[Brad Clodfelter]

I have said this before on here about why 4 shot just simply kills better at 50yds or beyond. I will go through it again to what my findings are from shooting a few birds at that distance and from the results I achieved. Before I continue, the farthest bird I have ever taken with #6 copper plated shot has been 47yds. Now I know that you can kill a turkey just a little farther with #6 copper plated or lead shot, but 50yds is pushing it for this pellet size projectile due to the loss of energy it quickly loses at that distance. Even if you have a gun that can shoot a super dense tight pattern at 40yds with this size shot from a good shooting turkey load, the thing is that when you get to 50yds which is a lot farther believe me when it comes to pattern density and how the same gun and load will shoot, bigger variables come into play such as will the pellets penetrate the skull or vertebrae of a turkey at that distance, and the bigger question comes into my eyes as to will you be lucky enough to actually be able to even hit the tiny skull or vertebrae in the first place at that yardage.

A lot of folks don't know it that a #4 shot pellet is almost twice the size in diameter and in weight which means that a #4 pellet will retain better pellet energy at longer distances. Also, the #4 shot pellet will have almost twice as much ft/lbs of energy at that distance as well. Also I can tell you through experience that if you don't hit skull or vertebrae of a turkey at 50yds with a #6 copper plated or lead shot turkey load, you are not going to kill that bird. It's that simple. The reason I rely on #4 shot turkey loads is that simply put they kill better at longer yardages. Even if you don't hit the skull or vertebrae of a turkey, there is a lot of turkey body which is a lot bigger target to begin with. Now don't get me wrong, I still aim for the base of the neck right where the feathers join, but 4 shot has the power to penetrate a turkeys breast and hit the heart, or break leg bones, wing bones, etc, etc. Probably without question that a bird facing you at 50yds or a tad farther is your best killing shot due to the fact that any #4 shot that hits the breast of the bird will actually penetrate better due to the fact that a side shot will have the actual wing to protect the turkeys body. But you do give up a little of the skull area on a frontal shot.

Now quite a few barrels on the market on these turkey guns won't shoot the larger size 4 shot heavy turkey loads as well as they will 5's or 6's. The simple reason to this is that manufacturers like Remington use about a .730 or close to it diameter on the back of their barrels. Remington will also tell you that a larger backbore barrel shotgun isn't needed. Well that is bull if you want to shoot larger shot like 4 shot. And I will tell you why. Remington is right when shooting normal size shot like 5's or 6's. And I will agree with them that there isn't much of a difference from my findings comparing larger backbored barrels shooting shot sizes of 5's and 6's with Remington barrels. But the reason I believe that heavy 4 shot loads won't shoot as good through Remington barrels is due to the tighter backend barrel. For one, the shot from these #4 turkey loads aren't as small or if I can use the word dense as 5 shot or 6 shot. The smaller 5 shot or 6 shot can easily take the smaller constriction of a smaller .730 bore when being pushed through the barrel and keep their roundness and not deform or actually peen each other. The 4 shot can't simply put do this as well in that tight of a bore. But in a bigger backbored barrel like the .775 Mossberg 835 barrel, they can be shot through the bore with less pressure and not constricted near as tight. That is why the 835 barrels will simply put shoot the larger #4 shot better. My findings are you won't believe how much better a 835 barrel will shoot these heavy 2oz or larger #4 turkey loads vs a Remington barrel until you actually compare them on cardboard side by side. I'm telling you that it is night and day difference when doing so at 40yds.

I have seen my other buddies shoot 4 shot loads on their Mossberg 835 and they get the same kind of results. Both use #4 turkey loads. One of them told me they shot a gobbler at 65yds, and it went straight to the ground. Now I don't recommend that distance for shooting any turkey regardless of the shotgun used, but it does illustrate the lethal killing power of using the larger #4 turkey loads. The other buddy is the one that turned me on to the 835 and how they will shoot the heavy #4 turkey loads better than the Remington, Winchester, or other turkey guns on the market that refuse to open up the backend of their barrels to a bigger dimension.