know what shells are being supplied, you pick that certain gun. You just have to know where to put the bead on the card.
Knowing where and how your gun patterns and whether you can put the pattern on a stationary target helps.
And there are specialists in the game. I recall years ago a guy who did very well at turkey shoots with an old battered Cooey single shot. I got the chance to pick up his gun and look it over. Looks can be deceiving. Rough on the outside but he'd spent a lot of money on the inside. Backbored, lengthened forcing cones, trigger job and a clever but barely perceptible sighting system. I doubt he ever made that money back in turkeys and hams but he never went home empty handed.
And there are specialists in the game. I recall years ago a guy who did very well at turkey shoots with an old battered Cooey single shot. I got the chance to pick up his gun and look it over. Looks can be deceiving. Rough on the outside but he'd spent a lot of money on the inside. Backbored, lengthened forcing cones, trigger job and a clever but barely perceptible sighting system. I doubt he ever made that money back in turkeys and hams but he never went home empty handed.
Turkey shoots
Yep, back in the "good old days" almost everyone had a chance. Now, those who have a lot of money can have trick guns that shoot tight patterns.
Generally, the Trap or Competition guns are not really what you want for turkey shoots. The reason being that these guns are made and adjusted at the factory to shoot more even patterns and to distribute their shot to make sure a bird has a better chance of being hit. They are stocked with better wood, but that is only part of the added price of one, the patterning and tweaking of the barrels is the hidden cost.
Depending upon what shot size is used, (and this is usually factory ammo supplied by the club holding the event), you can be better off with a plain old field gun, IF YOU PATTERN IT to see where the greatest density of shot goes.
My favorite turkey shoot gun was a Winchester Model 12 Lightweight that shot #6s like a rifle, but the densest pattern was in the lower left quadrant. So, by aiming high right, the largest part of the charge went into the card. An old Browning Auto 5 shot 4s and 5s quite well, but 12 inches high.
It's a sad thing when the rule benders and the money people just have to win. Another sport, like Silhouette shooting, that has been tainted from a Fun thing for the ordinary person to a competitive one.
.
Yep, back in the "good old days" almost everyone had a chance. Now, those who have a lot of money can have trick guns that shoot tight patterns.
Generally, the Trap or Competition guns are not really what you want for turkey shoots. The reason being that these guns are made and adjusted at the factory to shoot more even patterns and to distribute their shot to make sure a bird has a better chance of being hit. They are stocked with better wood, but that is only part of the added price of one, the patterning and tweaking of the barrels is the hidden cost.
Depending upon what shot size is used, (and this is usually factory ammo supplied by the club holding the event), you can be better off with a plain old field gun, IF YOU PATTERN IT to see where the greatest density of shot goes.
My favorite turkey shoot gun was a Winchester Model 12 Lightweight that shot #6s like a rifle, but the densest pattern was in the lower left quadrant. So, by aiming high right, the largest part of the charge went into the card. An old Browning Auto 5 shot 4s and 5s quite well, but 12 inches high.
It's a sad thing when the rule benders and the money people just have to win. Another sport, like Silhouette shooting, that has been tainted from a Fun thing for the ordinary person to a competitive one.
.
Wilson precision makes chokes for card shooting. I have a 4x full made by them it holds a 8" pattern of 7.5 shot at 30 yards. I use it for skeet n get about 15-17 with it. Aint nuttin but a dust cloud left. He makes them even titer to down to .615 for 12ga
