Turkey Loads

[popeshawnpaul]

I haven't turkey hunted in about 5 years now and feel a little outdated.  I still got a nice turkey choke for my Beretta A390.  It only takes 3" shells max so I wanted to see what you guys are using for loads these days.  Seems like back in the day I used some Federal turkey loads in about #4 size.  I also used some that had variable sized shot from like #2-#4's. 

What is the popular turkey load today?  What are you guys going to be using?

[brewzer13]

 I shoot the same Beretta and use Winchester Supreme turkey loads 3", #5 shot. I have also used my old Sportsmans 12 ga pump with the same loads but in 2 3/4". All of the guys I hunt with shoot different guns and loads from 2 3/4 to 3 1/2 magnum and anything from # 4 to #6 loads. Its just a matter of what you feel comfortable with and how each type patterns with your gun.

[jackelope]

i am shooting federal premium 2oz. #6 or #5 3" mag turkey loads through a carlsons .665 tube. not the fancy high priced stuff, just regular old federal premiums. $15-20 a box of 10.
i won't spend the money to buy the heavy shot or any of that when either of those 2 do the job and then some. i won't shoot past 40 yards.

[BrushChimp]

Hevi-Shot seems to shoot well out of our guns. Mossberg 835 with a JellyHead and Remington 870 Express Magnum with HS Strut Stopper. You might look at the Nitro 4X5X7 shells. I've heard they shoot deadly. Awfully spendy though. Something like $6 a shell. But hey, how shells do you shoot at a turkey per year. Once? Twice if you kill two? My dad took a tom at 53 yards last year using the 870. He said he thought it was more like 35 yards. Boy was he wrong, lol.

I haven't had a lot of luck with federal shells. They seems to have very cheaply made wads that you can pertin' near see through. One or two sides of the wads seems to always blow out sideways.

Good luck picking a shell. I'm sure whatever you choose you'll be in good shape.

[Intruder]

I would guess that 3" 1.5oz. #6 Hevishot will throw great patterns to 45 yards w/ that choke.  They will have sufficient energy/penetration to kill to 50 yards.  I'm not sure what's available from them anymore.... the stuff I have is Remington but I don't think they're selling that load anymore. 

In lead try the 3" 1.75oz Winchester Supreme Hi Vel Turkey.  I've shot these in the 3.5" before and they performed excellent for me.  For along time the Win Supreme Hi Vel were the standard at the still target contests.

Lots of opinions on shot size... IMO 6s are really tough to beat regardless of lead/HS.  I tend to go w/ a smaller shot charge but greater velocity.  Seems like the patterns are just as good.   

One thing I'm a lil skeptical about are some of the loads that are designed w/ the wads that shoot super tight patterns.  I've been w/ a couple friends when we've patterned em and they're great out past 30-35 yards but they are really really tight in under 25... bout the size of a grapefruit at 15.  I kill the vast majority of birds under 25 yards so I don't really want to sacrifice pattern in that zone for the 10% chance of killing 1 beyond 40.

[Bofire]

Dont underrate the 2.75 loads. Last year I took my Tom at 41 long steps, with a buffered magnum load of #6, 2.75 inch shell. Patterns great in my 11-87, 9-12 pellets in a head silloette consistantly. They are high velocity too.

Leaving saturday for a week, YEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAWWW!!!
Carl

[popeshawnpaul]

That's an interesting point Intruder.  I've always hemmed and hawwed between using a 3" shell with 2 oz of lead and a smaller slower velocity or a 1.75 oz shot with more powder and higher velocity.  I always went with the 2 oz as I figured more lead is better.  Anyone think that velocity is more important and we should go with 1.75 oz charges?

Because I would go with lower velocity 2 oz shells, I would use #4's because I thought they would carry more down range punch.  I was good out to about 50 yards with my turkey choke and that setup.  Anyone have a convincing argument that less shot and more velocity is better?

[GoldTip]

I shoot a benelli super black eagle with super full turkey choke.  Use Hevi shot shells, #4's.  Would not hesitate to take a 50 yard shot, and 60 is not truly out of range with that set-up, it patterns well at that distance with those loads.

[Intruder]

I'd suggest just patterning a few loads.  I've seen guns shoot 4s great and other that suck.  More shot charge doesn't always translate into a better pattern either.  It's really amazing how different guns shot different patterns.  I shoot a Moss 835 w/ a Carlson tube and have killed birds to 45 yards w/ lead 6s at 1300 fps.  My gun doesn't like 4's at all. 

