alloutdoors

Nice rigs everyone, keep them coming! I think the turkeys are in trouble this spring! It's a SumToy .562-5, it's a great choke for HW7's and will put up pretty good numbers with other heavier than lead loads and lead too. The nice thing about working with William is that if you aren't happy with the results you get he will swap out chokes with you until you are. http://www.sumtoycustoms.com

Lead is 11g/cc, HW shot is 15g/cc. If starting at the same muzzle velocity, HW7 will retain more velocity at 40 yards than #5 lead, and will also out penetrate the lead. #5 lead will have a very marginal advantage in ft-lbs of energy per pellet, but the extra pattern density (more hits) of the HW7 will easily outweigh that slight advantage. In other words, the HW7 will actually outperform lead 5's if comparing equal payloads. Of course a 3 1/2" will hold a much larger payload than a 3" 20ga, but HW7's are still more than enough to get it done. My setup puts about 170 hits into a 10" circle at 40 yards, there isn't a turkey walking that will survive that.

What's everyone carrying to the turkey woods this year? Let's see some photos! I've mostly been chasing birds with my bow the last few years but I picked up a new toy last summer and will be shotgunning most of this spring. I already had a chance to break it in last fall, but I can't wait to get it out in the spring woods! Benelli M2 20ga with a Burris FastFire 3, I'll be shooting Federal Heavyweight 7's.

I don't think there are many options other than Turkey Country from the NWTF. You could always pick up some turkey hunting books. If you like reading about techinques and strategies there's a million and one "how to" type books out there. Personally I prefer "hunting story" type books. Tom Kelly's books are a good place to start, they are easy to find and can be had fairly cheaply, Tenth Legion and The Season are a couple good ones. If you are willing to look a little harder and spend a bit more for some out of print books, The Old Pro Turkey Hunter by Gene Nunnery (my personal favorite), Turkey Hunting: A One Man Game by Ken Morgan, The Flaming Turkey by Robert Hitt Neill, or East of the Slash and Bird of Courage by Wade Wineman are all good reads.

It happens all the time with the right decoys. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AttgxBlIYME This one has all my decoys out because I was dealing with a large flock. Usually I use a jake and one or two hens. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoZapUbPVG8 Many more examples on my YouTube channel.