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Grindstone Lake Fishing Reports


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anyone ever try and troll leadcore with cranks for fall lakers. need to do some research but i think i could get a fairly deep pulling lead. i already have leadcore set ups for walleyes and was thinking about giving it a shot on the grind for some fall lakers.

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i have never tried lead core. however i think it would work fine once they leave their shallow areas. during operner in may, i fish anywhere from the 20 foot levels off shore most of the time with deep cranks and have had some luck along with suspended lakers while fishing for rainbows and browns in deeper waters.

in the summer months years ago and in between i have got some on my portable downrigger. nothing big so far. and i realy get serious when i ice fish. and then it's 30 feet down over deep water from a 60 ft depth to ove 100 ft depth. it doesn't seem to make a differece. on hard water, in deep water, that 30 foot depth seems to be the area the smelt are and so are lakers and other gamefish.

i wish i could give you better info with lead line, but i'm sorry i have never used it for anything realy. this time of the year look for smelt on your electronics. you will see markings of game fish near by. i use a downrigger but use your experience with lead line to get down to the smelt and you will have some results. good luck.

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Headed out now, prob fish till dark, will be back late tonight with a report on fishing and a report on the access depth

kettle

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thanks Kettle, looking forward to it. leaving for hinkley tommorow with my wife and her mom. staying at one of the chalet's at the casino. fishing monday. good luck.

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There was a ton of lake traffic today, fisherman and water skiers and tubers. Fishing was slow, couple smallies nothing of great size, and a couple of gills, I did run across on guy who landed a brown on a spoon that was it. The level I think is stabilized for the most part, you can just see the top of the tires on the dock at the access, I trolling motor out cause my motor does not have tilt, it is either up or down and it is a long shaft. I don't think I will fish that lake on a weekend until mid fall just too much traffic I did see a few large boats that were launched, one 18' bass boat and a 17' deep v walleye boat. I'll be out there Monday Kettle

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i think i will give the lead core a try once the water cools and the fish are shallower. i need to do a little research but i have hit 30 feet easy trolling cranks for walleyes. we already have the gear it would be awesome if we were able to nail some early and late season lakers. thanks for the info.

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i was out on the grind on monday with my wife. i was able to get my 1850 crestliner out on the lake although the landing is getting shallow. smaller boats should not have a problem. we trolled some deep runners for i forgot my downrigger. no luck on them but these cranks i used go down to 20 feet and i seen fish all over the lake 30 ft down and deeper. lot's of smelt clouds as well.

i found out the hardway not to depend on two year old line. it is on my rod i use for pike mainly. i had a 5 or 6 pound pike snap my line even though i was backreeling which has never happened to me before. i had my biggest smallie ever break the line. i would say it would have easily gone 5 pounds. after snapping my line it suddenly jumped in the air and spit out the large spinner bait. kind of an in your face see you later deal.

i did boat a couple of smaller smallie's along with my wife. my wife had a nice pike follow her spinner bait. the panfish are in the weedlines. mostly small sunnies and smaller crappies but i did get a 12 incher [crappie]. all fish were released [including by themselves]. it was a nice day to be out with my wife. we met Kettle out there and his lovely fiance. nice couple and chatted a bit.

as soon as the water cools down i expect the trout to be closer to the surface [rainbow and browns] and the lakers to be on the humps and closer in to shoreline breaks. the big pike should be comming in as well. the big smallies are there now in 5 to 15 feet around the points, deeper dropping shorlines, rocks and weeds. good luck.

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It's been awhile since I was able to report, too much work ugh! It was nice meeting you Reinhard and your wife, congratulations on 20 years! Like stated in previous posts, the smallies have been active on the sharp breaks, mainly on the rocks. I have done best with live bait rigs and slips, mainly on the west side. Lat time out boated 3 over 16'' biggest being around 19''. I'm planning to fish grindstone late next week, as of today the access level is the same as a week ago, I did not fish but pulled into the access and there were several large boat trailers, appeared to be more bass boats, the trailers were not rollers but carpet runners. So I will report back within a week or so with reports. I have been focusing on smallies, due to no being able to fish the trout with ease.

