Turkey loads, pattern tests **Picture heavy**

UR2X3M4ME

UR2X3M4ME

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Readying up for Quebec Turkey season starting April 24th, I did some pattern tests today.

I had high expectations for the Federal Magnum Turkey Loads: a shoulder wrecking 3 1/2 shell magnum loaded with 2 1/4 oz of shots!! So I went out to compare it with 2 other 12 gauge turkey loads. Here are the loads compared and advertised data:

a) Remington Nitro Turkey - 3", 1210 fps, 1 7/8 oz of #5 shots;
b) Hornady Heavy Magnum #5 Turkey - 3", 1300 fps, 1 1/2 oz of #5 shots; and
c) Federal Premium Magnum Turkey Loads - 3 1/2", 1150 fps, 2 1/2 oz of #5 shots.

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25 yards test:

25yd_Rem_NitroTurkey_zpsagby4kkt.jpg


25yd_Hornady_HeavyMagTurkey_zpspfl1favr.jpg


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15 yards test:

15yd_Rem_NitroTurkey_zpsiqqxgqmz.jpg


15yd_Hornady_HeavyMagTurkey_zps6b8sd1ku.jpg


15yd_Fed_MagTurkeyLoad_zpsj98i6xeh.jpg



For reference, the aiming patch is a square inch. The shotgun used is a Benelli Supernova fitted with a 24" barrel and Briley Turkey choke.

From this very basic test, Hornady and Remington gets my vote: They appear to keep a winning concentration of shots at 25 yards. I was willing to abuse my shoulder for the extra shots Federal is advertising but I find they spread way too wide way too soon. All are a sure clean kill at 15 yards.

I would be curious to hear or see of similar tests some of you may have done, what is your favorite load.
 
I'd read up on the Federal load. My experience with flight control wads is they do better in more open chokes. Also, does your choke have a wad stripper? I think that effects the flight control wad too.

Nice patterns otherwise. I'd go with the Hornady based on those patterns. The Remington Nitro patterned well out of my SX3 with a Carlson's turkey choke. My best results ended up being Kent Diamond Turkey though.
 
I tried some of these new 'Long Beard' loads from Winchester - I was impressed. Very tight shot column. This is a 10" circle at a measured 30 meters, 3" shell, #5 shot, from my 24" turkey barrel with turkey-choke:

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That is a beauty of a pattern. My brother bought some of those Longbeards and, we are going to pattern them next weekend. What type of choke sk8r?
 
Cintax said:
That is a beauty of a pattern. My brother bought some of those Longbeards and, we are going to pattern them next weekend. What type of choke sk8r?
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Extended turkey choke - Mossberg # 670 XX, on my Mossy 500.


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It's been a while since I bought turkey loads as I bought a whole bunch of Hevi-Shot loads a long time ago and they lasted me quite a few years and they patterned beautifully. When I was doing a lot of patterning, I always had better luck with 3" shells. Some of the new wad designs don't perform that well with super tight chokes,

Anyhow, I'll be using my bow this year ;)
 
I also tested 3" Rem Nitro Turkey vs. that Federal Heavyweight with 'flight control wad' or whatever they call it a few years ago. Needless to say I have been shooting the Nitro Turkey shell since. My original testing was in a 3.5" 870 with a factory Rem. extended turkey choke, and the results carried over with similar results to my 3" Browning Maxus w/ TruGlo extended turkey choke.

I think it would be worth while to try out the federal shells with some looser chokes. I was happy to put them away and shoot the cheaper Rem. shells.
 
labrador76 said:
I also tested 3" Rem Nitro Turkey vs. that Federal Heavyweight with 'flight control wad' or whatever they call it a few years ago. Needless to say I have been shooting the Nitro Turkey shell since. My original testing was in a 3.5" 870 with a factory Rem. extended turkey choke, and the results carried over with similar results to my 3" Browning Maxus w/ TruGlo extended turkey choke.

