20 gauge effective killing range

Shooting no. 5 lead shot. Shooting a good pattern what is the maximum killing range on a turkey.

The pellet energy is likely there if it is a high-velocity shell, but most likely the pattern will have opened up by then. Test it at 20/30/40 yds because it's the only sure-fire way to know.

Borrowing the gun from a buddy for the youth hunt. Supposed to shoot a good pattern with the federal no. 5. I have not shot the gun yet but will next weekend. Just wondering if you have a good pattern out to 40 yards is there still enough energy there to kill a turkey.

Every gun is different, every shooter is different. It is hard to say what the effective killing range is. I like to get my birds in close. I have shot birds as close as 7 feet and out to 25 yards. The thrill of turkey hunting for me is bringing them in close. You start shooting past 40 yards, you have a high chance of crippling the bird and loosing it.

I patterned a 20 ga youth model shotgun with 2 3/4" lead #4's at 30 yards a few years ago. Since then, my wife has killed 2 birds (18yds and 28 yds) and I've killed 3 with it (all 25 - 35 yards). Not one of those birds took a single step after the shot. They flopped around a bit ....but they do that with a 3 1/2" 12 gauge sometimes. The older I get the more I like light guns without bust-your-jaw recoil and I'm just loving that little 20 ga - both in the blind and run-n-gun. Your results may vary.

My rule of thumb for maximum killing range is determined at the shooting range. I take a turkey head target and keep shooting at longer distances until I no longer have at least 6 pellets in the head/neck area. Then that's my effective range and that's going to vary from gun to gun. It's also going to vary with the type/size of shot and what choke tube you're using. What's the effective range on YOUR gun? I dunno, why don't you go to the range and find out, then post your results? Formerly Steve @ G & S