Hey guys, ive used Hevi 7s for 2 turkey seasons and have never tried the Mag Blends. I know the 7s will give better pattern obviously, but i have a good supply of Mag Blends at my local Dicks Sporting Goods. Id be glad to sacrifice a few less pellets in the 10 for better availability. I shot a Mossberg 535 12 Guage, 660 IC Choke. If yall have some good patterns with a 660 in Mag Blends, post em up. What do yall think? :thanks:
I started with mag blend loads as the sevens were not available here. Took three birds with no issues they get the job done but I also took one with sevens too. I like the mag blends in my 835 they are consistant and devastating. Note all were the three inch shells and one was over 45 yards instant kill. Try a box and see. I do not keep patterns as I have too much stuff already. One of my hunting partners killed two back to back this year with me with his Benelli and again mag blend shells in three inch.
Good luck and have fun.
The Mag Blends will wreck a gobblers day out of every turkey gun that I have. I feel confident in them enough to use them even though I have many #7's in my cabinet that I could use at any time.
Give them a try and see what your gun likes best.
My 870 gets 265 in 10" at 40 with 3 1/2" MagBlends.
I bought 7 boxes.
You should like the magblends if you can get a good lot #. I bought three different lots and two shot terrible but the third would flat smoke.
I got 190 in 10" at 40 Yards, with 3" Magnum Blend at 60 degrees, in an Indian Creek .665 and 870. Very Even 12"-13" pattern. No Escape. Much better than any Lead shell at 90 degrees, much less 60 degrees. The 7's will easily smoke Magnum Blend as far as numbers go, but locally Magnum Blend is easier to find.
I got 176 in 10" at 40 yards in 50 degree weather with 3" Mag Blends. Very happy with the pattern. Very even. I used Hevi 6s last year and was happy with the results. Hunted with a friend and he shot a gobbler with the Mag Blends and it rocked the bird. Decided to give them a try and liked what I got so I jumped to the Mag Blends.
I think that with the Mag Blends you should use a more open choke to keep from blowing the pattern because of the 5s in it. I do not have solid information to back this theory, but I use a Star Dot .676 in my 835 and my friend uses a Jelly Head .665 in his 870. I could be wrong about a more open choke, but it just seems with the blend a tight constriction could hamper your results, but give them a try, it might prove this theory wrong.
Quote from: davisd9 on December 20, 2011, 08:31:19 AM
I think that with the Mag Blends you should use a more open choke to keep from blowing the pattern because of the 5s in it. I do not have solid information to back this theory, but I use a Star Dot .676 in my 835 and my friend uses a Jelly Head .665 in his 870. I could be wrong about a more open choke, but it just seems with the blend a tight constriction could hamper your results, but give them a try, it might prove this theory wrong.
Purely from theory, I would think that since they aren't all 5's you would be OK. There should be "space" created by having the smaller shot mixed in. But just like you I'm going on theory. Just saying I wouldn't be afraid to try a tighter constriction based solely on the fact that they contain some 5's.
I personally never understood blends for the same reason I don't own a .40 cal. Make up your mind!!! Haha. Good luck finding a deadly pattern whichever way you go!
I have Mag Blends and 7's and have killed birds with both of them. Although patterns understandingly aren't as dense as with Mag Blends as the 7's they are just as deadly in my opinion. I don't think you can go wrong with either one for all practical purposes. :icon_thumright: :cowboy:
My gun patterns Mag Blends better that 6's or 7's. I get 265 in 10" at 40 with a 3.5" out of a 24" barrel with a .665 Jellyhead on my 870.
Once you get an evenly spaced 150+ Hits in 10", it doesn't really matter what shell you're using. They all work. Especially if the pattern also looks good outside of the 10" circle. 13"+ of nice even coverage is golden, IMO. EM, Nitro, WIN, Magnum Blend, 6's, 7's,.....it doesn't matter.
Search until you find the pattern you're looking for. Then buy up some of those shells.