I think it would be worth while to try out the federal shells with some looser chokes. I was happy to put them away and shoot the cheaper Rem. shells.
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In general, FliteControl loads won't pattern well out of any choke with wad strippers.

I'd try modified and full chokes with that load and see what you get.
 
Ported chokes can affect the Federal flight control loads. I use them with a non-ported choke and for me they can't be beat. I'll post some pictures on Wednesday.
 
Thanks for the photos. My wife and I are patterning out shotguns on Wednesday. She is using the Remington Nitro Turkey (there is a rebate on the ammo), and I am using the Hornady Heavy Magnum.
 
UR2X3M4ME: In your photos of the 25 yard shots, all I'm seeing is way too much pattern spread. A lot of those pellets would be going into the breast, where you don't want it. Your 15 yard patterns show promise...but still have a lot of gaps and flyers in the pattern spread. SK8R's photo is more what you want. My question is: Is around 25 yards the average range you wish to take your bird? If so, and you are shooting 3-3.5" magnum shells... my friend, you are wasting your money on overpriced "turkey" loads. The fact is, at that range, you can easily kill any turkey with standard 1 1/4 oz., 2 3/4" shotgun shells. In my opinion, a 3" or greater shell is not needed inside 30-40 yards. If at all. In fact, if you are taking potshots at turkey over 40 yards because you can't coax them in any closer...then you are doing something wrong and need to change your hunting technique. A longer shell won't help you there.
Go ahead...call me a "Fudd". Call me a fool. Ignore this advice. That's up to you. But at least try to acknowledge the advice of someone who has been hunting wild turkey successfully for the last 25-plus years.
What you do not need are 1 7/8 oz to 2 1/2 oz loads of shot that are essentially wasted. And recoil that loosens your fillings. What you need is a controlled pattern from your choke that concentrates the maximum number of pellets in the kill zone....the head and neck area. You will not achieve that by cramming more pellets through your choke. Or beating up your shoulder. What you do need is a shot payload that your choke can handle more efficiently...to deliver the killing pattern that you really desire. How much is ideal? That will vary from gun to gun and choke to choke. As mentioned, 1 1/4 oz loads are very good overall. There have likely been more wild turkey killed across North America with standard 1 1/4 oz loads than all others combined. Even 1 1/8 oz shot payloads are capable of taking a bird cleanly, if you do your part. Its been my experience that the super tight "turkey" chokes so popular lately, perform best when fed anywhere from 1 1/4 to 1 5/8 oz shot payloads, in 2 3/4 oz . In the 3" shell: 1 5/8 oz being about ideal, to 1 7/8 oz loads being the maximum. This, in the mandated #4, #5, or #6 shot size. With # 5 or #6 shot being ideal, within 40 yards. So, have fun turkey hunting. I do wish you luck. But don't feel you need to "over gun" yourself to do it.
 
Time to chime in: Thanks all for useful contributions, exactly why I stick around.

hometownhero said:
I think at 25 the hornady looks a little better.
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I'm with you. It is my choice ammo for 15-25 yards. I never shot a turkey past 20 yards, yet if conditions would justify it, I would not hesitate to push another 5 yards. That said Remington Nitro demonstrates to be very good as well at those distances. Can't speak for more, I simply did not go there.

Cintax said:
I'd read up on the Federal load. My experience with flight control wads is they do better in more open chokes. Also, does your choke have a wad stripper? I think that effects the flight control wad too.
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Interesting. My findings made me dig for info and in short, that is what stands out. My Briley choke is not ported and is not a wad stripper - at least it is not advertised as such. I need to verify the flight control wad with less constrictive chokes. From what I read, it is suppose to do magic out of a cylinder choke. At this point, all I know is that my current setup will fix a turkey real good at 15 yards using 3 1/2 shell but it remains a costly overkill at the expense of my shoulder. Not worth the additional expense and abuse.

sk8r said:
I tried some of these new 'Long Beard' loads from Winchester - I was impressed. Very tight shot column. This is a 10" circle at a measured 30 meters, 3" shell, #5 shot, from my 24" turkey barrel with turkey-choke:
Click to expand...

