Shooting the Bead

[Swamp Hunter]

Just out of curiousity, in today's world of ultra tight chokes and TSS, how many of you guys still shoot single/double beads on your shotgun?

[Jstocks]

IMO has nothing to do with tss. Different load/choke combos can experience as much as 8” difference in point of impact. Some gun manufacturers get a bad rap due to people buy them and just throw their favorite load/choke combo in the barrel and then shoot it. When it doesn’t hit point of aim, they blame the gun. Truth is, to get a set up for your gun without an adjustable sight, you may have to trial and error more than just the tightest or best pattern.

With an adjustable sight, it is much easier to get a combination that hits true to point of aim.

To answer your original question, I have 2 guns that I use with only a bead as an aiming point. One gun, a Benelli 20 gauge super 90 has a double bead system. The other is an old 410 single shot with a single bead.

[2nd100]

Alot of shooting turkey chokes over alot of years and I see some chokes shoot poa and change that choke for another one out of the same brand and same constriction it may shoot 8 inches off . seen it many times with all makes of guns . but me I have 5 guns I shoot the bead only and 3 that have sights , most likely going to be more with some type sight in the future .. Getting older , can't always remember Kentucky windage on each gun atvthe momentvof truth ...

[Trustyrusty]

When I first started turkey hunting I never even patterned the old 870 sportsman I used. It has 28" vent rib full choke barrel no bead. The bead is somewhere in the Osceola national Forest lol.

I'd find the cheapest turkey load I could at the local hardware store. All I used was an old Lynch's box call and a Quaker Boy push pin. Everything fit in my pockets and that was good enough for me....back then [emoji2361]
The times were much simpler lol




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[jsh909]

IMO has nothing to do with tss. Different load/choke combos can experience as much as 8” difference in point of impact. Some gun manufacturers get a bad rap due to people buy them and just throw their favorite load/choke combo in the barrel and then shoot it. When it doesn’t hit point of aim, they blame the gun. Truth is, to get a set up for your gun without an adjustable sight, you may have to trial and error more than just the tightest or best pattern.

With an adjustable sight, it is much easier to get a combination that hits true to point of aim.

To answer your original question, I have 2 guns that I use with only a bead as an aiming point. One gun, a Benelli 20 gauge super 90 has a double bead system. The other is an old 410 single shot with a single bead.

This is well said.

Adjustable sights give you the option to pick any load (that patterns well) you want to shoot and make it work to your set up.

When shooting just the bead the gun gets to pick what load/choke you shoot essentially.

I shoot both adjustable rifle sights and beads. Some guns will shoot basically every load/choke combo straight to POA some simply will not, only testing will tell. And that is what dictates what I will use.

[BrowningGuy88]

I have a couple that shoot Hevi and Lead to the bead. Adjustable sights so far for all my TSS shooters

[soiltester]

All Hevi-shot & with beads

[Spuriosity]

As important if not more important than Poi vs POA is age. At 58, there will be no more bead shooting for me with TSS. Once you start having trouble focusing on the bead (or F/O sights) and the turkey at the same time, it is time for a red dot or scope. I much prefer the red dot. Takes old eyes out of the equation.

[GLS]

I had focus issues long before age 58. Rifle sights helped for awhile, but after a spectacular flydown miss in low light against a dark background, I went to an Aimpoint in 1998. Gil

[Hobbes_mobile]

I'm in the focus problem crowd. I don't think it was completely necessary just yet and my guns shot where the double bead pointed. I just didn't used to have to try as hard to line the beads up. I used to give guys a hard time for using anything but the beads. Add on more than a few years and I'm shooting Vortex Venoms. Now that I shoot the Venoms, I really like them.

[GLS]

My next step will be a shooting eye dog. Gil

[Hobbes_mobile]

My next step will be a shooting eye dog. Gil

I hadn't thought of that. I've got more years left to hunt than I realized.

[Jstocks]

When I first started turkey hunting I never even patterned the old 870 sportsman I used. It has 28" vent rib full choke barrel no bead. The bead is somewhere in the Osceola national Forest lol.

I'd find the cheapest turkey load I could at the local hardware store. All I used was an old Lynch's box call and a Quaker Boy push pin. Everything fit in my pockets and that was good enough for me....back then [emoji2361]
The times were much simpler lol



I have a benelli 12 gauge that was purchased in 1999. I bought a comp n choke, put some Winchester #4’s in it and went hunting. It shot that load to POA... but only by luck. Killed a ton of birds with it and the bead.

