tsreeves831
Inactive
Been hunting my whole life and I'm finally getting to go after my first gobbler! Just want to get yalls opinion on ammo. What do you guys consider the ideal turkey load?
First turkey hunt!!
- Thread starter tsreeves831
- Start date
Depends on your intended range (i.e. calling ability) and your choke. Lots of turkey hunters are going to the heavy shot/tungsten loads these days trying to gain a few extra yards of shooting distance.
The absolute most important thing you can do is to pattern your gun with the intended choke installed. There are probably more shotguns out there that don't shoot to point-of-aim than do. Knowing where the center of your pattern is gets you that much closer to hitting the bird as opposed to missing him.
The absolute most important thing you can do is to pattern your gun with the intended choke installed. There are probably more shotguns out there that don't shoot to point-of-aim than do. Knowing where the center of your pattern is gets you that much closer to hitting the bird as opposed to missing him.
i have had good results with the fed flight controll wad shells and the new win long beard shells. i pattern my turkey shotguns at 30yds and try to limit my shots to that range. at 30-35 yrs your patterns should be dense enough to kill any turkey out there. that said i would also shot a few shells at 40yds and 50 yrds just to show how quickly your patters open up. my win 1300 turkey shotgun likes a tight choke .640, but my rem likes a more open choke .650-.660. i do have 2.5x leupold scopes on my shotguns, not for range but to be able to center my pattern on the turkeys neck and head. one more thing, please take a orange cloth along and tac to the tree or brush you are going to call from, hunt safe. eastbank turkey hunting since old enough and have harvested over 50 birds.
The deadliest turkey load I've ever seen or heard of was the #8 dove load my ailing grandfather killed 8 with... in one shot!
It was a fall hunt, and as he was ill with pancreatic cancer we set him up as a "blocker" and the rest of the group did a drive to push the birds along a wooded creek to him .... they came down a game trail in a line, right towards him ..... full choked 12 guage with a light dove load at about 20-25 yards..... all permits filled.
Seriously: if you hit them in the head and neck, they are pretty easy to kill. If you put your pattern center mass, they are darn had to kill. I've seen them get nailed in mid-air with multiple shots and keep right on flying .... my brother and I kicked one up and hit him 5 times (two were #6 remigton game loads and 3 were premium "Prairie Storm" somethingorother my brother was shooting) as he was flying directly away from us .... he glided 1/4 mile down to a creek bottom and we recovered him, still alive with both legs broken in several places and his innards shot to pieces -he was a mess to clean.
It's a shotgun: pattern it. Whichever load and choke gives you a good, dense pattern at the range you want to shoot, then that's the load.
I think the "which load" question is probably overthought...... spend more time learning to call, looking over maps, scouting, learning your quarry's habits, leaning to camoflage yourself and your gear, and most importantly: leaning and putting into practice the fine art of sitting still.... granted it's easier to go to the store and buy something than it is to do those things, but those things are going to have much more bearing on your success than what color of box the shotgun shells came in!
It was a fall hunt, and as he was ill with pancreatic cancer we set him up as a "blocker" and the rest of the group did a drive to push the birds along a wooded creek to him .... they came down a game trail in a line, right towards him ..... full choked 12 guage with a light dove load at about 20-25 yards..... all permits filled.
Seriously: if you hit them in the head and neck, they are pretty easy to kill. If you put your pattern center mass, they are darn had to kill. I've seen them get nailed in mid-air with multiple shots and keep right on flying .... my brother and I kicked one up and hit him 5 times (two were #6 remigton game loads and 3 were premium "Prairie Storm" somethingorother my brother was shooting) as he was flying directly away from us .... he glided 1/4 mile down to a creek bottom and we recovered him, still alive with both legs broken in several places and his innards shot to pieces -he was a mess to clean.
It's a shotgun: pattern it. Whichever load and choke gives you a good, dense pattern at the range you want to shoot, then that's the load.
I think the "which load" question is probably overthought...... spend more time learning to call, looking over maps, scouting, learning your quarry's habits, leaning to camoflage yourself and your gear, and most importantly: leaning and putting into practice the fine art of sitting still.... granted it's easier to go to the store and buy something than it is to do those things, but those things are going to have much more bearing on your success than what color of box the shotgun shells came in!