Kettle

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thanks for the report kettle. it was great meeting you and your fiance as well. there are some huge smallies in the grind and you are getting some nice ones. as good as the west side is for them i think it is just as good on the east side, for there are more rocky shorelines in comparison. like i said earlier the big gators should be moving in as well and trout will be more shallow as the water gets colder. i'll be looking forward to your report next week. i may pop up there as well. i still see the big smallie spit out my spinnerbait at times and cant shake it. good luck.

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Kettle and Reinhard,what wuld chances be in catch a 13 to 16inch trout? I have trout form, that came with other taxidermy stuff, I bought when another guy was sell out.

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as i stated earlier, my wife and i tried trolling through the middle with small cranks that run beetween 18 to 20 feet down and did not get a strike. not to say there were no trout in that area but i didn't switch baits and stuck to them for we only gave it 45 minutes or so. i seen a lot of fish down in the 30 foot level and my guess is that they were browns and rainbows with deeper fish being the lakers and larger pike.

so if you can get down to 25 to 30 feet i think you would have a great shot with a small silver or copper/gold spoon for a trout. now when the water cools down later this months i will say your chances will improve closer to the surface and in the 20 ft. depth around the shorelines. you will have no problem on hard water later this year, so keep in touch and we will try to give you the best updates we can. good luck.

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I'm scheduling a trip to "The Grind" next week. Possibly twice if I can swing it. If you've seen my thread in the "hunting dogs" forum, you know why I gotta get out of the house. Haven't picked a day yet but I'll keep you all posted...

Checking my trout gear as we speak... er.... I mean type.

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Quick question... I'll be traveling north on 35... what's the easiest way to get over to Grindstone? I remember taking 61 west, then a little "cut over" to G. Lake road, to the lake and heading north to the access. Is that cut over still there or is there a better way? Help...

My message box is wide open and ready to receive instruction. wink

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go up 35w to the sandstone exit. from that exit take a left until you get to the first road to the right. it will come to a stop sign quickly and take another left. follow that road all the way until you see the lake on your right. you will see the lake frontage road on your right side as you pass the bible camp. take that north until you see the landing sign by the culvert. let me know if you want any other information. PM me if you want. Kettle will make a report also later in the week which will help also. i'm thinking of going up there also again soon. good luck.

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I was ALMOST on my way.... Then the phone rang. DELAYED!!! mad So here I sat, for over an hour!! Now I'll have to wait until the morning rush has subsided.

That said, I won't be getting up there until later this morning. How's the day/evening bite with a south wind? Or should I hold off until tomorrow?

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well, the only time i dont like being there if it's stormy or high winds. i plan on being there on saturday morning. hopefully Kettle gets a chance to get out there and tell me about the boat landings water level. i know it sounds funny but i go by the tire on the dnr dock. if the water level is above the halfway point on the tire i can make it out there with my 1850 crestliner. i hope you have a relaxing time out there if you make it out there today. let us know how you do and check out that tire on the dock and let me know where the water level is. thanks and good luck.

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Im heading back to the metro in the AM and might not be back up till friday and if not friday sometime next week, change in work schedule and change in work area and with all hopes it changes one more time and that will be it for good! I tried running a three way with a silver floating rap last month, kinda a shot in the dark, i was running with the old electronics so it would be interesting to try it with the new vexilar. I did some homemade making of a new downrigger grin got a downrigger ball and a clip and well 50' of rope with knots every five feet, call me crazy but it might work?? Anyway I will do my best to get up there friday with water level report.

Kettle

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As luck would have it, my delay lasted.... and lasted.... And lasted. Basically wasting my WHOLE day. mad

The boat is rigged and ready, my cooler is getting packed in a few minutes and I WILL make it out of here before that phone rings again.

