Mastering Your Turkey Hunt: The Carlson's Extended Turkey Choke Tube Advantage

Are you a dedicated turkey hunter constantly seeking to improve your shotgun's performance and ensure an ethical harvest? Do you find yourself asking, "What's the best choke tube for my 12 gauge Remington shotgun to achieve tighter patterns at extended ranges?" or "How can I maximize my chances of bagging that elusive gobbler?" If these questions resonate with you, then understanding the critical role of a specialized turkey choke tube, particularly one engineered for precision like the Carlson's 12 Gauge Extended Turkey Rem Choke, is paramount. This isn't just another accessory; it's a strategic enhancement designed to transform your shotgun into a highly effective turkey hunting machine.

The pursuit of wild turkeys demands precision, power, and an unwavering commitment to ethical shot placement. Unlike other forms of shotgunning, turkey hunting often involves taking shots at specific distances, requiring an incredibly dense and consistent pattern to ensure a clean kill. Standard factory choke tubes, while versatile, are simply not optimized for the unique demands of turkey hunting. This is where the Carlson's Extended Turkey Choke Tube (UPC 19583) steps in, providing a purpose-built solution for serious hunters.

Why a Specialized Turkey Choke Tube is Essential for Success

Many hunters mistakenly believe that any full or extra-full choke will suffice for turkey hunting. While these might offer a tighter pattern than modified or improved cylinder chokes, they often fall short of delivering the optimal pellet density and consistency required for a reliable turkey load at common hunting distances. A dedicated turkey choke tube like the Carlson's .660 constriction model is engineered to:

• Maximize Pellet Density: The primary goal of a turkey choke is to constrict the shot column just enough to keep the pellets tightly grouped as they exit the barrel, delivering a concentrated swarm of shot to the turkey's head and neck vital zone.
• Extend Effective Range: By maintaining a tighter pattern, a quality turkey choke allows you to ethically engage turkeys at greater distances, often pushing beyond the capabilities of generic chokes.
• Enhance Pattern Uniformity: It's not just about tightness; it's about uniformity. A good turkey choke ensures an even distribution of pellets within the pattern, minimizing gaps and maximizing the number of hits on target.
• Optimize for Specific Loads: While many turkey chokes are designed to perform well with various turkey loads, some are specifically optimized for heavy-hitting modern loads like copper-plated lead, TSS (Tungsten Super Shot), or other high-density shot materials.

Unpacking the Carlson's 12 Gauge Extended Turkey Rem Choke: A Deep Dive into Performance

The Carlson's 12 Gauge Extended Turkey Rem Choke (UPC 19583) is a testament to precision engineering for turkey hunting. Let's break down its key features and what they mean for your hunting experience:

Designed for Remington (Rem Choke) Shotguns

If you own a 12 gauge Remington shotgun, this choke tube is specifically threaded to fit your barrel, ensuring a seamless and secure installation. The "Rem Choke" designation signals compatibility with a wide range of popular Remington models, making it a go-to upgrade for countless hunters. Always confirm your shotgun's choke system compatibility to ensure a perfect fit.

Optimal .660 Constriction for Devastating Patterns

The .660 constriction is a carefully chosen internal diameter, designed to provide the ideal balance of pattern tightness and uniformity for turkey loads in a 12 gauge shotgun. For many turkey hunters, particularly those using traditional lead or copper-plated lead shot, this constriction proves to be incredibly effective. It's tight enough to maintain excellent pellet density out to ethical ranges, often extending shot capability to 40-50 yards with the right ammunition, while still allowing for a manageable pattern spread. This precise constriction helps to prevent excessive "blowing out" of the pattern, ensuring that the maximum number of pellets hit the kill zone.

Extended Design: Benefits Beyond Performance

The "Extended" designation means this choke tube protrudes beyond the muzzle of your shotgun barrel. This design offers several practical advantages:

• Easier Installation and Removal: The extended portion provides a larger surface area for gripping, making it simpler to screw in and out by hand without the need for a wrench, especially in cold or muddy conditions.
• Muzzle Protection: By extending past the barrel, the choke tube acts as a sacrificial barrier, protecting the delicate crown of your shotgun barrel from accidental dings and scratches in the field.
• Reduced Muzzle Blast and Recoil (Marginal): While not its primary function, the extended design can, in some cases, slightly reduce perceived muzzle blast and contribute to a fractionally softer recoil impulse due to the way gases exit the bore.

Premium 17-4 Stainless Steel Construction: Built for Durability

The choice of 17-4 stainless steel for this choke tube is a significant indicator of its quality and longevity. 17-4 stainless steel is a high-grade, precipitation-hardened stainless steel known for its:

• Exceptional Strength: It can withstand the immense pressures and stresses generated by modern turkey loads without deforming or failing.
• Superior Corrosion Resistance: Hunting environments can be harsh, exposing gear to moisture, dirt, and extreme temperatures. The inherent corrosion resistance of 17-4 stainless steel ensures that your choke tube will not rust or degrade, even after years of use in varied weather conditions.
• Wear Resistance: This material holds up incredibly well against the abrasive forces of hundreds, if not thousands, of shot passing through it, maintaining its precise internal dimensions over time for consistent patterning.

