I’ve been in South Dakota the last two weeks. I got out just in time before the Arctic Blast hit. It is -14 there this morning. I’m sure if you live in South Dakota, spring is the furthest thing from your mind. But flying back into Boise on Friday night I was greeted by warm weather. Saturday, I woke up and came to the realization that I had narrowly escaped the second Ice Age and spring may only be two to three months off here at home!
Which brought up the next thought: Turkey season is right around the corner. If you’ve never turkey hunted in Idaho you have to check it out. While we don’t have the big numbers like they do down south, The National Wild Turkey Federation and Idaho Fish and Game have done a great job getting them established here. And hunting them in the mountains has a different flair than hunting them in a cornfield in Nebraska.
There is a lot to cover. Hopefully I can write about a few different angles over the next few months in preparation for the upcoming turkey season. For today though, let’s cover a big one: Do I need a scope on my shotgun?
As a kid, I used my old double barrel 20 gauge for everything. Dove, quail, crows, ducks, geese and turkey hunting and used 2 shot for the last three species.
Things have changed. No longer will one shotgun cover everything. Manufacturers would have you believe that you need a different shotgun for every hunt (and according to Katy I am a willing victim).
You may say, hold on, Tom — all I have to do is buy extra barrels and chokes and that’s the same as having multiple shotguns. And you’re partially correct. Except, that when using a shotgun on turkeys or varmints, you’ll want a scope or good sights since the patterns with the modern shells are so tight.
In the old days, 30 and maybeeee 40 yards was your maximum range. Now with some of the modern shells 60 yards is not out of the question. So due to the tight patterns and how far that you will be shooting you have to have a scope or sight. And no, a couple of BBs on your ventilated rib do not qualify as a sight for these loads.
I’m about to test a Savage Renegauge and a Mossberg 930 and I’m mounting a Vortex SPARC Solar Red Dot Scope on both of them. In fact, I am mounting it on the Mossberg today and the Renegauge as soon as it arrives.
The Vortex SPARC Solar Red Dot uses solar power but if adequate sun shine isn’t available it uses a CR2032 battery when necessary. The SPARC gives you 10 daytime illumination settings and two night vision compatible settings. That will cover everything that I will encounter.
You may still not be convinced that you need a red dot scope or a good sight. Let’s talk more on this. With super tight turkey chokes and HEVI-Shot turkey loads that I use if I’m not using a sight/scope, then I’ll either miss my bird or worse yet, wound him. I’m pulling this number out of my tail but the sweet spot of your pattern may not be more than 18-inches wide!
So it is imperative to be able to aim your shotgun, about like a rifle. And this isn’t dove hunting. You’ll want to aim at a specific body part. Of course the best shot is a headshot but if you aim at the head, half of the BBs fly harmlessly over his head. So you’ll want to aim about 8 inches below his head, at his neck. That way the main pattern will be zeroed in on the heart up to the head which equals a dead bird.
So as we wrap up on the gun aspect of turkey hunting there are four things I’d advise you to consider.
1. Buy a good semi auto like the Savage Renegauge or the Mossberg 930.
2. Mount on a Vortex Red Dot Solar Scope.
3. Hunt with a good Turkey Choke (they give super tight patterns).
4. Use good turkey loads. I’ve tested I think nearly all of the turkey loads offered and HEVI-Shot smokes everyone else.
Upcoming articles will cover sighting in your turkey gun and turkey gear. But I am going varmint hunting tomorrow and am going to test out my new Foxpro call and if Katy’s ankle gets better surely we have to go snowshoeing Saturday. Oh, and I have a lot of new Pautzke fish scents to test ice fishing. So, who knows what little Tommie will be writing about next week!
P.S. Don’t forget to buy your sweetie some flowers for Valentine’s Day or I may have one less reader!
Tom Claycomb lives in Idaho and has outdoors columns in newspapers in Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Louisiana. He also writes for various outdoors magazines and teaches outdoors seminars at stores like Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse and Bass Pro Shop.