My only possible issue is that I found a nail embedded in a rear tire on the truck. It's not leaking air and I do have a spare. I've got a 2+ hour drive ahead of me in about 6 hours. I'm tired of "things" getting in the way so I'm going for it!! BUT... If you see me stranded on 35... Please stop and give this old guy a hand. wink

Water level and fishing report to follow. I hope!

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Ring... Ring... Rng... click...

Hi and thanks for Calling the ol' Moose-hunter. He's unable to come to the phone right now. So if yuou leave your name, number and a short message...

HE WON'T RESPOND TO IT 'TIL MUCH LATER!!! He's GONE fishin'!! YEEEE HAWWWW!!

Finally, eh? See ya on the water boys!!! And girls. wink

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i realy hope for a safe and fruitfull trip for you moose. if i didn't have to hang around the house as much as i have lately [taking care of my wife's mom] i would be out a lot more. i was supposed to be on the grind on saturday and now it looks like sunday because my wife needs the truck to take her mom and a friend out for her mom's birthday. my other vehicle is a two seater so it wont do. give me a PM sometime and i'll give you my phone number. looks like a great week to be on the water or anywhere outside. looking forward to your report. good luck.

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Guys... To say today was glorious would be an understatement! The weather as well as the fish cooperated! Oh yeah... M-H scored!!

I ran into a bit of traffic going through ****, I mean the city. But once out of the city proper and northbound...

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All was right with the world. Made a quick pitstop in Sandstone to get rid of my "rental coffee", then off to "The Grind".

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The access was just how I remembered it. Except for the "caution, low water" sign. That REALLY got my attention. I positioned the trailer and went to take a quick look at the ramp... GOOD NEWS!!! Going by previous advice, I noticed the water level on the wheel... And smiled.

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A few minutes later...

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The creek is a little lower towards the lake. I went out on impulse power (my kicker trimmed up) and still ground my prop into the sand a couple times. After exiting the creek... The lake greeted me with a beautiful sunrise! I wish I had a REAL camera!! My "crackberry" did NOT do this view justice. Not even close!

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Fish were slow to begin with. My first of the day was, of all things, a smelt! And on a 3" trout spoon on the downrigger!! I wonder how long I had been towing him before checking my rig. Picked up a dozen more of those things. All around 8" to 10". After I got about halfway down the lake, the Rainbows found me. Popped a couple real quick and lost a few more to short strikes.

Just about at the bible camp, something popped the release. I reeled down and what I felt I thought was a snag. Until it moved. what ever this was, it was HEAVY. It was not a pike or a trout. I've caught big examples of each and this was way different. I just swam off with powerful tail beats and there was NO stopping it. I had to clamp down on the reel to prevent being spooled and popped the line. What on earth was it???!!!

I picked up 6 more nice rainbows but got blanked on lakers. Each 'bow was a carbon copy of the first. About 16" of fat and sassy trout. These were a ton of fun on a light 6# walleye rig.

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All but two for the pan were returned to fight again. They all swan away with gusto! Be advised... The two I kept were LOADED with young of the year panfish. Yes panfish!

If was a GREAT day trip!! One I hope to enjoy again in the VERY near future!

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I'm realy glad you had some fun out there and thank you for that report along with the pictures. i didn't spend much time on trout last time out because i forgot my portable downrigger. so i stuck to smallmouth as i stated in my last post.

that large fish could of only been one of three fish considering you were using a downrigger. a large pike would be my no. 1 guess followed by a laker or large brown. those smelt you got are the reason the lake contains some large fish in the grind. i got one once on a rappala that was as big as the lure itself.

thanks for the picture of the landing and the important tire grin. i see that level and i know i'm good to go. when the landing is shallow it is nice to have someone in the boat with you to stand in front to give you a extra couple of inches in the back end.

looks like you had the lake to yourself as i often have as well this time of the year. those are nice rainbows you had at 16 in. my largest is 19 in. which i got on hard water. other than lake superior the grind has state record brown trout swimming in there for the former state record came out of there. a few years ago i caught a 5 pound brown on hard water that had crappies the size of quarters in it. so the young of the year panfish is not surprising to me. again, thank you for the pictures and the report. keep in touch, and if i dont meet you prior to trout ice opener, if you get a chance come on up on our grind get-together in january. good luck.