Thanks SK8r, exactly the input I was after. Seems like a winner load as well. I'll try them if I come across some.

Alex McK said:
...
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Hahaha, I love your post Alex and seriously thank you for it.
With all due respect and don't read me wrong, you almost sound as Ol' Elmer and I laughing as I'm writing these lines! That said and in spite of the tutorial tone, you are bang on all the way.

For the records, I get my birds every years and for the love of that hunt, I always harvest them from 10 to 20 yards. I draw great pleasure at bringing them gobblers as close as I can. The fun switch gets pulled only when tired of seeing the toms molesting my decoys.

Background info: Last year, I was blessed by seeing the THE KING of all turkey. So big you would think it was a moose with a feather coat, twice as big as the other toms with 4" beard. Must have been very old, distinctively less colorful (more grey) than usual. And it behaved with the wisdom of an old buck: stood apart from the harem and other toms, slow and cautious, never got closer than 75 yards. Stuck around at that distance for about 10 minutes then I guess he figured our whoring calls were not worthy of his grace as he slowly retreated with some of his court. Two of his cousins were not so lucky... :)

All that to say, the purpose of this post is that I was willing to try some magnum loads in a attempt to see if I could reliably stretch my effective to greater yardage for such rare encounter. As illustrated in opening post, the extra oumpf factor of a 3 1/2 shell and extra pellets were not well served by my current equipment setup, so I felt useless to push testing to greater distance. The results I got and shared are simply telling that I am satisfied with my normal loads (Hornady and Remington) within 25 yards. It is also telling my setup is not right for the fly control wads.

I remain most curious to hear on the experience of fellow shooters, especially if some managed tight patterns at greater distance with their setup. That curiosity (knowing what I can achieve with my equipment) will make me test the Federal magnum loads with looser chokes, but it does not mean it will be my hunting setup. It does not means I wish to give up on hunting skills, it does not mean I am willing to redefine recoil with 3 1/2 shells on a super choked shotgun. While I can stand it, the abuse is not fun for me.

Again, thank you all for the excellent post. Don't be shy, share your pattern results and the equipment used to achieve it. It's good info for all.
 
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Having shot 3.5" turkey loads for as long as they have been available I will give one piece of advice. Firstly, if you plan on having a marathon site in, shell choke combo session make other plans. I am 6ft and 280lbs and 5 read it again 5 is all I can put through my gun in one sitting and 2-3 would be more appropriate. I do not feel a thing when birds are in front of me but in front of a target it hurts, plain and simple. That is an 870 super mag with 26 inch barrel and Undertaker choke. I use Winchester Supremes, #6, 2oz which shoot golf ball size out to 15 yds and goes from there.

I have shot just about every brand over the years and this works to 50yds if needed. Most I shoot at 5 but when you hunt a bird for 5 years and in that time you get one chance I need to know the gun works. 1 7/8 spurs on that one.

Go light if you choose but I once witnessed 2 newbs body shoot a tom 6 times with 3" magnums before he ran 200 yds and finally dies. I have also seen birds drop where they stood then get up and run 5 minutes later. Calling for others you get to watch some interesting stuff with birds in the decoys These are tough birds do not underestimate that on a bad shot.

If I had to choose from the above loads go with the Hornaday but they can get better.
 
Haha: no pain in the field. So true. Adrenaline I guess.

At this point in my game, I am not sure how tight my shots are past 30 yards so I would not take the shot. I rather work at bringing them closer. As I wrote earlier, all my gobblers were shot between 10 and 20 yards.

About the 2 Nebs. Damn! I never ever needed a 2nd round to finish an animal, fur and feather combined. I take the time it takes for a clean kill. If uncertain of my shot, I do not take it and let it walk. That is the sport. Anyway, I am not interested in serving my family and guests with meat peppered with shots.

Cheers,
 
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