Game & Fish West

DOWNSIZING FOR TOM

It wasn’t that long ago when the .410-bore shotgun was considered a turkey gun only for kids or as a last resort for recoil-shy hunters. With a really good .410 load and gun, neither of which were particularly made for killing turkeys, the effective range on gobblers may have been 25 yards.

Specific turkey loads packed with super-dense Tungsten Super Shot (TSS) changed all that in a hurry, and now the .410-bore is enjoying popularity in the springtime woods like never before. Shotgun manufacturers offer .410 models built just for turkey hunting, and with these guns firing TSS loads, patterns are lethal at 35 yards and beyond.

Likewise, high-density turkey loads extend the range of 20-gauge shotguns as well. staff have hunted with 20-gauges that threw lethal patterns

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