The shotgun choke a turkey hunter carries in his or her gun is often the most overlooked piece of gear in the turkey hunter’s tool box. We spend countless hours working on our calls, picking out the perfect decoy combination, scouting birds and other preseason gear prep, but we often fail to prepare for the one aspect that matters the most – the shot. And nothing will make or break the way your gun shoots like the choke screwed into the end of your gun and the load you shoot through it.
Picking The Best Turkey Choke
The name of the game when it comes to turkey chokes is to send as many pellets as possible down range into the head and neck of a turkey. In the early days, these tighter turkey chokes were simply labeled as “Extra-Full” or “Super Full”. In more recent days, custom choke companies have answered the demand for even tighter choke tubes and greater down-range performance. Whereas we use to consider 40 yards the long shot on turkeys, newer chokes are resulting in deadly performance at 50, 60 and even 70 yards.
So what are the best turkey chokes in the business? Here’s a look at some of the top performing shotgun chokes in the turkey woods each year.
Carlson’s Long Beard XR Choke
Carlson’s Long Beard XR Turkey Choke Tubes are specifically designed for turkey hunting with Winchester Long Beard Turkey shotgun shells that feature Shot-Lok Technology. This dynamic duo keeps lead shot nearly perfectly round for super tight, long-range patterns. Carlson’s Long Beard XR Turkey Choke Tubes deliver devastating head shots at well over 50 yards. This choke is not designed to be used with steel shot.
$54.99
Indian Creek Black Diamond Choke
The Black Diamond Strike is designed to knock turkeys right off their feet. Precision engineered to the tightest tolerances, this tube has been proven to kill many a bird. The Strike will accommodate all lead and hybrid heavy loads with shot sizes from #4 through #8.
The Strike has been proven to increase pattern density by 40% or better. That means tighter groups, more pellets down range, and more birds in the freezer.
$79.99
Primos Jelly Head Choke
The guys at Primos have designed the Jelly Head to increase the range and pattern density of your favorite turkey gun. The Primos Jelly Head Maximum utilizes an extended taper and fluted ports to tighten patterns up to 20% and reduce recoil, allowing you to stop gobblers in their tracks at even longer ranges.
Primos utilized proprietary Black-T coating on the Jelly Head choke. This is the same protective barrier utilized by the military’s Special Forces to prevent rust and corrosion on weapons in the harshest environments, like turkey hunting.
$66.45
Hevi-Choke Turkey Choke
Hevi-Shot loads have become some of the most sought after turkey loads on earth. They are as deadly as anything out there. Now the company has combined their Hevi-Choke turkey choke to be the ultimate deadly combination for tough springtime turkeys. Engineered for bee-swarm-dense patterning with Hevi-13 loads, these wad-slowing chokes also pattern tightly with lead and other lead-alternative loads. A series of internal rings slow the wad, keeping it away from the shot cloud for extremely tight patterns. Axial porting reduces barrel jump.
$49.99
Patternmaster Code Black Choke
The Code Black Turkey Choke Tube by PatternMaster is designed specifically to deliver effective headshots on turkey at maximum shotgun range. Code Black tubes utilize PatternMaster’s wad stripping technology, which produces extremely consistent patterns with short shot strings by allowing the shot to exit the barrel before the wad.
The tubes’ tight constriction, plus the wad stripping technology, results in extremely dense patterns that cover a turkey’s neck and head at long range. Tubes extend out from the muzzle and have unique canoe porting that reduces muzzle jump, aiding the shooter for faster follow up shots.
Patternmaster choke tubes are made of 17-4 stainless steel and are finished with a non-reflective bronze titanium coating. The PatternMaster Code Black Turkey Choke Tube is for use with ammunition designed for turkey hunting such as lead, copper and lead combination, and Hevi-Shot, as well as FLITECONTROL wads. They are not for use with shotgun slugs or steel shot.
$99.99
MOJO Fatal Shot Choke
The MOJO Line of Fatal Shot choke tubes is a result of a partnership between MOJO Outdoors, a company with a long history of raising the bar in hunting and outdoor products and Rob Roberts Custom Gunworks. Roberts has spent a lifetime making shotguns pattern to their highest potential.
Using state of the art computerized pattern analysis machines that allows accurate results, plus years of experience in factoring them into getting the optimum performance out of the shotgun, also full line custom shop and building performance guns for major companies all over the world. These chokes are designed to hold patterns longer and produce consistent point of impact.
These chokes feature a non-ported tube design for consistent point of impact with all loads an are proven to deliver denser, more uniform patterns at all shotgun ranges. This results in quicker and cleaner kills. The chokes are made from 17-4 Stainless Steel and feature a convenient grip for tool-less changing. The Mojo Fatal Shot chokes also come with a lifetime guarantee.
$79.99
Kicks Gobblin’ Thunder Choke
The Gobblin’ Thunder choke from Kicks features a diagonally-ported design for recoil reduction. It’s easy to install with your fingers – no tools required. The Gobblin’ Thunder is an award winning choke with the original extended, ported design. The company says this choke turns your average bird gun into a turkey hunting specialist.
Testing shows that with the combination of load, the Gobblin’ Thunder choke depedably delivers a 14″-16″ pattern at 40 yards.
$70.00
Comp-n-Choke
Comp-n-Choke has gained quite a following over the years due to the performance built into their choke tubes. Their turkey choke features an extended slot-ported design for improved pattern performance and recoil reduction. These chokes are easy to install and remove with your fingers. No special wrench or tool required.
$55.00
