Pick the Right Choke Tube

Today's turkey guns are specifically made to shoot heavy loads and give tight, dense patterns, and to get the best performance from lead turkey loads, you need an extra-tight choke tube.

To get the best performance from your gun, you may need to experiment with various choke sizes and loads to get the top performance from your gun. A normal 12-gauge barrel measures about .724 thousands of an inch. By comparison, a factory full choke squeezes down the muzzle to about .700 of an inch. The normal way to get tighter patterns is to reduce the choke size some more. For example, many popular turkey guns come equipped with chokes that measure .665, and shoot turkey loads of No. 5 or 6 shot very tightly.

You can have too much of a good thing if you use a choke that's too tight for your gun and load. Too much choke constriction has the tendency of creating ragged patterns that leave large voids between pellets.

A good place to start with a standard-size 12-gauge barrel is with a .660 tube. Back-bored barrels usually do well with chokes that measure around .680 thousands of an inch.

Try various choke sizes to get your best performer and you'll up your confidence for making a clean, ethical shot on that old longbeard next season.

For more tips like this, turn to the pages of Turkey Call magazine, the official member publication of the National Wild Turkey Federation. Turkey Call is published six times a year and is the most comprehensive magazine on wild turkey hunting and habitat improvement available. Each issue features tactics for harvesting turkeys and gear that makes your days afield more enjoyable, safe and successful.

*Content courtesy of The National Wild Turkey Federation.