I converted over this past season from 12 to 20ga. I was a 3.5 inch shooter for years. I chipped a tooth one time when i shot a turkey. i started seeing some 20 gauges and got hold of two for myself. I got a reminton 870 and a weatherby SA08. I have 8 tags between 2 states. I filled 7 of the 8 all with 20 gauges, 3 of these birds were long shots, all three dropped like a sack of potatoes and their heads were peppered. Im here to tell you, you dont need a 12 with 3.5s anymore. 20 gauge is lighter, cheaper ammo, and kicks less( man what a joy not to be pounded by that 3.5 inch beast). I personally feel pattern density is just as good as any 12.
This is my 40 yard pattern from my remington with federal heavyweight 7s and and aftermarket choke....no other gun improvements. Stock gun, with turkey choke, and factory ammo. no other barrel work or forcing cones, etc.
Here is the same set up at 30 yards....they dont walk away from these.
And if that is to tight, you can open it up a bit. Same gun, same shells, different choke. 40 yards. a 121 in 40 average. This is the set up I hunted with out of my remington. If you look closely, the pattern is open enough that I could draw 3 seperate 10 inch rings and still had 124, 116, and 124 in there for and average of 121. It gives you a wide margin of error but still crushes the bird. If you also notice down in the corner that this set up put 92% of the pellets in that shell on that poster board.
IF you dont like the federal 7s, another excellent factory ammo is the Hevi 13 7s, they dont pattern to shabby either.