Even though it's a shotgun, when turkey hunting it's fired like a rifle, so pattern it and make sure your point of aim corresponds with your point of impact.
I have had excellent results with Winchester 12 ga 3" 2 oz #4 lead turkey loads. Out to 40 yards it's as deadly as anything else. Past that it's time for a heavier than lead load.
http://www.winchester.com/Products/shotshell-ammunition/Advanced/Double-X/Pages/X123MXCT4.aspx
I have had excellent results with Winchester 12 ga 3" 2 oz #4 lead turkey loads. Out to 40 yards it's as deadly as anything else. Past that it's time for a heavier than lead load.
http://www.winchester.com/Products/shotshell-ammunition/Advanced/Double-X/Pages/X123MXCT4.aspx
Coppershot
New member
I assume you are spring hunting, not fall. After deploying a lot of 3 inch 12 ga. loads with two ounces of #5's and a pretty full choke I one day pondered the fact that in seven out of the last eight fall kills the bird was within 25 yards. On a Beretta O/U i was constantly switching from the full barrel to the modified barrel because the bird was so close. (Yes, I can call) 
I now use an improved modified choke with a 2 3/4 inch magnum shell loaded with 1.5 ounces of copper #5's. (Winchester or Fiocchi). I do like copper #5's---mean in a blind. I am shooting these in guns with 3 inch chambers; plenty of velocity, good patterns.
I would caution you against really heavy shot loads in very tight chokes. They frequently do not pattern well. In any case, you should pattern several copper or nickel plated #5 loads and see what works best. If you find a gun that shoots #4's well, that is great, but good luck finding that gun. I also use a Merkel S x S choked LM / IM with the same load. Practice your calling after you have a good load patterned.
I now use an improved modified choke with a 2 3/4 inch magnum shell loaded with 1.5 ounces of copper #5's. (Winchester or Fiocchi). I do like copper #5's---mean in a blind. I am shooting these in guns with 3 inch chambers; plenty of velocity, good patterns.
I would caution you against really heavy shot loads in very tight chokes. They frequently do not pattern well. In any case, you should pattern several copper or nickel plated #5 loads and see what works best. If you find a gun that shoots #4's well, that is great, but good luck finding that gun. I also use a Merkel S x S choked LM / IM with the same load. Practice your calling after you have a good load patterned.
Coppershot
New member
@JMR40
I agree that there are lots of options for adequate loads, and once you have one that works well in your gun, it is more important to concentrate on strategy and concealment. For instance, keep your calling to a minimum. That gobbler will hear you, and locate you, if he is there. Also, remember: turkeys do not like to walk downhill (and usually won't).
I see Natman has a Winchester that handles #4's well; might want to hang onto that musket.
Having said the above, turkey hunters never tire of discussing loads, chokes and shot size / type.
I agree that there are lots of options for adequate loads, and once you have one that works well in your gun, it is more important to concentrate on strategy and concealment. For instance, keep your calling to a minimum. That gobbler will hear you, and locate you, if he is there. Also, remember: turkeys do not like to walk downhill (and usually won't).
I see Natman has a Winchester that handles #4's well; might want to hang onto that musket.
Having said the above, turkey hunters never tire of discussing loads, chokes and shot size / type.
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In all my years of turkey hunting, I can only recall on instance when a bird hung up just outside where I was willing to shoot and I wished I had just a bit more range ..... I've missed more birds because they were close and my pattern too tight.
The single biggest reason for not bagging birds that I have seen has been, especially hunting them in the fall, inexperienced hunters (my self included, when I first started) shooting at running or flying birds, and not hitting them in head/neck. I've seen them rolled multiple times, feathers flying everywhere only to have them jump up and take off again.....
The single biggest reason for not bagging birds that I have seen has been, especially hunting them in the fall, inexperienced hunters (my self included, when I first started) shooting at running or flying birds, and not hitting them in head/neck. I've seen them rolled multiple times, feathers flying everywhere only to have them jump up and take off again.....
Winchester long beard xr 3" 5 shot
This load patterns better than anything I've ever shot except heavy shot. It is all I will use or recommend. The one thing I will say about it that is bad is if they get too close it wouldn't be hard to miss one. I've tried it in a few different chokes and for my mossberg 835 it likes my .680 kicks gobbling thunder the best.
