The Best Turkey Load

Squadron303 said:
...pattern with your shotgun and see which works best with your gun/choke.
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I agree 100% on patterning as each gun/choke will have a favourite. The "Premium" Turkey loads are great but can be costly, esp when patterning your gun.

For both my 11-87 with an Undertaker Xtrafull choke, and my 870 with a Remington superfull choke, the Remington 4x6 Duplex provided the best pattern and knockdown, and 14+ turkeys have not disagreed. Problem is, Remington discontinued that load. Prairieshot (Canadian made) now has a 4x6 Duplex load, named "Thunderstrut", which my local dealer is planning to bring in, it is the only Duplex Turkey load that I have found after Remington discontinued theirs.
I will be patterning in March as a substitute. Setup a paper target on a board at 25yds and shoot a box / count pellets.

http://www.prairieshotammo.com/products.html

Cheers
 
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The LongBeard stuff is great.If you are in Ont then new regs allow for # 7 shot.The Federal Heavyweight Turkey #7 with flight control wadding looks to be good option, assuming it will be available.Potentially more pellets on target and claim to still have good knockdown power at longer ranges.
 
Try a few. If you're using a lightweight shotgun, the magnum loads are very unpleasant to shoot. I know....You only shoot once. But patterning is a drag with a 6lb shotgun shooting 3" magnum loads. You don't want to flinch while pulling the trigger on a Tom at 35 yards, you'll feel crappy when it runs off injured.
My buddy pooped a nice tom last season at 25yards with a 3" 20 gauge. Quieter, less recoil and a very dead bird. Buy what patterns well and what you're confident with. Happy hunting!
 
My favorite load is 2-3/4". 7/8 oz #6 chilled lead wrapped in a Grey claybuster wad sitting over approximately 19.9 grs of 700x. I get 1400 fps. This is my load it may not be safe in your gun. However 7/8 oz loads work perfect in every shotgun I have. No need to pound the piss out of yourself. Just pattern your load and know it's limitations and hunt within them
Just remember shooting trap is like shooting a similar sized target. A turkeys head. A common full choke and an ounce of lead at 1200 fps do just fine. Just make sure your loads are of legal pellet size

When I use my ten ga sxs I use 3.5" 2-1/4 oz loads. #4 in one barrel #6 in the other just for kicks
 
When I patterned my 12 last year (gone now), i tried a few different loads out to 35 yards. The Remington nitro 3" with 2 oz in it worked best in my gun at the time. Coincidentally, I only own 16 gauges right now and am selling the leftover 12 gauge shells I own (44 in all), pm me if interested.
 
Winchester Long Beard #6's... 3.5" if you have the chamber for it... 3" if you don't. Of the three dozen or so gobblers I have shot, I think that extra half inch only helped once.
 
ninepointer said:
That's crazy talk! ;)
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Hahahaha!


I know I was being a bit of a smartass and I hope no one took offense. But there is a bit of a point. Hoyt just reminded me of it.

I have never taken a turkey with anything more than a 2 3/4" 12 or 16 gauge shell or more than a load of 1 1/4" ounce. I have never wounded a bird and lost it. My occasional friend and turkey hunting professional here, Adrian Hare, hunts primarily with a 20 gauge. It's about choke, patterning, range and waiting for the right shot.

I don't have a 3" gun, never mind a 3 1/2" but Hoyt makes a good point....despite having the availability of the 3 1/2" load, he's rarely needed it. I would guess Hoyt knows what he is talking about.

Take the gun you have, find a load that patterns well within a prescribed range, learn to judge that range accurately in the field and shoot within those limits. Bang! Bird falls over dead.
 
canvasback said:
Hahahaha!


I know I was being a bit of a smartass and I hope no one took offense. But there is a bit of a point. Hoyt just reminded me of it.

I have never taken a turkey with anything more than a 2 3/4" 12 or 16 gauge shell or more than a load of 1 1/4" ounce. I have never wounded a bird and lost it. My occasional friend and turkey hunting professional here, Adrian Hare, hunts primarily with a 20 gauge. It's about choke, patterning, range and waiting for the right shot.

I don't have a 3" gun, never mind a 3 1/2" but Hoyt makes a good point....despite having the availability of the 3 1/2" load, he's rarely needed it. I would guess Hoyt knows what he is talking about.

Take the gun you have, find a load that patterns well within a prescribed range, learn to judge that range accurately in the field and shoot within those limits. Bang! Bird falls over dead.
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After doing some patterning last year with 3" factory turkey loads and my own 2 3/4" reloads, I came to the conclusion that I've been unnecessarily giving up some of my income to Remington and Cabela's (no dishonor intended to those fine businesses). In fact, my biggest turkey killing problem so far has been when I've let them get in too close and I've sent a golf ball sized swarm of Premium 3" Extra Long Range Gobbler Annihilator right past a tom's head :redface:
 
The best 2-3/4" & 3" loads I have patterned are Winchester Super X - Double XX ... the ones with "grex" filler & copper washed shot.

But as recommended ... DO PATTERN YOUR LOADS with the choke you intend to use. Not all $$ aftermarket turkey chokes produce the kinds of patterns they advertise !!!
 
The Federal flight controll wads shells are a great place to start. Thy work well in most guns.a do thy work very well in guns with fixed chokes
 
I would recommend trying some high density shot. Yhey pattern tightly like steel,but have higher density. Best of both worlds.
 
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