Again.... I see alot of people focusing on the extreme end of the game (40+) without taking into consideration the 90th percentile.  Not slammin anyone here but 50 and 60 yard shots just seem extreme to me.  Not from a ballistic standpoint but just from a hunting perspective...  It just doesn't seem that necessary, especially if you have to sacrifice any on the more typical 15-25 yard shot.  When you consider Kenny Morgan, who's killed literally hundreds of turkeys, uses a single shot .410 a lot of the time it makes ya wonder about all the chokes/loads    

Call em close... shoot em in the head.   

[Coasthunterjay]

I'd suggest just patterning a few loads.  I've seen guns shoot 4s great and other that suck.  More shot charge doesn't always translate into a better pattern either.    

Agreed. i have a friend that shot 2 and 3/4 loads that are weak sauce but work great for his gun...for some reason they shoot differently than most the other loads....

But this is only one extreme.

I would take intruders advice, try several different loads. tryshooting at close range and then at a farther range and shoot a few shells and then run a cloth through your gun....

I like to shoot my last groups pf whatever I'm shooting, with a clean gun....your going to hunt with a clean gun, might as well test with one....just my philosophy

[Bofire]

I also agree you have to shoot the loads.
My shot gun shoots a better pattern with 2.75 shells at 40 yards. I tried 5 different loads of 3.5 inch at 20 yards they were ok, at 40 they sucked, sometimes no hole in the paper plate at all. 3 inch some worked real well some not,
The buffering seems to make a lot of difference.
I wanted to use the 2.75 last year as I had a spine fusion done in my neck.
Last year some magazine writer guy, tested a bunch of loads and he came to the conclusion that the 3.5 inch loads were to much for a 12 bore, the pellets were so deformed that 40 yard patterns sucked.

I put up 3 paper plate with a turkey head on them, with a standard full choke at 20 yards the plates were obliterated, at 40 yards, 9-12 pellets in the head neck three times in a row. this was using the #6 shot, bufferd mag. 2.75 inch load, they are about 200 feet a second faster than 3 or 3.5 inch, as I remember.
Carl

[GoldTip]

I would fully agree with all thats said above.  You have to pattern the shells or they may not be good in your gun.  My gun and choke shot number 6's and 5's all over the place, they were not bad at 20 yards, but maybe didn't even get a pellet in the head neck target at 40 yards.   Remember, I never said I took a 50 or a 60 yard shot at a turkey, but I've patterned my gun and know that I could if that was needed.

[Coasthunterjay]

Play with chokes also. i havent fdone alot with chokes, but  here getting the right choke can make things a 100% better

[BLUEBULLS]

I've always been a big fan of Kent 2 3/4"  1 1/2" 4 shot. grab some left overs from pheasant hunting and you're set. I've never seen a turkey live through them and I've killed several with them. Although I wouldn't take a long shot. they're only 7 or 8 bucks for 25 but when you'll only use maybe a couple a year I guess that's not an issue.

[Jerbear]

Shawn
What has been said by everone on this thread, you can bank on.  I have an older 1100 with 30 inch barell, fixed full choke.  I shoot the Winchester extreme turkey loads.  I shoot the 2.75 with #5 shot.  My gun will shoot 3 inch, but for some reason, they are not as accurate as the 2.75.  Try the different lengths.  The new Federal shot shells with  their new shot cup is supposed to keep the shot tighter for longer distance.  You never know.
On another subject, I would like to advise you that when Moses came down from the mountain, he had more that ten commandments.  This is a little known fact.  Anyway because those things were so heavy, he got to going too fast, lost his balance and fell.  Well needless to say, a lot of the commandments broke.  The ten that survived were the hardest ones to keep but it can be done.  However, commandment number 17 broke but is still on record.  It stated, "Thou shall not put ketchup on wild turkey".  Just thought you should be forewarned.
Jerbear 

[popeshawnpaul]

Hmm, what if I grind it and make turkey burger?  I'm sure they didn't have turkey burgers back then...so we don't know how Moses thought about ketchup right?  Come to think of it, was there even ketchup back then?

