Which Shotgun Choke is Best for Hunting Turkey?

Turkey hunting requires precision and the right tools for the job. One of the most important considerations is which shotgun choke to use. The choke controls how tight or spread out the shot pattern will be when it leaves your shotgun barrel. This directly impacts your effective shooting range and accuracy on target. But with so many choke options out there, how do you know which one is the best for bagging a turkey?

What is a Choke and How Does it Work?

A choke is a constriction at the muzzle end of a shotgun barrel that controls the spread of the shot. It is usually made of steel or other alloy and screwed into the threaded end of the barrel. Chokes work by squeezing the shot into a tighter stream as it exits the barrel. This keeps the pattern tighter and allows the shot to retain more energy and velocity over longer distances.

There are several common types of chokes:

Cylinder – No constriction, widest shot pattern
Improved Cylinder – Slight constriction, wider shot pattern
Modified – More constriction, useful for medium ranges
Improved Modified – Tighter constriction, denser core pattern
Full – Maximum constriction, tightest dense core pattern

In addition to these standard chokes, there are also special “turkey” chokes designed for extra full constriction and tight patterns at long range.

Factors That Affect Shot Patterns

Choke constriction is just one piece of the puzzle, There are several other factors that impact your shotgun’s performance and shot pattern

Shot Size – Smaller shot like #4s spreads more than larger shot like #6s. Larger shot retains energy better for longer shots.
Shot Material – Heavyweight tungsten or bismuth materials pattern tighter than standard lead.
Shell Length – 3″ and 3.5″ shells hold more shot and deliver denser patterns than 2 3/4″ shells.
Payload Weight – Heavier payloads of shot pattern tighter than lighter loads,
Gauge – The 12 gauge shoots heavier payloads than 20 gauge for denser patterns.
Muzzle Velocity – Faster shot velocities extend effective range.

All of these factors work together and must be fine-tuned to get the best performance from your shotgun.

Picking the Best Turkey Choke

With so many choke and ammunition options on the market, it can be tricky to identify the best setup for turkey hunting. Here are some tips:

Match your choke to the recommended constriction for the specific shells you plan to shoot. Many chokes and shells are designed to work together.
Stick to full or extra full “turkey” chokes for the tightest patterns and maximum effective range.
Use tungsten-based shot like TSS or HeviShot for dense patterns that retain energy downrange. Lead shot is a poor choice for turkeys.
Shoot the heaviest payloads your shotgun can handle like 3.5″ shells with 1 5/16 or 1 9/16 oz loads.
Test various chokes and ammunition at the range to see what patterns best in your shotgun. Every gun shoots a little differently.
Aim for head and neck shots on turkeys where tight patterns are critical. Body shots are more forgiving.
Consider a longer 30-36” barrel for more consistent shot patterns and higher velocity. The longer sight plane also helps with aiming.
Make sure to match your choke, shell length, payload weight, and shot size together for optimal harmony. Mixing and matching can reduce performance.

With some range testing and attention to these details, you can dial in the perfect turkey choke setup for your shotgun. Having confidence in your equipment goes a long way towards turkey hunting success when you only get one shot at a wary old tom.

Here are my top choke recommendations specifically for turkey hunting:

Carlson’s Long Beard XR Ported Turkey Choke

This choke consistently delivers impressive turkey-stopping performance in my experience. It’s designed to shoot tightly with Long Beard XR shells but also works great with other heavier payloads like TSS. At .665″ constriction, it provides extra full patterns while the porting helps reduce felt recoil. If I could only use one choke for turkeys, this would be it.

Indian Creek Brawler Turkey Choke

Another excellent option, the Brawler really excels at pushing heavy payloads of TSS and other tungsten shot with tight, dense patterns. The .670″ constriction gives it plenty of choke with specialized Wad Wizard geometry to squeeze the most performance out of your shells. For serious turkey gunners, this is an outstanding choice.

Primos Jellyhead Turkey Choke

A classic favorite among turkey hunters, the Primos Jellyhead has a .656″ constriction and delivers excellent extra full patterns with all types of turkey loads. The jelly-like consistency of the shot column it produces makes for lethal loads of #4, #5, and #6 lead, tungsten, or bismuth shot on target. It’s hard to go wrong with the versatile Jellyhead.

Trulock .665 Pattermaster Turkey Choke

Designed to excel with lead and copper-plated lead turkey loads, the .665″ Pattermaster throws dense, even patterns with classic 3″ #4s and #5s. While many hunters have switched to tungsten shot, this choke gets peak performance out of old school lead loads and is a great budget-friendly option.