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Yes sir!! It was a real GOOD day! I had the lake to myself for the most part. Another resident was out for a little while and a Dad and two kids later in the day. The "low light" was the when two resident water pistols decided to take a blast and stir things up a bit. They weren't out long and stayed a ways off, which was good. Other than those... Only a lone kayak at days end.

Having caught a 30+ Laker as well as pike well in their 20's, this mystery fish didn't really feel like either. A Brown maybe... This monster, when it knew it was hooked, plain and simple just swam away! Not slowly, but not a blistering fast run like a pike. Could have been a Laker I guess but there were no head shakes... Hmmm...

If you'd like... PM me your number. Next time up (and there WILL be at least a couple more) this season I'll give you a shout. The hard water GTG sounds fun. I'll try and get there... If someone has room in thier shack. This old guy doesn't do well bucket perching. LOL!!

When's your next time out? Maybe I can sync my schedule to yours.

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Moose-Hunter, Have you considered the possibility that there still are some Sturgeon in the Grind? I'm fairly certain that at one time there was a population of Sturgeon there. reinhard1 would know better than I would so chime in reinhard1. Last spring I caught a 72" Sturgeon in the Rainy River. Fiskynut was fishing with me at the time and he estimated that it weighed at least 100 lbs! The reason I brought this up is because it sound's to me like the Monster you tangled with fought exactly like the Sturgeon I caught. That fish went wherever he wanted to whenever he wanted to. I was only using 8 lb test Cajun mono so it took between 45 mins to an hour before we could land it. When we finally did it took both of us to lift it into my boat! Of course we had forgotten to bring a camera along! And yes, I released it. The season wasn't open yet. Looking forward to your next fishing report. Good luck! grin1DIRTBALL wink

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Sturgeon, eh? If the fight kind of like a slow moving train... Then that's probably what I hooked. My little reel only holds 130 yards of 6# and he just turned south and left. Didn't fight... Just took his ball and went home.

But on a green and white downrigger spoon? And NOT on the bottom? Sounds like it's time for round two. wink With heavier tackle. At least 8# line. LOL!!

May give it another go on Monday... If anyone is out on the Grind... Watch for a black Alumacraft powered by Yamaha. That be me! grin Oh yeah... I may have my other half with. She'd be the one out back catching rays not fish. Bwahahaahahah!!!!

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the state record sturgeon came out of the grind at one time caught by Carl Lovegren who's daughter still has a place on the lake. i have never caught one. Carl told me years ago he got his on a sucker fished on the bottom off shore from his cabin there. that's also how he caught his state record brown from that he had at one time. Carl has passed on but what a character he was. the man made violins in his cabins also.

i still have a paper graph at home here that i kept for it showed 3 large fish suspended over the small hump north of the audobon point. i dont know much about sturgeon but i thought they were basicly bottom feeders. a diver told me he saw some fish close to the bottom back in the 80's that were at least 5 feet long that resembled sturgeon. this diving club dove grindstone every memorial weekend back then.

there are stories about walleys being in the grind. in over 40 years i have never caught one. and believe me i fished this lake hard and used almost every method you could imagine both on open water and hard water. however Carl Lovegren once told me a game warden back in the 70's caught a 13 pounder out of there. Mr. Walberg who was born on the lake and still lives there has seen some walleys come out of there but they were all large and few in between. he is in his 80's and he was talking about very few indeed. i once talked to a local fishing for crappies and he said he once caught a walley around a pound there.

