Are the turkey chokes worth it?

I bought a new shotgun this year (haven't been able to check the patterns yet), and it came with 3 chokes. Jus curious if the extended turkey chokes are really worth it. Also, is the pattern suppose to be close together so you can just hit the head? This will be my first year turkey hunting and getting prepared.

What type of shotgun? They help a little bit but unless you just really want to buy one no they are not worth the extra funds. But it also depends on the typical range. However, my Ithaca Turkeyslayer came with one and no complaints.

Ideally be sure to shoot a 3" shell filled with lead (no waterfowl loads). Also pattern your gun. Full choke is generally the way to go. I like Number 4 and never lost a bird, all DRT.

Aim for the head and rest will be taken care of without a problem.

Focus more on calling skill and positioning for bird movement.

Depends on how close you think you can call them in. For me, if they're not within spitting distance, it's just not as much fun.

Maybe try patterning your shotgun with a full choke and see what you think about it before buying a full turkey choke?

Getting the right choke/shell combo can be an expensive endeavor if you want to max out your gun's capabilities. If you don't want to go through the trouble, considering how expensive shells and chokes can be I wouldn't blame you, just grab a reputable choke and shell and let the birds get as close as they can. If you're a perfectionist/nitpicker like myself, you'll want to know what your gun is capable of. My choke/shell combo experiment wasn't cheap, but it'll put around 400 pellets into a 10" circle at 40 yards and that's what I was after. Good luck!

Yes they are worth the money , the better ones that you find will be more expensive but worth it in the long run . The shot size also can play a roll in having a good pattern .

I use a xtra full choke in my remmy and it can and has killed gobblers out to 50yds but like em at 30yds better. I aim for the neck not the head and think it works better if his head suddenly drops when u pull the trigger.

If your shotgun patterns well with the choke you have no real need to buy a new choke. The extra full turkey chokes can often give you an extra 10 yards of effectiveness from what I have seen.

For shot placement Hoytman is spot on in aiming for the neck.

I have a 500a and have seen a lot better groupin with it

One thing I've noticed with many who hunt w/scatterguns and only
use them occasionally is that they tend to look for large shot and really hot loads, tight chokes, short bbls, light weapons, ect....In the years I competed and shot birds for money almost all competitors that excelled shot fairly long bbl, heavy weapons
w/moderate velocity and small shot..When one gets into hunting I find that getting some butcher paper and putting a target up or several at different ranges to be helpful..It may open your eyes
as to the effectiveness of the shells you currently use..We used to hunt birds w/8.5 shot, and I've loaded w/Longshot in 2 3/4 in
shells and killed crows out to and past 100 yds in front of numerous witnesses..Try patterning your weapon, you'll find the better recipe..Don

Not only are the turkey chokes worth it, but the most important consideration is the ammo. But as long as you keep your shots to within the distance you can get 100 pellets in a 10" circle, you will be fine. But that means you have to actually know what that distance is -- so you got to go shoot it and see. Big 3' by 3' paper is good, so that you can see what the whole pattern is doing. Unfortunately most folks just go out and start shooting at turkeys with no idea what there pattern is doing out there.

You will most likely be surprised that you POA and POI are considerably different. Very few guns I have shot are dead on, however most are close but if in the situation it is nice to know what your gun will do. Gotta know what you are capable of

I did what all these guys are suggesting when I first got into turkey hunting. I patterned my gun with a turkey head shoot and see target with the fullest choke I had. I remember I wasn't all that impressed past about 30 yds or so. I decided I might one day have to take a shot past that and so i got a turkey choke on sale online and it gave me the pattern I was looking for out to around 50. Then I tried differences in 3 and 3.5 and I liked the 3.5 better giving me a better chance at connecting IMO. So I stuck with that combo because to me it seemed like the right combo of choke/shot.

I've shot enough birds that I'm now using an H&R 20ga mod. If I can't get then to less than 20 yards I'm not calling good enough.

First off, practice practice practice using your calls. Be it a box, type of slate or mouth/reed call (which I highly recommend because it frees up your hands), practice as much as you can on mastering your calling technique. With that said, I like hunting with my Ruger Red Label O/U 12. The top barrel has the Carlson TKY choke (xtra xtra full) and the bottom has a standard full choke, both of which are the extended style. I've had a couple of birds in SE Oklahoma get hung up a ways out and the TKY choke TKO'd them (farthest was 62 yards). I use the full choke when they are inside 35ish. Also, I shoot the inexpensive Remington 3" #5's (Nitro Express if I remember correctly), for some reason my O/U with the above mentioned chokes shoots these very well. Good luck on your first turkey season, and like a lot of other things, it's highly addictive!

I recently bought a turkey choke on sale at academy for my kids youth 11-87 20 ga. I shot it my two sons shot it and it seems the pattern is off to the right a bit. I will be honest we never really have patterned the shotgun with its regular chokes I am concerned that maybe the gun always hits right. Is there a fix if this is the case

There is no substitute for patterning your shotgun, with a variety of chokes. My favorite turkey load is 2 oz of copper-plated #5 shot in a WW 3" case.

In my 12 ga Benelli, the supplied MOD choke shoots tighter than FULL or an HS Strut XFULL choke.

In my old Browning BPS, the factory FULL shoots tightest.

So.....the answer to the OP's question is "Maybe yes, maybe no." Some chokes can actually overchoke a pattern and ruin it. I would try the factory chokes with your preferred load first and see what shoots tightest.

Very wise words here!

Love my chokes

Like these guys have said, if you pattern it and practice then a turkey choke is worth it. If you are like me and never pattern or practice then a full choke is fine. I know my range and won't shoot past 30 to 40 yards. I have only killed 5 birds over 8 years but they all died. No misses. I set my buddy up last year and he missed one at 30 yards with a turkey choke. I have friends who are turkey freaks and will shoot them at 60 yards but they can.

Using a Benelli too, I like the Full as stated the MOD shoots tighter to the point it was likely to remove heads if they get close.