Posted by Tom Archer on March 28, 2017, 5:06 pm, in reply to "Re: Shells?"
Shells should be limited to 2 3/4" in length; and your gun was not designed to shoot loads heavier that 1 1/4 ounce, so avoid heavy magnum load. But as to turkey loads and turkey shooting, length of barrel has zilch to do with the suitability of a gun for that purpose; the suitability of a gun for turkey hunting is determined by how tightly it patterns. The best way to make that determination is via patterning; therefore I suggest you purchase (or draw) turkey targets (these life size targets feature only the head and neck of a wild turkey). You then staple targets to a piece of plywood and pattern your gun at ranges from 20 to 40 yards; then count the number of pellet holes in the head and neck area of the target. It only takes one pellet in the brain or spine of a turkey to put a gobbler on the ground; and the maximum range to which you should limit your shots is the range at which the pellet concentration is sufficient to guarantee pellet strikes to the brain and spine. I would suggest first trying #6 shot, but you may also wish to try #4, #5, and #7 1/2 shot; just remember that the smaller the shot size, the denser your patterns will be. Just don't go too small so that you reduce the penetration and shock factor; turkeys can be very tough birds.