SCATTERGUN ALLEY: TAKING TURKEYS, NEAR AND FAR

A CZ-USA Magnum Reaper lies on turkey patterning targets.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY LARRY CASE

David Miller made me an o er I could not refuse. Once again he had invited me to the great state of Missouri to pursue spring turkeys. How can you turn that down? Maybe you have heard me talk about Mr. Miller before. He hails from Grain Valley, Missouri, and is the shotgun product manager and pro shooter at CZ-USA, a gun company based in Kansas City.

To say that Miller knows about shotguns and does some shotgun shooting would be like saying the Pyramids are a bunch of rocks piled up in Egypt. Not once but twice, Miller has set Guinness World Records involving shotguns and breaking clay targets. The first time was in 2015 when he shattered 3,653 clays in one hour. The next was in 2019 when Miller, along with four young team members, shot for 12 hours (that’s right, 12 hours) and broke 14,167 clay targets. Both of these feats are in the Guinness World Records book; you can look it up. I was there for both events, saw the whole thing, and it was a sight to behold.

Maybe I have made my point: I shoot shotguns, you shoot shotguns, but we don’t shoot shotguns like David Miller. I have no trouble believing that he dreams about shotguns at night, rises in the morning and spends the day shooting shotguns, thinking about shotguns, or planning the next shotgun that CZ-USA will bring to the market.

But this trip, as with others in

Mike Benneka, a friend of CZ’s Dave Miller, crawls while attempting to “fan” a Kansas turkey, a tactic known as reaping and which led to the development of the aforementioned over-and-under shotgun.

the spring with Miller, involved the locating, calling in and subsequent shooting of big, burly, long-bearded, sharp-spurred turkey gobblers. It is a hard job that involves a lot of work and physical endurance, but someone has to do it. This trip went well, and two hefty Missouri gobblers were collected, but I think a little discussion on the shotgun we used is in order.

CLOSE AND FAR, THE DILEMMA OF THE MODERN TURKEY HUNTER Several years ago, the turkey hunting world went all in for the tight, extratight, and double-extra-tight chokes on a turkey gun. The thinking has always been “tighter chokes, tighter patterns,” and this gives us more pellets in a gobbler’s head and neck at longer ranges. Well, that is true to a point, but some of us need to remember that tighter (more constricted) shotgun chokes do not necessarily give us the best patterns. Only a lot of testing on paper with di erent choke, shell and gun combinations will tell us what gives the best results. All of that is a discussion for another day, but the point is that turkey hunters have gone down the “tighter is better” road.

That is all well and good when the turkey in question is at the 35- to 40yard line and beyond; yes, at these distances and more, the tighter choke is our friend. But the problem has always been those encounters where the turkey somehow appears at a much shorter range, like 20 steps or

Gobblers didn’t stand much of a chance against author Larry Case and Miller, if these targets are any indication.

• Chambering: 12-gauge • Max shell length: 3½ inches • Barrel length: 26 inches • Chokes: Extended black • Stock: Camouflage polymer • Length of pull: 14½ inches • Receiver finish: Black • Barrel finish:

Camouflage • Ejector extractor:

Ejectors • Rib: 8mm flat vent • Overall length: 44¼ inches • Weight: 7 pounds • Comb: 1 3/8 inches • Heel: 2½ inches • Trigger: Mechanical, selectable for barrel • Safety: Manual tang safety less. What then? Those of you who have been there know this brings on something quite di erent. Our extratight pattern at 45 yards now becomes something like a softball-sized wad at 18. If you don’t take what my chums call a “rifle bead” (meaning aim very carefully), you are likely to go home with no meat; you will miss. The herkyjerky motion of a turkey’s head is hard enough to hit when you have a nicesized pattern, but one the size of a large Folgers co ee can really makes it dicey.

So obviously a much more open choke would help with the close-range shots. Most turkey guns these days tend to be pump guns or semiautos; you have a one-barrel, one-choke option. But what if you had another barrel available to you with another choke, like maybe on

An extra-full choke in the bottom barrel and an improved cylinder in the top gives a turkey hunter options for hung-up and close-in birds.

A closeup of the Magnum Reaper’s receiver shows the “Grim Reaper” turkey logo.

an over-and-under shotgun?

Miller worked on this situation some years ago and his answer was the CZUSA Reaper Magnum. “Reaping” is a term used when the hunter shows a gobbler a turkey fan, mimicking a turkey in full strut. Often the gobbler does not like this and advances on the hunter to pick a fight. Turkeys can often come within very close range with this method and Miller wanted to make the open choke available for such situations.

The Reaper is a fully camoed 12-gauge shotgun with sling studs and a specially designed Picatinny rail installed. The rail is thinner where it mounts to the top of the gun, making it sit with a lower profile, always a good idea on turkey shotguns with optics. The 26-inch barrels make it

Success! Benneka trots off with a Kansas turkey taken with the Reaper.

Miller hoists a CZ 1012 semiauto, used when he and four high school students set a new world record by breaking 14,176 clays in 12 hours. more maneuverable in the woods or blind. Polymer stocks clad in camo help it blend in, and adding a sling is simplified with QD swivels front and back. The Reaper Magnum ships with five extended interchangeable chokes, including an extra-full, and it has 3½-inch chambers for those who want to go nuclear with what they are shooting. MSRP is $1,079. For more, visit cz-usa.com.  Editor’s note: Larry Case has been a devoted outdoorsman since he was a child. He will admit to an addiction to turkey hunting (spring and fall), but refuses any treatment. He enjoys the company of gobblers and cur dogs that are loud and people who speak the truth softly. Case served 36 years as a game warden in West Virginia and retired with the rank of district captain. You can check out his podcast and other stories at gunsandcornbred.com.

Dave Miller and I opted for Remington’s new Premier TSS shotgun ammunition this hunting trip. The 3-inch 12-gauge loads weigh in with 1¾ ounces of No. 9 tungsten shot. With a muzzle velocity of 1,200 feet per second, that is screaming, especially for TSS (tungsten super shot) loads. Remington also o ers this load in No. 7 size shot. Visit remington.com for more.

Miller’s turkey was downed at 55 yards and mine was shot at a rangefinder-measured 63 yards; both went down as if struck by lightning.

Miller takes his ammo choice to another level by opting for a di erent load for his close-range, open-choked barrel. If your shots are going to be 30 yards or less, why go for a magnum turkey load? Miller uses the Aguila Pichon Plus (Pigeon) load. The 1,400 fps on 1¼ ounces of 7½ shot is really moving, and it’s all you need to hammer a gobbler at close range.

For more information, visit aguilaammo.com.