The Importance of Turkey Chokes for Ethical Turkey Hunting

Turkeys are one tough bird, and they can be difficult to hunt, let alone kill without the right equipment. That’s why having the proper choke in your shotgun is essential to turkey hunting success. Let’s explore why turkey chokes are so effective at harvesting birds while other chokes fall short. We will also touch on why the use of a choke that gives you a tighter pattern is the ethical hunting option.

Pattern and Distance

When a shotgun is fired, the shot experiences a gradual reduction in speed and an expansion in spread over time. This becomes more pronounced as the distance to the target increases. Beyond opting for higher-velocity shells or adjusting the shot size, there is little to be done when trying to increase or maintain velocity. Therefore, the goal for hunters is to select equipment that enables their shot to maintain a minimal amount of spread to optimize accuracy during a turkey hunt. This is where choke selection comes in. 

There are various types of chokes, each with a different constriction that impacts the size of the shot pattern at various distances. Turkey chokes are specialized shotgun chokes designed to produce a tighter shot pattern by constricting the bore at the muzzle end, enhancing the hunter’s accuracy, and increasing the effective range when targeting turkeys. This constriction results in a denser grouping of pellets, allowing hunters to concentrate their shot within a smaller area, vital for hitting the smaller and more elusive target of a turkey's head and neck.

The relationship between spread and distance is critical in turkey hunting, where precision is paramount. Turkey hunters face the challenge of aiming for the head and neck to ensure a humane and efficient kill. A turkey choke helps maintain a tighter shot pattern over longer distances, allowing hunters to deliver an ethical shot with greater accuracy. 

Depending on the load and turkey choke, this can result in a pattern not much larger than a baseball at 20 yards and a basketball at 30-40 yards. We recommend that you pattern your shotgun with different types of ammo and a turkey choke to find what works best with your set up. Here are some helpful articles on how to pattern your turkey gun!

• Patterning Your Turkey Gun For Turkey Season
• How to Pattern Your Turkey Gun 101
• There’s A Pattern Here | Patterning A Turkey Gun

From the Field

Savage Ambassador, Daniel Groce is an experienced turkey hunter. He knows how important choke selection is to a successful turkey hunt. He points out how different constrictions (chokes) affect different load combos differently. There are even differences in patterns produced by the same guns from the same manufacturer. It was all these constantly changing factors that drove Daniel to find the best choke and load set up to make him a deadly and ethical turkey hunter. 

His turkey gun set up provides him with a tool for most any situation. His pattern gives him plenty of spread side to side, this compensates for that ever-moving turkey head. Furthermore, depending on your firearm and gauge, he recommends checking out the new TSS loads on the market. If you only get one chance to turkey hunt every year, it’s worth a little extra money to perfect your setup, especially if you use anything less than a 12 gauge. 

Groce also recommends that your pattern not be too tight. Yes, you heard that right. There is such a thing. Too tight a pattern can turn a shotgun into a shortrange rifle fast, and it might make you miss at close range. Groce recommends that you should look for the happy medium, and a “Blanket type pattern” will serve you best in the turkey woods. So, to save yourself some money and headaches, experiment with different loads and chokes to find what works best for your hunting situation, you’ll be glad you did!

Why Turkey Chokes Matter

Anyone who has hunted turkeys before knows how challenging they are to hunt. If the wild turkey could smell you, you’d never get him. Toms are famous for stubbornly staying just out of comfortable range by 20-30 yards. Oftentimes, they refuse to stop moving and can break out into a full run. Their bobbing red heads are often obstructed by branches, corn talks or other obstacles. They’re just plain tough to hunt. Turkey hunters must seek as many advantages as possible.

An ethical hunt not only involves respecting regulations and natural habitats but also ensuring a quick and humane harvest. Turkey chokes play a vital role in promoting ethical hunting practices by enhancing the hunter’s ability to deliver a precise shot.

Turkey chokes allow hunters to make ethical shots at distances up to 50 yards possible and much more effective, although any shot needs to be carefully considered and taken with great discretion. A tighter pattern with a turkey choke also means small obstacles can be knocked aside with greater ease where other patterns would fall short.

Ethically speaking, a turkey choke is a must have. Whether your bird is at 10 yards or 50 yards, the objective is to put him down where he stands. The more shot you have on target the quicker this kill will be. It only takes one pellet to the head to kill a turkey, however, the more pellets that are present, leads to a cleaner kill for the bird.

Turkey chokes are indispensable tools for any turkey hunter, contributing to the ethical and effective pursuit of these elusive birds. By understanding how turkey chokes work and leveraging their capabilities with your chosen turkey load, hunters can enhance their accuracy and increase their chances of a successful harvest. As you gear up for your next turkey hunt, consider the importance of choosing the right choke and load combination for your turkey gun.

We wish you the best of luck with tagging a turkey this season. And remember to check out our other blogs on turkey hunting as well as our various turkey shotgun options!