Hornady offering a new load directed towards turkey hunters

[Mild Bill]

while some aspects of these hornady turkey loads certainly appear to be less than what we would like to see I am intrigued by the nickel plated shot.

Kind of makes me wonder how nickel plated shot would perform in more of a standardized turkey load, say like a Winchester high Velocity 1 3/4 oz type shell relative to the copper plated shot...

[FullChoke]

Years ago I had a box of turkey loads that had nickel plated shot made by a company named Activ. As I remember, they did not pattern particularly well against Federal copper plated lead shot shells and I did not continue to purchase them.

[Richyb]

You are correct, his luck will run out. There's 78.5 sq in of area in a 10" circle (call it 80). So 80 pellets/10" will give you 1 pellet /sq in. A turkey's vitals (brain and vertebrae) amount to about 4 sq in, so 80/10 will give you 4 vital hits on average. 32/10 will give you less than two. I know it only takes one pellet to kill a turkey, but a sure kill is certainly not assured with 32/10. It is assured with 100/10, which is why we are all brainwashed as to that fact.

If your dad is going to continue to shoot 2&3/4" shells through a mod choke, 6s would be a better choice. They have plenty of punch to kill as far as the pattern is reasonable and will up his pellet count by 32%. According to "Outdoor Life", Hornady will be making their Heavy Magnum loads in 4s, 5s, and 6s this year. Good luck and please let us know how they pattern.
[/quote]

Math doesnt kill turkeys, a pellet to the side of the head does. I admit I went through lots of chokes and shells to find what im shooting now. Im getting in the 170's in the 10" circle and I havent missed with my combo either. In my dads head 6 lead wont kill and 5 is the magic number. I just think its funny how everyone now relies on math equations to kill birds. Do you think hunters 50 years ago spent hours at the range and doing math ? no they went out and blasted turkeys with what ever they had. I asked dad  lastnight if he would try them and he said " hey dead is dead and I havent missed yet"    hard to argue that one.

[anthonyjhallen]

^Better to have those extra 100 pellets and not need them than need them and not have them^

I agree with your dads dead is dead statement.  My old man is the same way and I have the same conversation with him every year when I try to get him to shoot something other than lead 4s.  I want to go into the woods knowing that when I squeeze the trigger there is going to be massive overkill on the other end. 

[sugarray]

Math doesnt kill turkeys, a pellet to the side of the head does. I admit I went through lots of chokes and shells to find what im shooting now. Im getting in the 170's in the 10" circle and I havent missed with my combo either. In my dads head 6 lead wont kill and 5 is the magic number. I just think its funny how everyone now relies on math equations to kill birds. Do you think hunters 50 years ago spent hours at the range and doing math ? no they went out and blasted turkeys with what ever they had. I asked dad  lastnight if he would try them and he said " hey dead is dead and I havent missed yet"    hard to argue that one.

So by that logic, we should stop all medical advancements and go back to diagnosing without xrays, let alone CT scans or MRIs.   How about looking for spread of cancer with PET scans and nuclear medicine scans?  How about not doing laser knife surgery for brain tumors?

Nothing wrong with learning from our past as well as using new information to kill turkeys cleanly and confidently.

[mightyjoeyoung]

At least their not claiming 298 like mag blend.

Maybe not...but I am.  3.5" Mag Blend through my 835 and .670 SSX.  345 in the 10 at 35 yards (all I had to work with), even after I pulled the shot a tad .  I can't see losing too many in those extra 5 yards...  The same gun throws lead like no other gun I have ever seen!  Amazing, dense, even patterns with the old Federal pb loads to 40 yards and absolute DESTRUCTION inside 30.  
Don't know why anyone would want to knock another hunter for choosing the most advanced tools possible to hunt with.  Makes those that do sound trite and elitist...

[Javi]

Those shells are a joke, for what I can see.

[anthonyjhallen]

At least their not claiming 298 like mag blend.

Maybe not...but I am.  3.5" Mag Blend through my 835 and .670 SSX.  345 in the 10 at 35 yards (all I had to work with), even after I pulled the shot a tad .  I can't see losing too many in those extra 5 yards...  The same gun throws lead like no other gun I have ever seen!  Amazing, dense, even patterns with the old Federal pb loads to 40 yards and absolute DESTRUCTION inside 30.  
Don't know why anyone would want to knock another hunter for choosing the most advanced tools possible to hunt with.  Makes those that do sound trite and elitist...

Good for you.

[allaboutshooting]

Conditions today were not ideal but mimicked those of many spring days during the turkey season here in Southern Illinois, so I took some of the Hornady shells: 3" with 1.5 oz. of #5 nickel plated lead shot, 4 dr. e.q. of powder and a stated muzzle velocity of 1300 f.p.s.,  to the range to give them a try.

Since those shells use the "VersaTite Wad" that is very similar to the Flitecontrol Wad used in current production Federal shells, I used a combination that has always worked well for them and in fact a choke tube developed specifically for Flitecontrol Wad shells.

I started with a "deep cleaned" bore in a 26" barreled Browning BPS and a Wright's #1 choke with a .670 exit diameter.  The weather conditions were as follows:

Partly Cloudy: 42 °F
Barometer: 30.01 in and rising
Humidity: 65 %
Wind: N 9 mph (My range is sheltered and flags detected no wind.)
Altitude: 410 ft.

I shot at "big paper" 36" x 36" with the shotgun muzzle 40 yards from the target and used Caldwell bags for a secure rest.

The "best" pattern that I had was 42 pellets in 10" and as you'd guess with that number of hits, there were many large gaps in the pattern.

Another observation was that the VersaTite Wads were consistently ripped apart where the "windows" or "brakes" would normally open.

In all fairness, it states on the box that this shell is "Best with Improved Cylinder or Modified Choke".

