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Old October 2, 2012, 12:35 PM   #1
Big Yac
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Join Date: April 23, 2005
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Ohio Fall Turkey Season

I am going to go out this year for fall turkey season. I do not have a 12ga magnum just the standard 2 3/4" 12 gauge. I am a trap shooter so I do a good bit of reloading and figured I'd load some turkey shells up. I have a nice 1 1/4 oz load going 1300fps. Would this be fine for turkeys as long as I don't take a long shot? I use hard #5's in this. It shoots and patterns well. I've used it for long clay shots and it turns them to dust. My gun has a full choke by the way. Just curious as sometime I see turkey threads come up and people want to use the biggest and baddest on these birds.
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Old October 2, 2012, 12:45 PM   #2
buck460XVR
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I recommend patterning your gun with the loads you intend to use so you know where they shoot. Keep your range within the yardage where you consistently get 10 or more pellets within the kill area......and shoot for the head only. Do that and you have more than enough gun.
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Old October 3, 2012, 12:14 AM   #3
shortwave
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Sounds like you have all the shotgun you need. Your fives may work, it's what I use mostly but as buck460 said, you really need to pattern with some 4, 6's even 7's to see what pattern density you're best getting.

As far as where to shoot, I drop down a bit from the head to the middle/base of the neck and shoot at the waddles. Have always been able to get more shot in the kill zones( neck and head)
Too, naturally, like to get as much shot density in the neck/head as possible and don't like settling for less then about 10-12 head shot count.
Distance is out to about 40yds.

If you have time to experiment you may want to load some duplex loads of 4's and 6's or 5's and 7's, etc. to see how they pattern.

What part of Ohio are you hunting? Whats the terrain like?

Last edited by shortwave; October 3, 2012 at 01:26 AM.
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Old October 3, 2012, 11:06 AM   #4
Big Yac
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I appreciate both responses. I guess I didn't make it clear, I have already patterned the shells from the gun I will use, my trusty old Winchester 1200. At 30 yards I'm keeping about 12 pellets in the kill zone. I found a good spot through all my scouting. It sits across a small stream from a harvested cornfield. The turkeys come down through the field and there is a very narrow spot in the stream which with 2 flaps of their wings they can cross. Once they cross and land they are well within 20 yards of me. Each time I was scouting they didn't even know I was there. I figured that I can maybe get one as soon as they land and start walking. Anyone ever tried an owl hooter locator call? Was just curious about them.

Shortwave, I'm hunting in Tuscarawas County, depending on which part of SE Ohio you're in terrain may be similar, its alittle bit like the Logan, Nelsonville area, lots of forest, valleys, hills, etc. By the way, I'm wondering if from your screen name your a ham operator?
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Old October 3, 2012, 12:47 PM   #5
shortwave
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B-Y

Sounds like you're ready to kill a bird come season.

Quote:
Anyone ever tried an owl hooter locator call? Was just curious about them.
Have only hunted the Fall season a couple times but love the Spring season and yes, I use the owl and crow call considerably when I'm 'runnin and gunnin'. Sometimes they are effective, sometimes not. Just depends on the birds that particular day. Some days you can slam your truck door or quack like a duck and they answer. Some days they don't answer to anything.

Don't know how effective the owl call will be in the Fall season. Too, AFAIK, calling in the Fall is totally different then calling in the Spring and calls that work in one season may not work in the other. Too, since you probably know, when using the hen call, cadence is very important and certain cadence's that are used in the Spring breeding time and won't work in the Fall.
If I'm not mistaken, the 'assembly' cadence with a hen call is used a lot in the Fall.

One cadence you want to hear and know is the 'alert or alarm' cadence. It consist of several putts. You don't want to use that call cause as it works year around.

Last I looked, the ODNR website had a brief but excellent write up on the different tactics used when hunting turkey between the two seasons.

Hopefully, since you know the routes of these birds, you can just play the 'ambush game' and not have to call at all. But I promise, if you continue to turkey hunt, you will surely want to learn the different calls.

Quote:
By the way, I'm wondering if from your screen name your a ham operator?
No sir, I am not. You're not the first to ask me that.
I just didn't use my head when thinking of a cute handle.
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