How TFT and Pattern Pros plan to help turkey hunters throughout the nation.
For years, hunters have stressed over turkey shotgun patterns. Many have spent more on turkey ammo to unearth the best shotgun-choke-ammo combo than they have on their poor lonely wives at home. Pattern Pros sympathizes, and so, they now offer a solution.
The idea originated a few years ago when Ryan Burnett and his friend bought a few boxes of shells and attempted to pattern his turkey gun. Even after spending hundreds, he still hadn’t found the right combo.
“We went back-and-forth and came up with a variety of shotgun shells,” Burnett said. “This allows you to try out a bunch of different shells and find the very best pattern and the best cycling shell for your setup.
“There are so many different gun choke shell combinations,” Burnett said. “They’re almost limitless. And you don’t know performance until you actually pull the trigger and find out what works best for your unique setup.”
Burnett and his business partner ruminated on the problem — it’s far too costly to pattern shotguns and burn through dozens (even hundreds) of combinations. For most hunters, beyond testing a handful of ammo, this is an unfeasible goal. So, Pattern Pros was born.
Because of its business model, shotgun enthusiasts can purchase kits with a vast variety of turkey ammunition offerings. Essentially, rather than buying boxes of eight or 10 different ammo types, hunters can buy a single box of shells, and each shell is a different make and model. This allows them to test a vast array of turkey loads at an eye-opening fraction of the cost.
Each kit is priced differently, and the number of loads included varies from one to the next. However, Pattern Pros has offerings for 12-gauge, 20-gauge, and .410 shotguns.
Burnett says this allows you to spend minimal and reasonable money to buy a lot of different shells. With offerings for various gauges, hunters can find exactly the right fit for their setup. Then, find the absolute best load and go to the woods with the utmost confidence and efficiency.
TFT applauds Pattern Pros for the genius idea. Now, the two organizations are partnering to better equip turkey hunters with improved patterning capacities. This makes turkey guns more effective, but more importantly — more ethical. With a better pattern, you’re seeing fewer misses, fewer wounds, and cleaner, quicker kills.
“We’re producing a survey with TFT Flocks to determine what shells people want to see,” Burnett said. “People will pick what shells they would love to see in a pack, what shells they they’ve shot before, and what shells they would like to test out.
With that, Pattern Pros will create another pattern pack that is in partnership between Pattern Pros and TFT.
“With that, we’ll give the people exactly what they want,” Burnett said. “It’ll include 12- and 20-gauge options, and that’s exciting. This will allow hunters to broaden horizons and give TFT flocks more options to shoot and test ammo.”
It’s important to note, though, this will likely be a lead-only endeavor. Given the shockingly staggering costs of TSS, Burnett anticipates a resurgence in lead shot within the current and future world of turkey hunting.
“TSS prices have gone through the roof,” he said. “It appears as if they’ll be almost unattainable next by year. So, the lead packs are going to become more prevalent again within the turkey hunting world. We’re getting back to the roots of turkey hunting.”
TFT and Pattern Pros anticipate a fruitful partnership that will benefit wild turkeys and wild turkey hunters.
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