This load patterns better than anything I've ever shot except heavy shot. It is all I will use or recommend. The one thing I will say about it that is bad is if they get too close it wouldn't be hard to miss one. I've tried it in a few different chokes and for my mossberg 835 it likes my .680 kicks gobbling thunder the best.
stonewall50
New member
Heavy shot 3 inch 12 gauge. I'd have to look in my vest, but I think it is ounce and a quarter or once and 3/8. They don't make the specific she'll, but we actually melted wax on the end to keep it sealed. Never had a bird fly or run off when I pull the trigger. The stuff is nasty. I got 4 left.
Good advice. Lonely females don't usually sit around yelping continuously, although I have seen it happen once when a pair came close from the side but the tom saw me and departed. She couldn't figure out where he'd gone and carried on yelping for 20 minutes straight. In general you need to remember that the more you call, the
better the chance the tom will detect that you're not really a hen.
So all you have to do is sit at the top of a hill and wait for all the turkeys to end up there?
Actually I have a Mossberg that likes Winchester 2oz #4s and don't worry I have no plans to get rid of it.
Here's a study by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation that shows that this particular load is one of the top lead loads available and that it patterns very well.
You've got that right!
Coppershot
New member
Thank you for the Oklahoma study. I'll get my hands on some Winchester 2 oz # 4's and see what they do. I like #4's so if they pattern well, it's a go. That load would be nice to have when the shot presents outside 25 yards.
2damnold4this
New member
I'm thinking of hunting with a .45 caliber cap lock muzzle loader this year. I'm thinking a .440 round ball over 60 grains of fffg.
stonewall50
New member
SA 459 20 gauge at 40 yards. Tru lock turkey full (heavyweight number 7 shot). 169 pellets in a 10 inch circle.
Dad just got the gun cause he wants something small and light for Florida hunting.
stonewall50
New member
They make muzzleloading shotguns. Haven't seen a turkey killed with one yet, but my dad murdered a few wood ducks and ring necks with one.
bamaranger
New member
can't resist
I've got to make some comments. OP's question was on "ammo" so I'll start there. In hand with that is the "gun" component. Turkey guns and turkey loads have come a long way since I toted my Grandad's ancient (1921) Savage pump on my first turkey hunt. Grandad's gun was a 12 ga, standard 2-3/4 in chamber, with a fixed, full choke barrel, which by todays standards was actually a pretty loose shooting gobbler getter. And it was way too long and a tad heavy with its 28" full vent rib barrel. The old gun did kill turkeys effectively though, with its standard 12 ga 1-1/4 oz of #6 shot, as long as one was working at about 30-35 yds or less. I believe the standard 12ga is still the benchmark and minimally a "full" choke, and ideally one of the turkey full chokes is best.
Specific load arguments abound, but I will suggest minimally a 12 ga standard load throwing about 1-1/2 oz of lead shot as as light as one should go. The "short magnum 1-1/2 oz loads are better. Ideally, the 3"-12ga shell with 1-5/8 up to 2 oz of lead is about as heavy as you need. Yes, you can easily kill a goblbler with less, when everything goes as it should. But when things go less than ideal, a bit more lead and velocity are a good thing. A poorly mounted gun from an awkard position, a thin screen of brush , a juke from the bird at the last split second, a nervy hunter, poor range estimation, can result in a less than ideal shot. Then a bit "more" gun can be appreciated.
The 3.5" 12 ga guns are more,and so is the 10 ga, but I don't think you need them. And the alloy 3.5 pumps by Mossberg, affordable and popular, are vicious kickers. We shoot our Moss 835 with 3" shells, its tolerable, and yields very dead turkeys. The 10 ga in about every version I've ever handled, are heavy, and a pain to run from ridge to ridge with on a wandering bird.
The arguments over shot size are plentiful. I personally think #4 patterns are a bit sparse, at least in all my guns. Most guns shoot #6 well, as there are a good many more pellets per ounce, but you give up some pellet weight and consequently penetration with the smaller shot. That can make a difference on a bird where you botch the range estimation and shoot a bit further than you planned. After shooting #6 shot for a long time, I've settled on lead #5 as the compromise, and have not been disappointed.