Fast forward to last year. Haven’t shot the gun much over the past 5 years after making the switch to the 20 and tss. Traveled to a state that small shot was not legal, so bought some longbeards and decided to pattern my 12 before taking it. Glad I did, because it shot those shells about 4” to the right. At 40 yards, it was opened up enough to clip a bird with the edge of the pattern, but closer in you needed to adjust POA to the left. Well, I’m the heat of the moment, I called a turkey up to 20 yards and forgot and it caused me a miss. Good thing he took off running to the right, cause second shot caught him in the wing butt and killed him. Being off helped me get the correct lead!

[ol bob]

Red dot is the best thing ever made for us old codgers.

[Hognutz]

Aimpoint man, here!

[Swamp Hunter]

Thanks, guys. I was just curious. My reason for asking is, prior to 2 years ago, all I ever shot was a bead and only recall missing 1 turkey in about 10 years. I put a fastfire on my turkey gun and have missed enough birds in the last 2 years to send most men to the insane asylum. I know the problem is between my ears at this point but it's absolutely maddening. I've pulled the trigger on 6 gobblers this year, all inside 30 yards, and only 4 found their way to the truck with me. I swear its like my brain says "UHHHHH lazer thingy near turkey head, pull trigger NOW, NOW, NOW!!!!" during the moment of truth.

[Jstocks]

Are you shooting a choke that is really tight?

[ol bob]

You need to aim where the neck meets the feathers. If you are sighted in at 40 yds. and using a tight choke and aim at the head you could be shooting over them at 30.

[Swamp Hunter]

Are you shooting a choke that is really tight?

Shooting a 1-5/8 oz 20 gauge load it usually prints ~275 in the 10" circle at 40 yards with the remainder of the load in the 20" circle. It's tight but not ultra tight. At this point, I'm about ready to switch to a 10 gauge with an improved cylinder choke and about 3 oz of TSS. Surely I couldn't miss with that.

Like a case of the yips in golf or target panic in archery, its all in my head at this point and not the equipment's fault. Just something I'll have to work through I guess.

[Jstocks]

Reason I asked was at one time I shot a .555 and had a rash of misses. I went to a .582 and have had much better luck.

[Jbird22]

I switched to a Burris FF2 back in 2011, after missing all 3 turkeys I shot at in 2010. I even made changes in shells/chokes between misses thinking it would help but it didn't. I put a Speedbead with FF2 on my gun and have had MUCH better luck ever since. I'm no longer shooting that particular gun but still use a FF2 on a 336 base. I couldn't imagine NOT having a FF2 on my gun. It's been a huge confidence boost for me.

[BobT]

I just got my first red dot, a Swampfox Kingslayer. After missing a few birds I realized it was time for something to change. I haven't got the sight mounted yet as I'm having trouble finding a base but I'm anxious to give it a go. At this point all but one of my shotguns still wear still carry beads the single exception is my 870 youth model with fiber optic sights.

[BrowningGuy88]

Thanks, guys. I was just curious. My reason for asking is, prior to 2 years ago, all I ever shot was a bead and only recall missing 1 turkey in about 10 years. I put a fastfire on my turkey gun and have missed enough birds in the last 2 years to send most men to the insane asylum. I know the problem is between my ears at this point but it's absolutely maddening. I've pulled the trigger on 6 gobblers this year, all inside 30 yards, and only 4 found their way to the truck with me. I swear its like my brain says "UHHHHH lazer thingy near turkey head, pull trigger NOW, NOW, NOW!!!!" during the moment of truth.

That’s something you’re going to have to work out mentally. I went through that a couple times in the last 20 years and I missed a lot of birds during those episodes.

It gets better

[decoykrvr]

Quite a few years ago the Star Dot, fiberoptic shotgun sight was introduced by Highlander Sports, Inc. and despite the efforts of shimming and adjusting to get a 40 yard POA/POI they were a great improvement over single or double beads. I started shooting a Nikon VSD red dot on an Ithaca Turkeyslayer when the sights first came out and paired w/ the "new" Polywad hevi-shot loads accounted for a bunch of gobblers. My latest 20 gauge w/ handloaded TSS sports a Vortex Venom and I've told a lot of turkey hunters who have never utilized a red dot scope that without sounding like a smart ass, "If the red dot is on the base of the neck, you've got a dead gobbler." With age, as the lens in your eye loses its ability to flex or accommodate, the ability to focus on the beads and the turkey simultaneously is diminished and a quality red dot scope/sight will increase your ability to dial in the POA/POI and increase your hunting success. With this said, there is a real variety of pricing and quality of products on the market and just because a sight/scope sports a red dot doesn't equate to performance. I've looked at several of the "new/cheaper" sights which are optical trash w/ severe distortion across the optical plane. You would be advised to stick w/ a known quality product and not buy strictly on price.