but this certainly is not a walley lake and has never been stocked with them. so if someone is looking for walleys, chances of getting one here are close to 0. the grind has what it takes to produce trophy fish, and that is plenty of forage, including smelt. i even forage on them grin. i have caught smelt up to 11 inches on hard water suspended many times. when you troll over deep water you will run into "clouds" of smelt, with large predators right behind them.

this is not an easy lake to fish. many get frustrated and go back to waters more fruitfull for them. i'm just a stuborn german going after the elusive trophy brown trout and a pike that i know swims there that is larger than the 43 incher i have mounted on my wall. i was ice fishing one time near a crib in the grind. just putsing around haveing fun with some sunnies for everything else was not interested in anything i had to offer further confirming that i dont know everthing. just for the fun of it i put down my aqua view and put the camera pointed on the crib.

tons of panfish [mostly sunnies] and mostly small but fun. suddenly here comes this large pike swimming slowly over the crib and stops and just stayed on top of the crib. i watched that pike for a half an hour before it slowly swam away. this pike was huge, by comparison to the size of the crib itself. amazingly the panfish were not afraid and swam unafraid all around the pike. they somehow knew this pike was not on the feedbag. well i can go on but i will be out there this weekend but honestly i am realy looking forward to hardwater. i dont ice fish the grind until trout opener in mid january. it's a deep lake and freezes much later than most lakes in the area. good luck.

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Thanks for chiming in reinhard1. It's always good to see my suspicion's confirmed. I've had the same experience you did in catching some outsized smelt. Some I got were around 11". I did my best up where the stream flow's into the lake during hardwater season. That's a good spot to catch beau coup smelt! Moose-Hunter your analogy of how a sturgeon fight's was bang on! It must have been a humongous HAWG! Or maybe you had hooked a coelecanth or icthyosaurus!LOL! :D1DIRTBALL wink

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I won't be able to hit the grind until the day after laker season ends. Kind've a bummer, but the flip side is I can concentrate solely on the streamers. I'm liking my chances of having the lake to myself. Rainbow trout fishing has been great for me this year everywhere else, so hopefully it will transfer here as well.