This material choice ensures that the Carlson's choke tube will maintain its performance characteristics for seasons to come, offering reliable patterning and peace of mind.

Blued Finish: Classic Aesthetics and Added Protection

The blued finish applied to this choke tube provides a traditional, aesthetically pleasing look that complements most shotguns. Beyond appearance, bluing offers an additional layer of protection against minor abrasions and surface corrosion, contributing to the choke's overall durability and lifespan. It helps the choke blend seamlessly with the firearm, maintaining a low profile in the field.

Real-World Applications: Enhancing Your Turkey Hunting Strategy

So, how does the Carlson's 12 Gauge Extended Turkey Rem Choke (UPC 19583) translate into tangible benefits in the turkey woods?

• Achieve Consistent Knock-Down Power: With a dense, uniform pattern, you significantly increase the number of pellets hitting the turkey's head and neck, ensuring a clean, ethical harvest. This choke is designed to place 80-90% of your pellets into a 30-inch circle at 40 yards, often critical for turkey hunting.
• Confidence at Extended Ranges: Knowing your shotgun is capable of delivering tight patterns at 40, 50, or even 60 yards (depending on your specific ammunition and pattern testing) instills a new level of confidence. This confidence translates into better shot selection and less hesitation when that wary gobbler hangs up just out of reach of lesser chokes.
• Optimize Your Ammunition: While this choke excels with many loads, it truly shines when paired with high-performance turkey specific ammunition like Federal Heavyweight TSS, Winchester Long Beard XR, or Remington Nitro Turkey loads. Pattern your shotgun with various loads to find the ideal combination for your setup.
• Reduced Cripple Rate: The primary objective of any ethical hunter is to dispatch game cleanly and quickly. A specialized turkey choke drastically reduces the likelihood of merely wounding a bird, leading to fewer lost birds and more successful hunts.
• Investment in Success: For a relatively small investment, this choke tube offers a significant upgrade in performance, potentially turning missed opportunities into filled tags. It's a fundamental piece of gear for any serious turkey hunter looking to gain an edge.

Tips for Maximizing Your Choke Tube Performance

Simply screwing in a new choke tube isn't the end of the journey. To truly optimize your turkey hunting setup, consider these crucial steps:

• Pattern Your Shotgun: This is non-negotiable. Take your shotgun, the Carlson's choke, and several boxes of different turkey loads to the range. Shoot at large sheets of paper (e.g., 3x3 feet) at various distances (20, 30, 40, 50 yards). Draw a 10-inch circle around the densest part of the pattern (representing the turkey's head/neck) and count the pellet strikes. This will show you exactly how your shotgun and ammunition perform together.
• Experiment with Ammunition: Don't assume one brand or shot size is best. The Carlson's .660 constriction will react differently with various loads. Try different shot sizes (e.g., #4, #5, #6, #7.5, #9 TSS) and pellet materials. Each shotgun is an individual, and the perfect marriage of choke and load is found through testing.
• Clean Your Choke Regularly: After each hunting trip or extensive range session, remove and thoroughly clean your choke tube to prevent residue buildup, which can affect patterning and make future removal difficult. A brass brush and solvent designed for gun cleaning work well.
• Torque Appropriately: While the extended design often allows for hand-tightening, ensuring the choke is snug but not over-tightened is important. Avoid using excessive force that could damage the choke or barrel threads. Some hunters prefer to use a small amount of anti-seize compound on the threads.

Carlson's Choke Tubes: A Legacy of Quality and Innovation

Carlson's Choke Tubes has established itself as a leading name in the firearms industry, synonymous with quality, precision, and performance. For decades, they have been manufacturing high-quality choke tubes using advanced CNC machining processes and premium materials. Their commitment to hunters is evident in products like the Extended Turkey Choke, which is specifically designed to meet the rigorous demands of turkey hunting. When you choose a Carlson's product, you're not just buying a piece of metal; you're investing in a product backed by a reputation for excellence, ensuring reliability and consistent performance when it matters most. Their dedication to hunters translates into effective tools that help hunters achieve their goals ethically and efficiently.

The Carlson's 12 Gauge Extended Turkey Rem Choke with .660 constriction (UPC 19583), made from 17-4 stainless steel and finished with a durable bluing, is more than just an accessory—it's an integral component for any serious turkey hunter using a Remington 12 gauge shotgun. It addresses the core challenges of turkey hunting by delivering the tight, dense, and uniform patterns necessary for ethical, long-range shots. For those who demand the utmost performance from their gear and refuse to compromise on an ethical harvest, this choke tube represents a wise and impactful investment. It simplifies the question of "What choke should I use?" by providing a clear, high-performance answer that translates directly into more successful and confident hunts. This crucial piece of equipment is readily available to enhance your next turkey season, exclusively at DEGuns.

Feature	Description
Product Type	Shotgun Choke Tube
Gauge	12 Gauge
Choke System	Rem Choke (Remington)
Constriction	.660 (Turkey Specific)
Design	Extended
Material	17-4 Stainless Steel
Finish	Blued
UPC	19583