what you going to use for spring turkey season?

[Lonegun1894]

I'm going with a 28ga cylinder-bore flintlock, seeing how close I can get, and if I don't improve on my performance from last year, getting my turkey from the grocery store!

[noisewaterphd]

Hello fellows, excuse me for not minding my own business (how unitalian of me) but if you reload, i suggest lots of N. 6 shot with less powder charge and buffer,it keeps patten denser much farther away for a neck shot. We have done a lot of tests with pressure barrel and patterns up to 50 meters. On still shots, speed is not so important, but pattern is. To achieve better pattern we have found that reducing pressure and speed works well.

Agreed. I think that makes perfect sense from a physics standpoint.

Along the same lines of thinking, the heavier-than-lead ITX shot should theoretically help keep that group together at even higher speeds, right?

I can shoot lead shot at turkeys where I live, so it may not be worth it. I had been eyeballing the ITX stuff for waterfowl hunting, but never got around to testing it out.

If I give it a go I'll be sure to report back.

[southpaw]

Friend of mine talked me into trying the winchester long beards. This was no easy feat since I was pretty happy with my reloads. I bought the carlson long beard choke for my 835 and 870. What a combination. In the 870 I got 178 pellets in a 10" circle at 40 yards. This was with the 3.5" 2 ounce #4 shot. In the 835 with the 3.5" 2oz #6 I had 281 hits in the 10" circle at 40 yards. That is more than 50% of the payload in a 10" circle.

I may still use my reloads with 2oz of #4 shot since I like my birds a bit closer.

To answer the question, it will either be the 870 with the long beards, the 835 with reloads or the long beards, my 10 ga sxs churchill or... Heck I am hoping my boy gets one with his youth 510 20ga so I can watch and maybe get it on video.

Jerry Jr.

[Blood Trail]

This is what I'm using.

[bikerbeans]

This is what I'm using.

Is that one of them new fangled mechanical broadheads I been hearing about?

BB

[captbligh]

Last spring was my first turkey hunt. Bought a Winchester SPX Turkey Hunter 12 ga pump, shot 3 1/2" Win Longbeard #5s, with a Burris Fastfire III. Really nice outfit, shot well with the issue choke (recoil was really stout but figured I'd only shoot one more round.) Nice tight patterns out to 40+ yards. Too bad the turkey flew out of the roost right in front of me, but they were over the lip of the sidehill and I never saw them. Walked right up to my hunting buddy who was about 100 yards to my left. He killed a really nice gobbler at about 35 yards with an M870, 3" Win Longbeard #5s, and full choke. Oh well, maybe this year. We're going back to same area during the first week of May.

[Lonegun1894]

This is what I'm using.

With the way I seem to be going with my choice of tools, I will follow your lead as soon as I develop the skill to make those kind of broadheads.

[Hogtamer]

You da man BT! I've killed 3 with old Rothaar 3 blade Snuffers out of my recurve over the years. Getting drawn is a bit of a challenge since I never hunted out of blinds. Coulple of years ago cleaned the cracks of my old reloading table and wound up with an oxidized mix of 4s, 6s, 7 1/2s and whatevers, enough to load 5 shells. Killed 2 birds and still got 3 shells. We got dumb turkeys in GA I guess!

[Blood Trail]

That's good trash, Hogtamer! Shot two deer this past year with the same head, same arrow. Texas Chert point. Tuff stuff. Almost had a third deer. Drew back and the top of my recurve hit the blind and sent my arrow smashing into a rock.

After kill number 2 from the same hunt, 15 mins apart:

[Ural Driver]

Never hunted turkey because them folks at Butter-Ball have me spoiled rotten.......but I'm gonna have to do something soon because them birds are getting to be waaaaay too numerous. Last count I had about 60 of em running around. When a feeder goes off the deer ain't got a chance. That wave of birds runs in at the sound of the slinger and cleans up every kernel. If I can get my suppressor bought and fitted I will take them with a .22 and give em to the neighbors......

[35 Whelen]

Dang! Some of you guys must be hunting iron turkeys! The heaviest load I ever used were 1 1/2 oz. #4 buffered handloads. The last one I whacked with a shotgun was with an old Fox 16 ga. double loaded with Winchester field loads of 1 1/8 oz. #4. I assumed the shotgun was choked M/F and I was using the full choke. I later measured and found it is actually choked S/IC and I w as using the IC!
A couple of years ago I used a '92 lever in 357 firing a CAS load of a 125 gr. RNFP @ around 900 fps. This year....not sure. I'll either use one of my old '97's with a handloader of #4's or an ancient 1873 Winchester in 38-40 with a BP handload.