From what I saw with the damage to the wads after I shot, I would say that .670 is much too tight for this shell. Those wads are pretty stiff and there's not much give to them.

When I have some more time and when weather conditions allow, I'll try another box of these and divide them between an improved cylinder and modified choke tube with the same gun and see what happens.

Thanks,
Clark

[C J Stahly]

I patterned these shells last year in much the same conditions as I hunt.  It was actually RIGHT before the season, so all the weather elements were in line with what I would be facing during the season. 

I tried a truloc 650, 665, factory full, modified, and improved cylinders. (all non-ported chokes)

I had deep cleaned the barrel just before going out

I will have to track down the papers and numbers, because I honestly can't remember how bad they actually were.  I believe it was 60 some hits at 40 yards was my best pattern with them and that was out of the TL 650.  The wad was very stiff and rigid as previously mentioned and was actually landing right at the base of the patterning board/hitting the board out of all chokes. 
Even for having a slightly lighter payload than other shells, these things bring the heat.  I just wish they would pattern a little better.  Great concept, great price, great comapany......poor product...IMO  Ithers may get great results with them.....I just couldn't find anything that worked. 

[mightyjoeyoung]

At least their not claiming 298 like mag blend.

Maybe not...but I am.  3.5" Mag Blend through my 835 and .670 SSX.  345 in the 10 at 35 yards (all I had to work with), even after I pulled the shot a tad .  I can't see losing too many in those extra 5 yards...  The same gun throws lead like no other gun I have ever seen!  Amazing, dense, even patterns with the old Federal pb loads to 40 yards and absolute DESTRUCTION inside 30.  
Don't know why anyone would want to knock another hunter for choosing the most advanced tools possible to hunt with.  Makes those that do sound trite and elitist...

Good for you.

That's right, good for me!  I don't and won't bash on what other guys on here use.  You on the other hand seem to wana take "the holier than thou road", rather than "the high road".  Lead works for you...Good for you too.  I also stated I use lead and it works great for me, but why hate on something for what seems just the sake of hating it?  Whatever.  Noone ever said you had to have the kind of patterns to kill a turkey that alot of us on here strive to get, but even you must admit that when you start getting into the numbers you yourself seem to find acceptable, your chances for a miss or worse, a wounded and suffering bird go WAY UP.  It becomes more luck than a sure, ethical kill when you find the kind of number those hornady loads are posting up acceptable.  No thanks.  I have a bit more respect for the bird than that.

[Eric Gregg]

I wish that Hornady would come out with a contender to compete with Hevi-Shot and Fedearal Heavyweight. I use the Hornday shells for my 7mm08 and they are devastating. I would expect them to put more into it than that.

When I am hunting, I want to be able to walk out there using the best that I can as far as performance and dependability. To take the game ethically is what I am after, and I feel that putting as many pellets in a tight swarm will kill any gobbler ethically and humanly. I don't like wounding anything, and in my hunting career that hasn't happened but once (with a bow). This is why I am switching from lead. My 20 is a great gun, but will not pattern lead the way that I want so that I can have confidence in a 30-40 yard shot. When something better is out there, I am going to use it.
I owe it to the animal I am hunting to take it ethically and humanely.

Hopefully Hornady will do like Marvin the Martian and go back to the old drawing board to find something that will produce better results.

[mcgruff1533]

Even good companies occasionally turn out a sub-par product.      I'm hoping the folks at Hornady are reading forums such as Old Gobbler and taking peoples comments to heart.

I think Hornady is a great company, but I will not be purchasing their Turkey ammo as it's currently produced.     Their payloads are light for the shell length, and that silly rear-braking wad is not doing them any favors.

[anthonyjhallen]

At least their not claiming 298 like mag blend.

Maybe not...but I am.  3.5" Mag Blend through my 835 and .670 SSX.  345 in the 10 at 35 yards (all I had to work with), even after I pulled the shot a tad .  I can't see losing too many in those extra 5 yards...  The same gun throws lead like no other gun I have ever seen!  Amazing, dense, even patterns with the old Federal pb loads to 40 yards and absolute DESTRUCTION inside 30.  
Don't know why anyone would want to knock another hunter for choosing the most advanced tools possible to hunt with.  Makes those that do sound trite and elitist...

Good for you.

That's right, good for me!  I don't and won't bash on what other guys on here use.  You on the other hand seem to wana take "the holier than thou road", rather than "the high road".  Lead works for you...Good for you too.  I also stated I use lead and it works great for me, but why hate on something for what seems just the sake of hating it?  Whatever.  Noone ever said you had to have the kind of patterns to kill a turkey that alot of us on here strive to get, but even you must admit that when you start getting into the numbers you yourself seem to find acceptable, your chances for a miss or worse, a wounded and suffering bird go WAY UP.  It becomes more luck than a sure, ethical kill when you find the kind of number those hornady loads are posting up acceptable.  No thanks.  I have a bit more respect for the bird than that.

Man.....There is so much "lost in translation" when posting online.  I had no intentions of bashing anyone for shooting anything.  You have an awesome pattern there.  I wish I could break 300 and I still have yet to do so and I shoot Nitros!!  I think where we have lost each other is when I stated that "at least they are not claiming 298 like mag blends."  You and I both know that the average shooter is not going to get those numbers without 1st finding the right choke and 2nd putting alot of time in at the patterening board.  Like yourself, I want best pattern possible so when I squeeze the trigger I know that there will be a dead turkey on the ground.  

If my comments have made anyone else feel bashed, please forgive me because nothing could be farther from the truth.

V/R

Anthony

[mightyjoeyoung]

Gotcha.  No harm, no foul bro.  I admit I did take it the way you described.  Also did not intend on making it look loike I was fingering you for an unethical hunter.