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Posted: 4/6/2012 4:54:49 PM EDT
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I have a Benelli SBE that I've had since 1994. I have killed countless ducks, geese, quail, pheasants, and doves with it and it has never failed me. Last weekend, I called up a giant tom for my son, and he rolled the bird at 30 yards with it using 3.5" Winchester Supreme #5 using a Kick's Gobblin' Thunder x-full choke...but damn it if the bird didn't stagger up and fly off...feathers were still in the air. I thought maybe my son got a little nervous and pulled his shot or something like that. Later that day, we went to pattern the gun again, and I noticed that at 30 yards, holding on the head resulted in a mid-chest impact...exactly where my son hit the gobbler. I thought: "oh well, lesson learned." BTW, I tested out two loads and three choke tubes (Pure Gold, Primos Jelly Head, and Kick's) a year ago to get the best combo, and the combo we are using is still the best.
Today, I bought my son a SBEII, and we went to pattern it using the same loads, and I got him a Kick's tube for the SBEII...that thing absolutely ROCKS at 35 yards...dead on, no holdover, and an incredible pattern??? Why would my SBE be hitting low at 30 yards, while his is dead nuts at 35??? I am pretty sure I am using the standard shim...I don't ever remember changing it. Hitting birds and clays has never been a problem for me with my SBE. Any ideas what the difference is? Should I try a different shim in mine? The thing that makes me sick is I did not pattern my SBE at that distance, and we lost a trophy boss gobbler with a giant beard. He was beautiful...and it was the first turkey I ever called in. Fffffffffuuuuuuuuccccc_________!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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