No matter which choke you end up choosing, remember to pattern test it at various distances with the specific ammo you plan to hunt with to verify performance. As long as you stick to an extra full turkey choke matched with heavyweight turkey loads, you’ll be ready to roll when that big tom gobbles in range. Knock him down in style with the right tools for the job!

which shotgun choke is best for hunting turkey

Video That May Interest You

Lynn Burkhead, OSG Senior Digital Editor

After Shaundi successfully tags out, its Coltons turn to seek out a mature mule deer in the challenging New Mexico landscape. With the hunt nearing its end, Colton must navigate the rugged terrain with precision and speed to secure a mature mule deer buck. Follow along as the pressure mounts and the clock ticks down.

Join Colton Heward and Shaundi Campbell as they venture into the rugged terrain of New Mexico in pursuit of the elusive mature mule deer. With Shaundis prior experience in the area, she takes the lead in this thrilling hunt. Witness the highs and lows of mule deer hunting as the team tracks their quarry and Shaundi lines up her shot.

David Draper of Petersens Hunting reviews the Brownings Citori 825 shotgun and X-Bolt 2 rifle in this comprehensive video. Explore the craftsmanship, features, and performance of these two exceptional firearms. Drapers expert analysis and hands-on demonstrations provide valuable insights into what makes the Citori 825 and X-Bolt 2 standout choices for hunters.

David Draper of Petersens Hunting reviews Warnes new MagView S1 and B1 Digiscoping Adapters, in this informative video. Discover the features and benefits of these high-quality accessories designed to enhance your shooting and viewing experience. Drapers expert analysis provides valuable insights into the performance and versatility of these products, offering practical information and tips to help you make the most of your gear.

David Draper of Petersens Hunting reviews Warnes new Hyperlite Scope Rings and MSR Mount in this informative video. Discover the features and benefits of these high-quality accessories designed to enhance your shooting and viewing experience. Drapers expert analysis provides valuable insights into the performance and versatility of these products, offering practical information and tips to help you make the most of your gear.

Electro-optics are revolutionizing the game and making you a more accurate shooter.

The new Weatherby Range XP 2.0 gets taken on its maiden voyage in the Sandhills of Nebraska, and boy, does it deliver.

The Wicklow Mountains are the stuff of myth and legend, heroes and rebels. Join Kevin Steele as he stalks sika stags among the crags.

Advanced noise suppression and recoil reduction in a lightweight suppressor is a backcountry hunters best friend.

Embark on a thrilling adventure deep into Deseret, Utah, as hunter Skip Knowles pursues his dream of bagging a mature bull elk. Experience the raw beauty of Utahs wilderness, the test of the elements, tracking the ultimate prize, and the pulse-pounding excitement of coming face-to-face with one of North Americas most revered big game animals.

Featuring a carbon fiber stock and barrel, plus advanced high-tech features—all for under $2,200.

1000 yard accuracy out of the box? No problem.

which shotgun choke is best for hunting turkey

Consider these results when buying your next choke tube.

Whether it’s working on my calling, learning new e-scouting techniques to locate potential hunting ground, or reevaluating my kit and finding the best new gear available, I try to find ways to improve my turkey hunting skillset every off-season. This year, I decided to try out a variety of different choke tubes—an easily overlooked tool in the turkey hunter’s arsenal—to find out which one functioned the best. Let’s face it, that overpriced box of super-charged TSS won’t mean anything if the pellets aren’t patterning appropriately.

Whether you’re shooting the latest and greatest TSS load or an old classic 3-inch with lead #5s, you need those pellets flying in a lethal pattern. For this test, I took seven of the top chokes on the market and put them head-to-head against each other. The test: Three shots through each choke tube with three different loads (one shot from each). The test gun is my tried-and-true 12-gauge Benelli Super Nova that’s been with me across the country on many a turkey hunt. Winchester’s Longbeard XR #5, Federal’s Heavyweight TSS #9 and HEVI-SHOT HEVI-18 Turkey #9 seemed to be appropriate loads to test as they—or similar loads—are commonly used by many turkey hunters. Atop the shotgun sits a Delta Point Pro from Leupold that is sighted-in appropriately. Every shot was taken from a bench using a Caldwell Lead Sled to mitigate human error. My goal was to see which would put the most pellets on a 10×10-inch paper target at 40 yards.

The author used his 12-gauge Benelli Super Nova topped with Leupolds Delta Point Pro red dot to perform this test

First up, the Trulock Pinhoti .650 nonported choke. With the Longbeard XR, the .650 put 123 pellets on target, 189 pellets from the HEVI-18 landed on paper and the Federal load had an astonishing 335 hits. This comes up to a total of 647 pellets. With the Federal TSS, the pattern was very evenly dispersed, whereas the majority of Longbeard XR pattern hugged the right edge of the target, and coincidently the Hevi-Shot did the opposite and had the majority of it’s pattern on the left. This illustrates how important it is to re-sight in your turkey gun when switching between loads.