35W

[finstr]

i'm using this 12ga of mine with turkey chokes. I've killed 3 coyotes this winter with it with #4buck. It has 14" barrels and Mobil chokes. Awesome in the tight bush!

[OnHoPr]

Good Evening Gentlemen

I am not sure but maybe my turkey days maybe further apart anymore. But, as I poked in and seen this thread I wish all a good successful hunt. Back a few years ago I tried that HeviShot and it seems to work wonders with a decent choke tube. The only problem is with these newer choke tubes and new types of shot that shoot tight patterns for those birds that want to hang up that they can shoot to tight for when you get a answer back gobble and your in the thick stuff. It works great if you are on a hardwood ridge or pine plantation before the ferns start popping up. In the thick stuff it is almost like shooting a rifle if you have to be quick about it. I started carrying two loads with me while hunting. If I knew I was going to be in thicker stuff where shots were going to be 40 yd or so and under I used a reload of 2 oz of number 5s in 3.5". Those 5s hit hard and can help go through ferns, pine needles, and light brush better if need be. The second load I carry is a load of HeviShot 3.5" in 7s when the longer shots can be more common. If he's real close when he answers though don't try switching ammo because of the noise of the action. Here's a couple of targets. One is with the 5s with 113 hits in a loose leaf paper and the other is with 371 hits of the Hevishot 7s in the same size paper. Both are at 40 yds. I can and maybe you can assume that the HeviShot 7s will reach a bit further than 40 yd and both hit at same POA/POI with a scope. Those ferns and ground brush can hide beards when they don't come in like on TV all strutin pretty in the morning sun and they are doing the sneak on your on gun shoulder side from behind you, that's why I use a scope and old eyes of course.

Don't raz me to much about my turkey targets, when you do a couple hundred or so they suffice.

I will mention partially about another load, but I will not give details on the forums about it only that it may be interesting for some of the reloaders to think about. I played with 5s and 6s quite a bit. But, when I went to a few of those turkey seminars a few years ago and they were talking about so many hits to a 10" circle or something about that size and patterns along with hung up toms before I started dabbling with aftermarket chokes I tried something. I wasn't getting the so called pattern densities that they were referring to. So, I dabbled with 8s, but at High Velocity. I know all the data says they don't have enough energy. But, that is with loads in the range from 1100 to 1300 fps. There is established data out there for loads a lot faster than that. I dabble with some #8 loads that went pass 1500 fps (not saying how much faster) and they were very surprising. I acquired 1 1/8 oz and 1 1/4 oz loads that were very respectful as to the number of hits @ 40 yds. I even shot a turkey with one of them.



May your mushroom hunting be successful also.
Get the smokers, deep fryers, and ovens ready.

[CastingFool]

I will be using my 870 express 12 ga, with 3" Winchesters loaded with 2 oz of copper plated 4's. With my Hastings .655" choke, it will kill at 40 yds.

[griffiga]

I, like bikerbeans, will be taking my LC Smith 12 gauge side by side hammer gun into the turkey woods. I shoot approx 3 dram (80 gr FFG) black powder reloads with 1 1/8 oz of number 4 shot Velocity is about 1050 fps ( I consider this about max for this old gun with Damascus bbl s) I used to use 6 shot but as I load the shells with black powder, and my shotgun is open bored, I limit my shots to 25 yards or less and the # 4 pellets give me a bit more killing power on those tough old birds. I cheat a bit and use the plastic wads were I used to put in felt, but I don't notice any difference in my pattern especially at the range I shoot. I could use my Browning semi auto or Remington 870 with magnum shells, but to me that isn't nearly as much fun. My wife accuses me of being born at least a century too late, maybe so. The local market had turkeys on sale a while back and I went ahead and picked one up so regardless of how my hunt turns out, we will be eating turkey!

[rbuck351]

I haven't hunted turkey yet as they don't have wild ones in Ak. I'll be moving to Mt. in June and when ever the next available season comes along I plan on using a single .310 lead ball from my 32cal flint lock. The wife says the turkey won't leave the deer feed alone when she puts it out. I'll be fair and put out a couple of signs warning the turkeys not to be stealing the deer feed but I'm afraid I might have to make an example of one or two. Wife says they are pretty dumb so it may take more than a couple. We'll see.