[Slider]

Pope I'm using Remington Premier Hevi-Shot Magnum's in 3 inch #4 shot. I'm shootin a Winchester 101 20 gauge Full/Full. The last one I shot was at 41 yards and it floored him!!!

[Bofire]

Pope! Ya cant apply "lawyer logic" to a commandant, dang it!
There is a rule, no ketchup on Turkey! Taco sauce is ok but no catsup dang it.
 
Carl

[jackelope]

i've never killed a turkey past 22 yards. i think shooting them at 45-50 yards takes the fun out of it for me. i would like to take their head off at 15 yards when they are about to open a can of whoopass on my jake deke.

[ICEMAN]

i would like to take their head off at 15 yards when they are about to open a can of whoopass on my jake deke.

 
Gotta love that Whoopass!

[DOUBLELUNG]

Shot size and speed debate, my 2 cents.  Lots of super advice on this thread.

Kinetic energy = 1/2 mass * velocity* velocity.  Since we shoot turkeys in the head and neck (right??!!!!), our needs for inertia are pretty minimal, we only need enough penetration for our pellets to penetrate skin and skull, and/or a minimal amount muscle and skin to reach the neck vertebra.  Beyond that minimal need for inertia (which is positively related to increasing projectile size), we want to maximize velocity and not mass of the pellets, since there is a linear relationship between energy and mass, while energy increases with the SQUARE of the velocity.  In English, we only need enough pellet size to penetrate to the central nervous system, after that we want the fastest pellet possible. 

Within these constraints, we want as many pellets as possible hitting that head and neck, so patterning your shotgun is critical.  Under 50 yards, any load with #6 or larger, lead or heavier shot; that consistently puts 6 or more pellets on the brain and vertebra of a turkey head and neck silhouette target (hint: buy one and copy it!  you can find downloads online too), has adequate killing power.  I recommend holding shots under 50 yards, pattern density of the larger pellets is too low, and velocity declines too much with the smaller pellets for adequate inertia or energy.  Yes, unethical hunters get lucky out to 80 yards and beyond, but ethical hunters only take high percentage shots. 

My favored load is a 2 3/4", 1 5/8oz, max. dram equivalent Remington duplex 4x6.  I don't know if they make this one anymore, after I did extensive pattern testing in 1990, with the same full-choked Winchester 12-gauge pump, I bought a large supply.  Over the past 18 seasons, I have fired around 20 shells.  I have missed once (Mexican stand-off over a hogback ridgetop in Nebraska late 1990s, shot at his head when he flushed, under 10 yards), and had one bird that required two shots (38 paces, he jumped up and flew, lots of little neck feathers at the shot site, I found him badly hurt about 400 yards away after an anxious 2 hour search.  I shot his face off at about 10 feet, he had numerous pellet holes in his neck (13 I think), none of which damaged the spine - the pattern gods frowned). 

I hold myself to 40 yards, even though pattern density was adequate to 55 yards (6+ pellets on target), most of those were #6 pellets that I worry about KE at that range.  At 60 yards, that drops to 0-1 on target. 

My bottom line: the fastest, smallest pellets, down to size 6, that pattern well, and shots held to under 40 yards.  That has not been a hardship, most birds I've killed were under 25 yards before everything came together.

One last observation: I killed a bird in Wyoming with OVER 40 #5 lead pellets in his body, yellow/purple and HEALING.  Amazing that bird was still alive, much less gobbling and breeding.  I'm sure whoever shot him first, still wonders how he got up and flew away.  DON'T BODY SHOOT!

Good luck to everyone!

[alan]

 
 i use kent 3 inch 5 shot, was plenty at fourty yards, bird didnt even kick, also got a super full choke

[Jekemi]

For what it's worth; I pale in comparison to the experts who have been hunting turkeys and reloading shotgun loads for 20+ years. However, I have been hunting turkeys for 4 years, first with a Remington 870 and now with a Weatherby SA08 semi-auto (I love this gun).

I have used Federal 3", 1 7/8 oz. #5 shot from the beginning and I've gotten a turkey every year. People spend so much time worrying about, "Do I have the right gun, am I using the right load, am I wearing the right camo, blah, blah, blah?" 

My secret to success in Turkey hunting is simple: Get access to private land where you know there are turkeys and follow them all day if you have to. Be quiet, learn a few simple calls to bring em close, and shoot them within 20 yards in the head. That's all there is to it. If you stray from this formula your success rate will plummet.