I've avoided any conversation on tungsten/hevishot loads as I have no experience with them. At decent turkey ranges, lead kills for me and it's affordable. I ran into a racehorse deal on W-W 12 ga, 3 inch, 1-3/4 , #5 shot a few years back at Wally World ($5 a box) and bought 50 rds or more, and have killed near all my gobblers with that since. My guns shoot that load into patterns as dense as 2 oz loads of #6 shot, so I give up no pattern density, and gain a tad more penetration and bone breaking ability. Till I shoot up what I have, which has been very effective for me, I likely will not switch up.
Put some type of sights on your turkey gun, as all this talk of loads if pointless if the pattern does not land at our point of aim!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The ability to tweak the pattern as necessary with adjustable sights, to have it land where you sent it is important.
I've got to make some comments. OP's question was on "ammo" so I'll start there. In hand with that is the "gun" component. Turkey guns and turkey loads have come a long way since I toted my Grandad's ancient (1921) Savage pump on my first turkey hunt. Grandad's gun was a 12 ga, standard 2-3/4 in chamber, with a fixed, full choke barrel, which by todays standards was actually a pretty loose shooting gobbler getter. And it was way too long and a tad heavy with its 28" full vent rib barrel. The old gun did kill turkeys effectively though, with its standard 12 ga 1-1/4 oz of #6 shot, as long as one was working at about 30-35 yds or less. I believe the standard 12ga is still the benchmark and minimally a "full" choke, and ideally one of the turkey full chokes is best.
Specific load arguments abound, but I will suggest minimally a 12 ga standard load throwing about 1-1/2 oz of lead shot as as light as one should go. The "short magnum 1-1/2 oz loads are better. Ideally, the 3"-12ga shell with 1-5/8 up to 2 oz of lead is about as heavy as you need. Yes, you can easily kill a goblbler with less, when everything goes as it should. But when things go less than ideal, a bit more lead and velocity are a good thing. A poorly mounted gun from an awkard position, a thin screen of brush , a juke from the bird at the last split second, a nervy hunter, poor range estimation, can result in a less than ideal shot. Then a bit "more" gun can be appreciated.
The 3.5" 12 ga guns are more,and so is the 10 ga, but I don't think you need them. And the alloy 3.5 pumps by Mossberg, affordable and popular, are vicious kickers. We shoot our Moss 835 with 3" shells, its tolerable, and yields very dead turkeys. The 10 ga in about every version I've ever handled, are heavy, and a pain to run from ridge to ridge with on a wandering bird.
The arguments over shot size are plentiful. I personally think #4 patterns are a bit sparse, at least in all my guns. Most guns shoot #6 well, as there are a good many more pellets per ounce, but you give up some pellet weight and consequently penetration with the smaller shot. That can make a difference on a bird where you botch the range estimation and shoot a bit further than you planned. After shooting #6 shot for a long time, I've settled on lead #5 as the compromise, and have not been disappointed.
I've avoided any conversation on tungsten/hevishot loads as I have no experience with them. At decent turkey ranges, lead kills for me and it's affordable. I ran into a racehorse deal on W-W 12 ga, 3 inch, 1-3/4 , #5 shot a few years back at Wally World ($5 a box) and bought 50 rds or more, and have killed near all my gobblers with that since. My guns shoot that load into patterns as dense as 2 oz loads of #6 shot, so I give up no pattern density, and gain a tad more penetration and bone breaking ability. Till I shoot up what I have, which has been very effective for me, I likely will not switch up.
Put some type of sights on your turkey gun, as all this talk of loads if pointless if the pattern does not land at our point of aim!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The ability to tweak the pattern as necessary with adjustable sights, to have it land where you sent it is important.
Brotherbadger
New member
Find the ammo that patterns best in your shotgun. Don't assume the most expensive will always be the best. I used Winchester XX for years, as well as the federal ammo with flite control. Right now, the Hevi shot magnum blend is my go to. I wouldn't hesitate to go back to either the Winchester or federal in a second.
Also, pattern at several different distances. You want to know what the ammo does at certain ranges.
Also, pattern at several different distances. You want to know what the ammo does at certain ranges.