Next up is the JEBS Head Hunter .660 constriction. This choke put 693 total pellets on paper across the three loads. This choke landed 149, 257 and 287 with the Winchester, Heavyweight TSS and HEVI-SHOT respectively. Though it didn’t come out on top for most pellets, I’ll give it kudos for sending each round downrange with a well-dispersed pattern. I’ve been impressed with JEBS over the years and have killed quite a few birds using their chokes. Advertisement

The Carlson’s Heavyweight TSS .640 constriction was the tightest choke used in this test, but tighter doesn’t mean it’ll always perform the better. As its name implies, it is optimized for the Federal load. With the Longbeard XR it put 122 pellets on paper, though a good portion of the pattern was on the lower right-hand side of the target. The HEVI-18 didn’t perform much better with only 158 pellets recorded and similar pattern density. Regardless of those other two shots, it put a total of 699 pellets on target with an impressive 419 coming from the Heavyweight TSS. The pattern was extremely tight to the center of the target, and I was very impressed with its performance.

Trulock offers multiple constrictions with both ported or nonported options. Naturally, I gave each the opportunity to prove themselves. For the Trulock Pinhoti .660 ported choke, it put 785 pellets on target. The overall patterning was much more even during this round. The Longbeard XR shot 165 pellets, the HEVI put 295 in there and the Federal ended up with 325 pellets. All of these numbers were drastic improvements from the aforementioned Pinhoti choke.

Now we’re getting into the “nitty gritty” and the top three performing chokes of this test. Primos’ TSS Jellyhead put an impressive 810 pellets on paper. Nearly 20 years ago, I bought an original Jellyhead choke, and it always seemed to shoot Longbeard XR like a dream. For this test, it only put 154 pellets out of the Longbeard XR on paper. The HEVI-SHOT had 287 pellets hitting the target. The Federal Heavyweight TSS topped it out with 369 hits downrange. Advertisement

Beating out the Primos choke by a thin margin was the Kicks Gobblin’ Thunder .660 which had 835 pellets connect. The Winchester load produced 184 hits, the Federal landed 250, and the HEVI-18 put 401 pellets on paper. The Longbeard XR did want to hold the right edge of the paper, but overall performed well. I also noticed a bit of a reduction in recoil/muzzle jump when shooting it.

The top spot might surprise you, and to be honest, the overall numbers blew me away as well. The Carlson Longbeard XR was the top performer, beating out the closest competitor by a landslide of nearly 150 pellets. The Longbeard XR put 984 pellets on target at 40 yards. As its name suggest, this choke was built for shooting Winchester’s Longbeard XR and it put 168 pellets on paper with that specific load. But what impressed me most was how well it shot both TSS loads. With the Federal Heavyweight TSS it put 383 pellets on paper, with a good majority being on the right half of it. Finally, the HEVI-18 connected with a crazy number of 433 hits. The Carlson Longbeard XR is the clear-cut winner of this choke tube test.

So, there you have it, seven choke tubes with three shots a piece from different loads, and the results do not lie. I performed this test to find the best plug-and-play choke for the average turkey hunter. Let’s be honest, each of these chokes would easily kill a gobbler standing at 40 yards, but a well-dispersed pattern helps leave room for error. Now, I will recommend that no matter what choke you have, to at least do your own pattern test before going afield. If you do have a red dot on your turkey gun, adjust it accordingly. If you are looking for a new choke tube to help tighten up your shots this coming season, give one of these a try. Each one of these can help make that moment of truth a breeze when you’re staring down the barrel at a strutter this season.

Testing the BEST TURKEY HUNTING Choke and Shell Combo! (Results are surprising!)

FAQ

What choke should I use for turkey hunting?

Links

Tight constriction:

A full choke creates a very tight shot pattern, keeping the pellets tightly clustered together for longer distances.
Longer effective range:

This tight pattern allows for accurate shots at further distances, which is often necessary when turkey hunting.
Specialized turkey chokes:

While a standard full choke is a good starting point, many hunters choose dedicated “turkey chokes” designed to optimize pellet patterns specifically for turkey hunting.

Is .665 a good turkey choke?

Some Rules of Thumb with Aftermarket Chokes

640 and . 650 work best with small TSS pellets, while larger . 665 and . 660 are better with lead.

What type of shotgun is best for turkey hunting?

A pump-action gun like a Mossberg 500, Winchester SXP, or Remington 870 is perfect, and all are easy on the wallet.

Is .660 a good turkey choke?

660 constriction. This choke put 693 total pellets on paper across the three loads. This choke landed 149, 257 and 287 with the Winchester, Heavyweight TSS and HEVI-SHOT respectively. Though it didn’t come out on top for most pellets, I’ll give it kudos for sending each round downrange with a well-dispersed pattern.