bamaranger
New member
I have stated on these pages on more than one occassion that I had a lifetime supply of a lead shot turkey shells that were working very well for me, and despite recent advances, did not foresee changing. But when the local Wally World marked the new Win Longbeard XR shells (also lead) down to $13.00 a box, I bought some. I had heard and read enough positive reports, I had to see for myself. All shooting was done with 3" shells. The load was 1-3/4 oz #5 (1200 fps advertised) . I will not go into the description and make up, but here's what I did.
And, I had some records and data to compare. For nearly 30 yrs, I have shot the same targets, at the same distances, with a variety of shotguns and ammo to see if they were good gobbler getters. The target is a plain old 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of copy paper, with a vertical/rectangular center, roughly 2" x 9" to represent a gobblers head/neck.
For this shell, I used two different shotguns. A Moss 835 with 24" bbl, .676 choke, after market Colonial Arms extended turkey tube, said to be the equivalent of the old "StarDot Tube", the alleged holy grail of tubes for the 835 Moss. The Mossberg has aftermarket fiber optic front and rear sights, I think by Williams.
Gun two is my cherished Rem 870 w/ a 20" slug barrel, factory rifle sights, and a Rem "turkey super full" tube" the one with the knurling on the end. I do not know its constriction. The old Rem has laid low many a gobbler.
Both of these guns were similar in performance with my current favorite W-W Supreme shell, 3 inch 1-3/4 oz of #5 shot (lead). On my home grown target, at 30 yds (this is my average shot, thus the choice) best patterns from both guns would land appx 180 pellets on the page, with appx 70 pellets in the vertical centered "kill zone". I write that performance down as 70/180 in my notations. Let me add that the best numbers ever posted by the Remington 870 was with the now discontinued 3" Active shell, 2-1/4 oz (not a typo) of #6 shot. That load yielded 70/220. But the old Activ's were slow from my stubby Remington, and at 40 yds plus, though heavily peppered, many of my tom' needed "stomped". (we can handle this, right?)
So, I figured that 200 pellets on the page would be a reasonable goal, measured up, posted targets, and had at it. I fired 5 rounds from each gun. I was not disappointed. Both the Mossberg and the Remington showed distinctly denser and higher pellet count results with the Longbeard ammo. The Moss 835 came in at 80/204, and the Rem 870 at an incredible 109/213. That performance, numbers wise, slightly exceeds the results I was getting years ago, with ACTIV 2-1/4 oz of # SIX SHOT, likely running 1000 fps. (slow!!)
Longbeard exceeds its stable mate, the Supreme 1-3/40z #5, from my guns, by about 10% overall. And the difference in center density is VERY distinct. From my turkey choked guns, you are working, at 30 yds, with a killing pattern running from 9"to 12 inches. Everything else is fringe. I talking DENSE centers. So this word of caution...if you take these shells hunting, by all means, pattern ahead of time. By all means, have some type of adjustable sights on your gun, or an optic, that can center this deadly cloud at your aiming point. This stuff shoots tight enough that you can miss!!!! Especially if your bead sighted gun does not quite shoot to point of aim (and many do not). Both of my guns have the rear sights adjusted right (mossberg) and left (remington) to center the payloads, ....with any shell.
And so I took the Rem hunting this morning stoked with XR shells. I have been bedeviled by a pair of gobblers on my lease that I named "The Twins". I have listened to them gobble since before the season, and seen them on several occassions, passed up marginal shots. I got hung up on this pair, and vowed I would take one, and spent 22 mornings in their neighborhood ( and took two of their brethern in the process. Always henned up, reluctant to come to call, absolutely would not go where they could not see first, they'd been giving me fits. Today, I caught them without hens, from a new direction, on a ridge point that I had not heard them from before...and they tiptoed in. At 32 paces I laced the first one that gave me a clear shot, with dramatic results. Peppered to say the least, with feathers cast everywhere, one of the Twins is done for.
Try the XR's, do your homework, and I think you'll be well pleased.
And, I had some records and data to compare. For nearly 30 yrs, I have shot the same targets, at the same distances, with a variety of shotguns and ammo to see if they were good gobbler getters. The target is a plain old 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of copy paper, with a vertical/rectangular center, roughly 2" x 9" to represent a gobblers head/neck.
For this shell, I used two different shotguns. A Moss 835 with 24" bbl, .676 choke, after market Colonial Arms extended turkey tube, said to be the equivalent of the old "StarDot Tube", the alleged holy grail of tubes for the 835 Moss. The Mossberg has aftermarket fiber optic front and rear sights, I think by Williams.
Gun two is my cherished Rem 870 w/ a 20" slug barrel, factory rifle sights, and a Rem "turkey super full" tube" the one with the knurling on the end. I do not know its constriction. The old Rem has laid low many a gobbler.
Both of these guns were similar in performance with my current favorite W-W Supreme shell, 3 inch 1-3/4 oz of #5 shot (lead). On my home grown target, at 30 yds (this is my average shot, thus the choice) best patterns from both guns would land appx 180 pellets on the page, with appx 70 pellets in the vertical centered "kill zone". I write that performance down as 70/180 in my notations. Let me add that the best numbers ever posted by the Remington 870 was with the now discontinued 3" Active shell, 2-1/4 oz (not a typo) of #6 shot. That load yielded 70/220. But the old Activ's were slow from my stubby Remington, and at 40 yds plus, though heavily peppered, many of my tom' needed "stomped". (we can handle this, right?)
So, I figured that 200 pellets on the page would be a reasonable goal, measured up, posted targets, and had at it. I fired 5 rounds from each gun. I was not disappointed. Both the Mossberg and the Remington showed distinctly denser and higher pellet count results with the Longbeard ammo. The Moss 835 came in at 80/204, and the Rem 870 at an incredible 109/213. That performance, numbers wise, slightly exceeds the results I was getting years ago, with ACTIV 2-1/4 oz of # SIX SHOT, likely running 1000 fps. (slow!!)
Longbeard exceeds its stable mate, the Supreme 1-3/40z #5, from my guns, by about 10% overall. And the difference in center density is VERY distinct. From my turkey choked guns, you are working, at 30 yds, with a killing pattern running from 9"to 12 inches. Everything else is fringe. I talking DENSE centers. So this word of caution...if you take these shells hunting, by all means, pattern ahead of time. By all means, have some type of adjustable sights on your gun, or an optic, that can center this deadly cloud at your aiming point. This stuff shoots tight enough that you can miss!!!! Especially if your bead sighted gun does not quite shoot to point of aim (and many do not). Both of my guns have the rear sights adjusted right (mossberg) and left (remington) to center the payloads, ....with any shell.
And so I took the Rem hunting this morning stoked with XR shells. I have been bedeviled by a pair of gobblers on my lease that I named "The Twins". I have listened to them gobble since before the season, and seen them on several occassions, passed up marginal shots. I got hung up on this pair, and vowed I would take one, and spent 22 mornings in their neighborhood ( and took two of their brethern in the process. Always henned up, reluctant to come to call, absolutely would not go where they could not see first, they'd been giving me fits. Today, I caught them without hens, from a new direction, on a ridge point that I had not heard them from before...and they tiptoed in. At 32 paces I laced the first one that gave me a clear shot, with dramatic results. Peppered to say the least, with feathers cast everywhere, one of the Twins is done for.
Try the XR's, do your homework, and I think you'll be well pleased.
