Federal 7.5 lead pattern

[stinkpickle]

Excuse me...I have to run home to make sure all those birds I shot with #7.5s years ago haven't gotten up and run away.   

[R AJ]

Excuse me...I have to run home to make sure all those birds I shot with #7.5s years ago haven't gotten up and run away.   

I got to reading this whole story this morning myself and although I admit that I never shot one at more than 30 yards using this shell the ones I took home sure appeared to be dead. One of the all time most deadly shells I ever used. I saw the one where if the shell had 600+ pellets and only 200 were in the 10" then that wasn't very good. What about all the area the other 400 or so pellets to cover the rest of the target?
A lot of turkeys wish these critics would have told a game warden back in the 50s and 60s that 2 3/4" magnum #7.5 shot weren't meant to kill turkeys. Of course 20-30 yard shots were the norm then.

[Longshanks]

Yup, there was several years there when friends of mine in Missouri were hunting with these 3/2/7.5's.  They were wearing the turkeys out with them. That's all they would hunt with but no one was looking to shoot a turkey out to 40yds. "Call them close" was the motto back then and we really didn't use decoys a whole lot. I now realize those were the good old days. Glad some folks on here still hunt that way. Just a few folks that I hunt with still hunt lead and are looking to get turkeys inside 30yds. They still limit out most years and rarely miss or lose a turkey. I found two boxes of these shells in an old country store and can't wait to shoot some patterns at 20,30,40 just to see what they do. The ground I am hunting now the shots are typically 15-25 yds due to the ridges and thick hardwood timber. These shells should be perfect but will probably hunt with a 35yd limit. Will give me a few yards extra for misjudged yardage. This is typically what I do with any lead load, 35 yards and 40 yds with HTL. Majority of my shots are still inside 30 but that's as far as I want to attempt a shot.( 35 Pb and 40 HTL)

[learn2hide]

Be sure to post your patterns!  A friend of mine shot his turkey with them at 20 yards and said the turkey's head looked like meatloaf with a beak.

MEATLOAF WITH A BEAK!!! I'm literally ROTFLMAO   

[Loose Wire]

I am amazed at the attention this load has drawn.  Personally, I don't see the point.

There are better loads out there, and at less then 2 ounces, so less recoil to boot.

I can only surmise a lot of peeps are infatuated with lots of holes in paper instead of terminal performance.

[Longshanks]

I am amazed at the attention this load has drawn.  Personally, I don't see the point.

There are better loads out there, and at less then 2 ounces, so less recoil to boot.

I can only surmise a lot of peeps are infatuated with lots of holes in paper instead of terminal performance.

More holes in paper=more holes in a turkey

I think it's one of those deals where if you have them, you might as well shoot them. They are good shells but handloading is the only way to reproduce them. Price of shells has everyone looking into shooting their old stockpiles of shells, including me. Hunting terrain where you are looking to shoot inside 35yds or so..the ole 7.5's are brutal on the turkey and hard to beat.

[stinkpickle]

I am amazed at the attention this load has drawn.  Personally, I don't see the point.

There are better loads out there, and at less then 2 ounces, so less recoil to boot.

I can only surmise a lot of peeps are infatuated with lots of holes in paper instead of terminal performance.

If its terminal performance kills birds, who cares?

[Ihuntoldschool]

7.5 lead will kill even the biggest toughest old gobbler graveyard dead at 40 yards and beyond if the pattern holds up.  More often than not at 40 and beyond if you pattern 7.5 vs. 6 you will see that the lighter shot (7.5) starts to thin out and give way to the larger, heavier shot #6.  Pattern fails before Penetration. It always has and always will, this has been proven many times over. Pattern density determines shotgun range. I realize people enjoy shooting soup cans and all kinds of things to compare penetration of various loads. That is great for comparison and all.

As far as the comment about not feeling comfortable squirrel hunting with the 3 inch 2 ounce load of Federal Premium 7.5 shot, I find that amusing. Anyone who has skinned a few squirrels and killed a few birds will know a squirrels hide (covered with fur) is a whole lot tougher to penetrate than a turkeys bare head and neck (not covered by even feathers, much less fur.

[Izzyjoe]

I run across a fellow many years back at a gunshow, he had some of these on his table for sale. I know this man through some other friends, and he was an avid turkey hunter, at the time I had no desire to hunt turkey's, but I did make the comment that I thought they were on the light side for such use, and he said that's why there on the table for sale! We talked for a few minutes on the subject, and his concern was the same as this whole thread.  I feel this way, and say what you will there have been a lot of turkey's killed with 7.5 shot, but those folks back then used what they had to the best of there ability, there is better loads nowadays, and I do not wish to limit myself.  I'm sure there's a reason these loads are discontinued.  Not saying there not good loads for there intended purpose, I just do want to take the gamble. I only get a few days a year to hunt, and I like to make them count.  Like my dad used say about fist fights, you got put them down fast and make every lick count! Kinda goes the same with turkey hunting.

[surehuntsalot]

If people today would learn to call and Hunt turkeys, instead of turkey sniping, you could kill them with #7-1/2 low brass dove shells

[turkey buster]

If people today would learn to call and Hunt turkeys, instead of turkey sniping, you could kill them with #7-1/2 low brass dove shells

Amen and I'm a youngster! My pawpaw taught me to turkey hunt and daddy always stressed don't ever take a shot you have to think about, even when we squirrel hunted

[Ihuntoldschool]

Agree with surehuntsalot and turkey buster.  If you go back and look at when they came out with "turkey loads", they were a solution without a problem.  Of course the ammo companies want you to use different shells for each species, dove and quail loads, rabbit and squirrel loads, pheasant loads, turkey loads, predator loads, I am sure I am forgetting a few others. More ammo to sell you at a higher price of course. We have to pay extra for all that premium stuff like copper plated shot because we all know that turkeys now are so tough than plain lead would probably just bounce off their heads right?

Many turkeys have been killed with low brass 7.5 and even 8's with a single shot, flying none the less. But it is in the ammunition companies best interest to make people believe turkeys are armor plated of course.

[blueridgegobbler]

If anyone has any of these non turkey killing pieces of junk please pm me I will gladly take them off your hands. Just looked in my beard box and told my wife to be careful the loads I hunted with years ago didn't really kill them they are just playing opossum LOL!!!!!!!! She laughed cause she killed a few with them too.

[ep427]

 I have thought about shooting 7.5 lead a few times but it limits me to about 30 yards. I think it would not have enough steam to break a neck after that. But I was getting a great pattern out to 40 or 45 yards.

[BowBendr]

If you are getting "great" patterns out to 45 yds., why are you limited to 30 ?
Just curious....