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JB, i think you will do fine then. the water temps should be cooler then and the rainbows hopfully will be easier in the shallows and near the surface over deeper waters if that's what your after. good luck.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the South Shore...  The focus for many this week is the ongoing deer hunting season which is a big tradition in these parts, even for avid walleye anglers.  There were some that either already harvested their deer or are more into catching fall walleyes than hunting.     Those that are fishing are taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and excellent walleye and sauger bite that is happening across the lake.  Cold weather is in the forecast in the upcoming days and weeks so that is also getting many excited. The best depths on the south end of LOW are 22-28 feet of water.     Vertical jigging with frozen emerald shiners is catching most of the walleyes, saugers and jumbo perch.  Depending upon where on the lake you are fishing, some slots and big trophies are in the mix as well, but most reports are talking about good numbers of eaters.    Jumbo perch are coming in good numbers this fall which will serve ice anglers well.  Watch out for an occasional pike or even lake sturgeon mixed in with the walleyes.      There are good numbers of walleyes and saugers across the south shore which is setting up nicely for early ice.   On the Rainy River...  There continues to be good numbers of shiners in the river, and consequently, there are good walleyes in the river as well.     Walleyes along with saugers, pike and some sturgeon are coming in up and down the river.  Most walleyes are being caught in 10-25 feet of water in various stretches of the river.   Jigging with live or frozen emerald shiners is the key. Some anglers are also still slow trolling crankbaits upstream to cover more ground and find fish. Both methods are producing solid results. Sturgeon fishing remains strong.  The catch-and-release sturgeon fishing is open into the spring when it changes to the "keep season" on April 24th. Up at the NW Angle...  As temps are getting colder, most are in the woods hunting and not fall fishing, however, for those who bundle up, fishing continues to be excellent.     A nice mixed bag with walleyes, saugers, perch, pike and crappies being caught. Very good muskie fishing with the colder water temps and shorter days.  Some big fish and some good numbers are being caught amongst the islands.  Both casting and trolling is getting it done.  
    • gimruis
      I hunt in the rifle zone so I don't have a need to use a shotgun to hunt deer, but I would be looking at this if there was ever a need to.   There could be state legislation introduced next summer that eliminates the shotgun zone completely.  It has bipartisan support.  Wisconsin removed theirs years ago and MN is usually later to follow.  They've tried to pass it more than once and it came up just short both times.  Probably just a matter of time.
    • Wanderer
      Oh, h e l l no! 
    • leech~~
      Screw that, here's whatch need!  😆   Power-Shok Rifled Slug 10 Gauge 766 Grain Grain Weight: 766 Shotshell Length: 3-1/2in / 89mm Muzzle Velocity: 1280
    • Wanderer
      20 ga has become a real popular deer round in the last 5 or so years.  The rifled barrels are zinging those sabot slugs with rifle like accuracy out to 100 yards easily.  Some go so far as dialing in for a 200 yard shot but really, by 150 they’re falling off pretty low.   I have a single shot Ultraslug in 20 ga that shoots really well at 100 yards.  Most everyone I know that has bought a slug gun lately has gotten the Savage 220 in 20ga.  Problem can be finding the shells you want.
    • leech~~
      My son always bugs me about getting a nice light over-under 20ga for grouse hunting.  I say Heck no, I'm getting a 3 1/2" 10ga so I can put as much lead in the air that I can!!     So, I'm keeping my 12ga.  
    • 11-87
      That’s almost exactly what I was thinking.  Have slug barrels for both   One for turkey and one for deer.      I have a 20ga mosseberg as well. (Combo came with the scope but never used.   I always liked the 12 better
    • leech~~
      Wanderer is right on the money and covered it well.  I was wondering too if you had a slug barrel for one of your guns?  If so you could make that your slug gun with a scope, and the other your turkey gun with the Red dot.  As you can afford it. 
    • Wanderer
      Kinda depends on if you want magnification or quick target acquisition.   More magnification options and better accuracy with a scope.  You get what you pay for too so get comfortable with a budget for one.  Tasco and Bushnell work but I find they lose their zero easier, have low contrast and don’t gather light well in low light conditions.  That said, I’m still using one I haven’t replaced yet.  Vortex has been the hot brand for the past several years for bang for the buck.  Good products.  Nothing beats Swarovski though.  Huge dough for those.  Burris is another decent option.   There are some specific models for shotgun/slug hunting in the economy brands and bullet drop compensation (BDC) reticles.  Based on experience I’d recommend not falling for that marketing ploy.   Red dots are usually lower magnification and easier to get on target.  Reasonably accurate but don’t do well with definition, like searching the brush for your target.  I put a HAWKE red dot on a .22 for squirrels and it’s been good.  For turkey, that’s probably the route I’d go.     If your slug shots are normally not too far and too brushy, I’d think a red dot could work there too if you’re only buying 1 scope.  You’ll be better off dimming the reticle to the lowest setting you can easily use to not over shine the target and get a finer aim point.   If you don’t have a slug barrel, you might appreciate one of those.  I had a browning with a smoothbore slug barrel that shot Brenneke 2-3/4 inch well.  The 11-87 would well fitted with a cantelever rifled barrel. 
    • 11-87
      Looking for recommendations on scope or red dot    I basically hunt turkey and whitetail, live in southern MN. So it’s all deer/ shotgun    looking to add a scope/ red dot as my eyes don’t work like they used to to with the open sights.    my gun options are 11/87 12. Browning BPS 12    not looking for the most expensive or the cheapest    pros and cons of one over the other
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