Quote from: 3" 870 Shell Shucker on December 21, 2011, 01:33:31 AM
Once you get an evenly spaced 150+ Hits in 10", it doesn't really matter what shell you're using. They all work. Especially if the pattern also looks good outside of the 10" circle. 13"+ of nice even coverage is golden, IMO. EM, Nitro, WIN, Magnum Blend, 6's, 7's,.....it doesn't matter.
Search until you find the pattern you're looking for. Then buy up some of those shells.
I agree with the above, the real cost is in finding your hunting load from there on it is how many turkeys you shoot as to how many shells you want to buy. Have fun in the process.
have shot both for several years and love them both. you will love them...
Can't go wrong with either. I've been using Nitros for some time but switched over to the Mag Blends last season with good success.
Here is a pattern from my 870 with a 24" barrel and lengthened forcing cone. 3.5 inch Magblends, .660 JH, Lazered 40 yards.
(http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj204/number6doug/hunting/Magblends.jpg)
westtennhunter
Are those 10" circles?
Is the best circle there 372 or where is that number coming from?
Seems extremely high for mag blends :icon_thumright:
That's a big target. Amd I do mean big. My buddy used to have some of them targets. But draw a 10" circle around the tightest part of that pattern. It's a good one I can tell that by looking at it. I'd like to know the numbers.
You are correct Ilikehevi, it's a big target. Every circle is 30". I'm guessing they use 30" so wingshooters can use the same targets. The numbers are the count of each section. I will do a 10" circle this weekend and report back. The target is so big that every pellet in the load should be accounted for.
That's a nice looking pattern from the Mag Blends.
Quote from: westtennhunter on December 30, 2011, 08:36:02 PM
You are correct Ilikehevi, it's a big target. Every circle is 30". I'm guessing they use 30" so wingshooters can use the same targets. The numbers are the count of each section. I will do a 10" circle this weekend and report back. The target is so big that every pellet in the load should be accounted for.
Well it's better to shoot those big targets than one the size of piece of paper like some do and say these shells don't shoot. You know what I mean. LOL!
That's a very tight pattern form the magnum blend. Can't wait to hear the numbers. Do your best to get the most shot in the 10" before drawing your circle. That is why I like my cutout glass 10" circles I have. I can usually see exactly where I need to make my 10" circle by seeing through the glass.
That 10" cutout glass sounds like a great idea. Where did you get it?
I bought a 10" clear plastic plant tray at the Dollar Store that works great.
Quote from: westtennhunter on January 01, 2012, 08:22:20 AM
That 10" cutout glass sounds like a great idea. Where did you get it?
I got 2 10" glass circles cut out from a local glass company here called Edgewater Glass. I think it cos me like $15. But any local glass company near you ought to be able to do it. Let me see if I can find a picture t oshow you. I really like them.
Here you go.
I think it's the one on the left that is thicker. They made me 2 since they messed up on the plexiglass one that they tried cutting out with a jig saw. It looked like a puzzle piece. And I told them it needed to be a perfect 10" circle. So they said would you take glass. I said yep. So they gave me 2. This will allow you to get almost optimum 10" shot numbers.
Here is the pattern above with the 10" circle and 209 in the 10" circle.
(http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj204/number6doug/Snapbucket/B998EA9E-orig.jpg)
This is the same setup, same day with magblends and 210 in 10 inches.
(http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj204/number6doug/Snapbucket/F0CEF61E-orig.jpg)
This is same setup, same day, but with Hevi straight 6's. 256 in a 10" circle.
(http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj204/number6doug/Snapbucket/CCD7024A-orig.jpg)
My scope was zeroed for Ext Range and it shot Hevi's high and right. I will zero it in my next session. I debated long and hard whether to shoot Magblends or 6's and decided I would sacrifice some pellet count for bigger pellets. Whether or not that is the correct decision is debatable. I hope the pics and data help someone.
Those two patterns look great
Thanks gobble157. I had the barrel cut and forcing cone lengthened after season. Then I did those tests and added a shurshot stock and forearm. I've been waiting 7 months now with 3 to go. I am dying to try it out on a longbeard.