Winchester XR'=Junk??

[savduck]

I havent had any issues with a winchester shell . If they are 3" 6s send them to me and Ill send you two boxes of Hevi 13 2oz 6s.

I prefer winchester XR over everything else. I have killed about 10 birds with them and they were all hammered.

Also just because it is centered on the head doesnt mean pellets hit vitals spine and brain....It is highly unlikely, but could happen that you hit nothing but skin

[gatrapper]

Like I said they pattern great, but seem to not penetrate good.

I have talked to a few other folks and they have mentioned similar. 

[gatrkyhntr70]

lol @ you being sure that the pattern was centered on the head of the one that ran off.....really?


and the one you recovered, if you shot him a second time, don't you think THATS when you might have hit his head?

2nd shot was a body shot.  How do I know?  Because I shot him at about 8 ft and blew a hole threw him. 

Thanks for the comment.

If they didnt penetrate how would it be possible to blow a hole through him?? Xr's will hammer him if you do your part.

[gatrapper]

Im pretty sure any shot will punch a hole through a turkey @ 8ft. 

[Jay Longhauser]

sounds frustrating and I feel for you with the bad luck, but in my experience there is no problem with penetration with the Winchester XR's.  Ive killed several birds with them.  One on the run was shot low in the neck and high in the breast at 37 steps.  Pellets went through the breast and were stuck on the inside on the skin on the side of the body the shot exited.  Who knows why the birds you were shooting at didn't die on the first shot?  I do know that I quit aiming at heads after I missed one a few years ago and have since aimed at the neck with zero problems.  There's a lot of neck to hit and pellets over the head do nothing.  Hope your luck improves. 

[savduck]

I shot one with 6s at 45 yards on a dead run and put 25 in his head. Rolled him up with no flopping. The other two I shot this year got hammered too.


You think maybe your powder got wet or something. Maybe your not getting full velocity?

[Basser69]

I am with Jay on this one. I started shooting base to the middle of the neck and have not had a problem in years. I know with the head shots just a slight wiggle on his part and the mass of pellets can be off to one side or the other.

[SumToy]

Ok back to it what gun do you shoot.   Now could be wet or damp.  Now I think you have other problem if the shell not wet. I have video of them and they will smack a bird. Look like he hit with a truck.  Is this a scooped gun or rifle sights.   Like said above put you hunting gear on and shoot the gun.

[K-ZONE]

Change ammo get confidence back.eventually the problem will show itself.

[Todd1700]

Like I said they pattern great, but seem to not penetrate good.

Are you seriously saying that Winchester Extended Range 6's lack the penetration power to effectively kill turkeys at 30 yards? Regular lead 6's will kill turkeys at that range. So how could it be that shot which is both harder and denser than the lead shot launched at the same speed won't kill turkeys at that range? It defies the laws of physics. I have no idea what your true problem is; poor shooting, bad patterns, etc, but I know the following to be a fact; you center a turkeys head and neck in a good pattern of Win Ext Range 6's at 30 yards and that's a dead turkey. He may flop but he won't run.

[chipper]

I've killed plenty with XR 5's and 6's never an issue, I'm Saying operator error,I shot one a few years ago at about 8 yards that only caught the fringe edge of my pattern and had to choke him to death but other than that they've been DRT with a little floppage.

[Todd1700]

Who knows; maybe you got a crazy lot of shells without enough powder

It would have to be something of this nature if the patterns are good and his shooting is on the mark.

I use Nitro Ray's duplex loads now because they pattern best in the shotgun I currently use. But several years ago I used a little short barreled Mossberg 500 for turkeys. It would put about 140 pellets inside 10 inches at 40 using 3 inch Win Ext 6's. Nothing to raise an eyebrow here but more than good enough to shoot out to 40 yards. I killed 3 turkeys the first year I used that combo. No problems at all. The first bird I shot was at 40 yards. Not only did it kill him cleanly but some of the pellets in the lower half of the pattern hit him in his upper left breast. They went through the feathers; through the left breast meat; through his breast plate; and half way through the meat of the right breast. I'd say that would qualify as "More Than Adequate Penetration". LOL! And that's from a shotgun with a 20 inch barrel that had to be costing me some velocity vs a longer barreled gun.

[ccleroy]

I've killed 20 + longbeards with W-ER 5&6's and have nothing bad to say about them,do a test with the shells if you dont feel confident with them and see what the results are.I like  believe this is a POI issue.

[anthonyjhallen]

Are you bore snakein you barrel after every shot?  Not sure if thats the problem or not.  Some guns like to be a little fouled, and some like a slick bore from my experience.

[davisd9]

Ya'll can keep them Winchester shells, I have no doubts they can kill but man do the pack a woop on the other end.