Hey yall,

My 2 current setups are 1) Remington M887 12 gauge with Jelly Head choke and 2) H&R Pardner Pump 12 Gauge with H&R Full Choke. Shells I have include Magnum Blend Hevi13 Shot 3 1/2" and Remington Nitro Turkey 3".

I'm new to turkey hunting and all suggestions would be helpful. I've done a little research but always like to see what others think.

Thanks in advance!

Both set ups sound good and should be turkey killers. Now you need to pattern them and see what patterns your set ups will shoot.

In my 12 ga I shoot 3” Winchester LongBeard XR in #6 shot, but it throws #5 nicely as well. Before they came out I shot 2 3/4” copper plated high brass shells. Killed birds just as dead, but part of the game is trying new things be it calls, camo, dekes, guns, sights...everything turkey related. It’s an addiction. It truly is.

I carried a Remington 11/87 12 ga since 1988. Killed lots of bird, but thing weighs a ton. Three years ago I went to a Remington 11/87 compact 20 gauge throwing the 3” Federal Heavyweight 7 shot. They don’t make it anymore so I bought up a bunch of it so it should last me a lot of seasons.

You’ll probably be trying some new chokes to find the best pattern you can get. Shoot what you got first in lots of choke/shell combinations.

If you haven’t been here yet, this is a great website for all things turkey hunting. Great place to buy choke tubes, calls, and lots of tips/suggestions for load/choke combinations.
http://oldgobbler.com/

Good luck and if you are planning on getting any of the TSS shop now. Everywhere will sell out soon w Spring just around the corner.

See above. You should be fine with your two set ups. Longbeard is still the king of lead and will shoot well with a variety of chokes. Pattern board is your best friend. PS. Lead sled is a really nice to have while patterning you set up. Double PS. The Magnum Blend shells are good shells. TSS number of hits on paper is making everyone jump on the train, but in reality its pretty easy to have a 40 to 50 yard setup with the Magnum Blends if you find the right chokes.

My best advice. Do some real work at the pattern board with your guns. Try to shoot from a bench with sand bags or lead sled if you have one available. Shoot at a large target. 36x36. I like builders paper from Home Depot. $11 will get you a lot of targets. You will learn a lot about the shell choke combos that your guns likes or does not and how the perform at different distances. Whatever you do don't just buy shells because your buddy said they work good in his gun. It's a journey that can become addictive but enjoy it.

2gbl

All my guns do well with Indian creek chokes and apex

Be sure to use sights (like TruGlo open rifle sights or a low-power scope or red dot scope) and not just beads that come on the rib. Sight in at 10 yds with dove/target loads (helps both your shoulder and your wallet). Use the more expensive turkey shells only to determine pattern thrown by load/choke combo at various ranges (20, 30, 40 yds). Especially if you use TSS there is such a thing as choking too tightly, as a fist-sized pattern at 20 yds makes it awfully easy to miss that bobbing head. I use a standard full choke with 20 gauge and #9 TSS.
Both your guns are perfectly fine and if you want to endure the kick of 3.5 inch 12 gauge there isn't much point in paying for the pricey TSS as lead will be fine, unless your goal is shooting at turkeys 50-60 yards away.