On Tuesday morning, March 5th, I conducted a short scouting trip before work to one of my spring gobbler hunting spots in central PA. At 7:00 am I located three gobblers in a field with the largest one strutting. My thoughts quickly turned to past seasons and a guns and ammo combination I have found deadly on spring gobblers – a Benelli Super Black Eagle shotgun and Hevi-Shot ammo. I still use my Benelli SBE (yes, the original SBE, not SBE II) purchased years ago at LCS, while both of my sons have the newer SBE II shotguns, that offer the maximum recoil reduction. Utilizing the factory full choke and 12 ga., 3 ½” Hevi-Shot #5, I have patterned my Benelli to 70 yards. We stock a variety of Hevi-Shot ammo in our retail store that allows hunters to shoot smaller sized shot, for more effective kills at longer ranges, with great penetration. Yes, the 3 ½” shells are a little over kill, and pack some recoil, but the newer SBE II’s handle it well. Two seasons ago, I harvested a tom at 54 yards, but ironically last year, I shot my 30th gobbler at less than 15 yards. My sons and I use our Benelli Super Black Eagle shotguns for turkeys, ducks, and geese without fail. The inertia system allows them to stay relatively clean from powder residue in wet duck hunting conditions, and they are a breeze to disassemble and clean at days’ end.

Nothing beats the combination of a Benelli Super Black Eagle and Hevi-Shot ammo for the hard-hunted gobblers of Pennsylvania, and you can obtain both at Lion Country Supply.

As a side note of other springtime wildlife activity, killdeers returned to our valley a few days ago, while geese arrived last week, but had few open small bodies of water just yet.

John Bravis – LCS Gun Room Sales