Need #8 shot BP load for Turkey

[PatMarlin]

Can I use #8 shot for Turkey in my BP shotguns?

I know that's awful darn light, but it's all I've got.

I've got a 12ga w/full choke, and a 20ga smoothbore.

Never hunted them before, so I gotta start sometime, and I was hoping to get out this afternoon on a last minute deal.

Any load info would be apprecaited.

[BCB]

Don't know about BP shotguns, but #8 shot is much too small for turkeys, at least that is my opinion. I use 1/2 ounce #4 copper over 1 ounce of #6 copper. It is a buffered load also. And, I have rattled turkeys at 30 yards with this load and they don't necessarily die right on the spot, although the vast majority do. Good-luck...BCB

[SharpsShooter]

#8 is a bit on the small side, although if you have a decent pattern that places a large percentage in the vital areas, it could be done. I load 80gr ffg and 80gr #6 of shot in my 12ga double, with a card wad between shot & powder. Get em in close and the #8's will work, but I'd be more comfortable with #6 or #5.

[versifier]

Pat,
#8 shot is as useless as tits on a bull for turkeys. It's for woodcock, quail, and target shooting. Even if you killed one with it, the big shot cloud would be bound to pepper the body - just imagine picking out all that tiny shot, or worse, biting down on the one you missed and breaking a tooth or two. #6 is maybe a little on the small side if the ranges are longer, but it does throw a denser pattern than #4's, an advantage with the lighter shot charges of 20's. In my 20guage I use both #6's and #4's, depending on which box of shells I grab. Think about how big a turkey is and what it takes to bring down a smaller goose. You've got to hit the head with at least one pellet and that's got to be big enough to do the job. It's a tradeoff between pattern density and retained energy. (Personally, if it were legal, I'd use a .22 hollow point and head shots, but that would make too much sense, I guess.) [smilie=1:

[PatMarlin]

I hear ya on the #8.

I've got some #6 Pheasant loads for my 20ga Mossberg, with an adjustable choke barrel, that'll go full. Prolly use that till I get some other shot.

THere's no one up here to bother. I could use my.223 and double my fun if a yote happened to come to the call... :mrgreen:

[versifier]

Pat,
This is where the Savage mod 24 comes into it's own, but in the real world I think you'll do fine with the pheasant loads. I've yet to hear a dead one complain. :rolleyes:

[waksupi]

I've used #6 and 7 1/2 in my flint 20 bore for turkeys. Both worked fine. All you need is one pellet in the head, and they are dinner. I like the denser pattern, as percentages go up considerably. I don't see much future in shooting turkeys in the body with light shot, however.

[PatMarlin]

So the heavier the shot the denser the pattern right?

[waksupi]

The smaller, the denser.