New type shotgun ammo for turkeys

[redneck2]

Just talked to my neighbor friend that does shotgun ammo development for a small specialty manufacturer. They have shot that is almost 2x as dense as Hevi-Shot. They are using #9’s and getting through penetration on turkey heads at 60 yards. A 28 gauge is now plenty adequate due to pellet count.

i have no idea of the cost, but since I only shot a couple rounds a year it wouldn’t matter

Would be nice to carry a 28 instead of my 10 gauge

 

[troy fairweather]

Guys have been using tungsten for years now, I've see guys kill them at 70 yards with 410s.

 

[PapaG]

About$10 per shell.

 

[jmr40]

If someone wants to turkey hunt with a .410 or 28 they are the way to go, but they are expensive. With a 20 you still have to choose carefully but there are some options out there with conventional shells that will make a 20 ga a 40 yard gun. IMO they are not needed with a 12, but some guys use them. I'm hearing reports of 75-80 yard kills with 12 ga.

About$10 per shell.

Some are closer to $20 per shot. $90 for 5 shells of some 3" 12 ga. loads.

 

[redneck2]

Guys have been using tungsten for years now, I've see guys kill them at 70 yards with 410s.

I’ve used Hevi-Shot for years. I believe it is tungsten but not sure. My longest kill is 69 yards lasered. DRT

Talking to him I was under the impression this is something relatively new. Dunno. Maybe just new to their company. He just commented that it makes even a 28 gauge a viable option

 

[Show Me]

I'd like to try that new shot. After I use up my real old federal pheasant loads. #5's. 50 is a long shot . Fifty feet. At 50 yds you didn't call them in , there just walking by. Just around the corner now

 

[starnbar]

SpheroTungsten it is around 80 bucks a pound but it will increase the effective range significantly on a 28-20 gauge guns.

 

[Armored farmer]

I know that #9 tungsten shot is extremely effective in a .410.
I also know that the long slender shot column of a .410 tends to shoot tight patterns even at long distance.

 

[jmorris]

About$10 per shell.

I'm not sure I like turkey that much.

Glad its legal here to just shoot them in the head with a rifle.

 

[.455_Hunter]

The concept that a shotgun shell can cost more per shot than a big-bore nitro express African game round boggles my mind.

 

[FL-NC]

I know a guy who swears by the TSS rounds, he uses a 20 gauge. When we were patterning guns a couple weeks back our target frame was made from a wrought iron real eastate sign frame. At 50 yards, the lead pellets from long beard, Remington nitro, etc. knocked the black paint off the metal frame. The TSS actually put dents in the metal frame. My shotgun can kill a turkey at 70 yards with Winchester long beard #4. Much past that, I have issues identifying things like the red head desired point of aim with the naked eye.

 

[DeepSouth]

15~ish ago I went to Church with a guy that turkey hunted with a 410.

He always said, “it’s all you need if you can call’em”

When I turkey hunted, I needed more. lol

 

[buck460XVR]

He always said, “it’s all you need if you can call’em”

Kinda what "real" turkey hunting is all about. When I was young, I too bent to the pressure of having to bring something home and went the whole gambit of new fangled shells and choke tubes. Nowadays, I use either my Dad's 110 year old model '97 with 2 3/4" #5 pheasant loads or my bow. Pass on anything over 35 yards. Yet, it's pretty rare if I don't fill a tag if I go out. Most states have restrictions on shot size for safety reasons. I wonder if these new fangled 100 yard shotgun shells will be restricted at some point for safety reasons too. Just my opinion, but ain't much learned from a turkey hunt, where you take a bird @ 70 yards. 'ell, it's just a little speck in the distance at that range.

 

[nick22]

I still hunt with my 3.5 inch # 5's mostly because I have 5 rounds left I will use them this season. I know I am getting old when I read these threads and think wow whats wrong with getting them within 20 or 30 yards it's way more fun! My daughter and I doubled on some toms last year at about 15 yards and it was about as fun as Turkey hunting gets.

 

[tactikel]

I shoot 3.5” MagBlends, my Mossberg 835 will throw a killing pattern at 60 yard. If I can get 5-10 yards more with this new load I’m on board.

 

[HB]

I shot one with a .223 this fall. Legal here in WY. Felt quite strange coming from MO. Still ate the same. Likely will be a first and last for me. Lead 4s are more fun.

 

[jmr40]

I had a 3.5" shotgun once. I think they are a viable choice for the guys who go through a lot of steel shot hunting geese. Recoil with steel shot loads is brisk, but tolerable. You can't put many steel BB"s in a 3" shell. Going to 3 1/2" helps.

But with smaller lead shot sizes I don't think 3 1/2" shells are necessary. For one thing recoil from a typical 7 lb shotgun is knocking on the door of 458 WM recoil. I fired a few of those and don't want a turkey bad enough to deal with that recoil. I sold the 3 1/2" gun.

I bought a 20 ga youth 870 with a 21" barrel a few years ago to turkey hunt with. But I didn't find a shell/choke tube combo that produced patterns tight enough to satisfy me, so I went back to a standard 3" 12 shotgun.

After a few years I revisited the idea and did some more experimenting and have found some shells that I feel comfortable with at 35-40 yards. That's not much less than I could do with a 3" 12 ga and I think is a fair trade off to get a lighter, shorter gun to carry. I'm paying about $1.50 per shot with these.

I could get a few more range with the TSS shells, but it's not worth $10-$15 every time I pull the trigger. Where I hunt a 40 yard shot is a long shot anyway.