Winchester Long Beard XR...HYPE or REAL DEAL???

[chuckward]

Best patterning shell I've ever shot. Great patterns

[highwaygun]

Said it before and will say it again. Winchester has changed the game a WHOLE lot. All of the other manufacturer's had better getting to coming up with a new product.

change what game. They dont pattern as good hevi's, they dont hit as hard as HW's, and they sure in the heck aint TSS. All Winchester did was make the best shell in a particular price range and thats it not the best shell ever.  Yes they made a 2$ lead shell perform on paper like a 6$ plus htl shell but they still have the range, penetration, and density of a 2$ lead shell. What makes lead inferior to htl was never just the patterns it produces it was mainly the density of the lead itself. Winchester dipped a turd in chocolate and has many convinced there is caramel inside. When season opens many people are going to take a bite and realize that aint caramel!

[jfair]

Said it before and will say it again. Winchester has changed the game a WHOLE lot. All of the other manufacturer's had better getting to coming up with a new product.

change what game. They dont pattern as good hevi's, they dont hit as hard as HW's, and they sure in the heck aint TSS. All Winchester did was make the best shell in a particular price range and thats it not the best shell ever.  Yes they made a 2$ lead shell perform on paper like a 6$ plus htl shell but they still have the range, penetration, and density of a 2$ lead shell. What makes lead inferior to htl was never just the patterns it produces it was mainly the density of the lead itself. Winchester dipped a turd in chocolate and has many convinced there is caramel inside. When season opens many people are going to take a bite and realize that aint caramel!

This is a ridiculous statement. The difference in density between lead and hevi is not as substantial as people make it out to be.  If this is your end all be all, you need to rethink your stance.  To call a great lead load a turd is beyond asinine.

HTL shines in its patterning. Looks like lead is catching up. It changes the game.

[shadetree callers]

Winchester definately changed the game of lead loads. Better do some research before you talk em down. I shot a  box of #6's from an 11-87 12 g. tru glo .665 and the results were incredible. Tightest patterns ive ever seen and i have been shooting htl since it first came out. Absolutely hits the target like a truck at 40 yds. I too, had to test winchesters claims about long distance patterns and shot a laser ranged 60 yd shot which put 47 pellets in a 10'' circle . Not advicating the long shot but it proves that the patterns hold together alot further . Deadly Ammunition at a decent price !!

[darn2ten]

Said it before and will say it again. Winchester has changed the game a WHOLE lot. All of the other manufacturer's had better getting to coming up with a new product.

change what game. They dont pattern as good hevi's, they dont hit as hard as HW's, and they sure in the heck aint TSS. All Winchester did was make the best shell in a particular price range and thats it not the best shell ever.  Yes they made a 2$ lead shell perform on paper like a 6$ plus htl shell but they still have the range, penetration, and density of a 2$ lead shell. What makes lead inferior to htl was never just the patterns it produces it was mainly the density of the lead itself. Winchester dipped a turd in chocolate and has many convinced there is caramel inside. When season opens many people are going to take a bite and realize that aint caramel!

This is a ridiculous statement. The difference in density between lead and hevi is not as substantial as people make it out to be.  If this is your end all be all, you need to rethink your stance.  To call a great lead load a turd is beyond asinine.

HTL shines in its patterning. Looks like lead is catching up. It changes the game.

Exactlly, lead is basically 11 g/cc and Hevi 12 g/cc. There's not a lot of density difference them. Run the numbers and do the math, ain't rocket science. Now if where talking heavyweight or TSS, then yes there is a valid argument.

[highwaygun]

Said it before and will say it again. Winchester has changed the game a WHOLE lot. All of the other manufacturer's had better getting to coming up with a new product.

change what game. They dont pattern as good hevi's, they dont hit as hard as HW's, and they sure in the heck aint TSS. All Winchester did was make the best shell in a particular price range and thats it not the best shell ever.  Yes they made a 2$ lead shell perform on paper like a 6$ plus htl shell but they still have the range, penetration, and density of a 2$ lead shell. What makes lead inferior to htl was never just the patterns it produces it was mainly the density of the lead itself. Winchester dipped a turd in chocolate and has many convinced there is caramel inside. When season opens many people are going to take a bite and realize that aint caramel!

This is a ridiculous statement. The difference in density between lead and hevi is not as substantial as people make it out to be.  If this is your end all be all, you need to rethink your stance.  To call a great lead load a turd is beyond asinine.

HTL shines in its patterning. Looks like lead is catching up. It changes the game.

I was using a turd as a metaphor to show no matter what you coat something in it is still the same thing. In comparison to hevi lead is close in performance but in comparison to HW or TSS it is not by far. To say it changes the game for everyone is a asinine statement. Best lead load yes by far best turkey load no not even in top ten.

[snodswinger34]

They are the real deal for sure i cant wait to smash a jelly head saturday

[WVHills]

Said it before and will say it again. Winchester has changed the game a WHOLE lot. All of the other manufacturer's had better getting to coming up with a new product.

change what game. They dont pattern as good hevi's, they dont hit as hard as HW's, and they sure in the heck aint TSS. All Winchester did was make the best shell in a particular price range and thats it not the best shell ever.  Yes they made a 2$ lead shell perform on paper like a 6$ plus htl shell but they still have the range, penetration, and density of a 2$ lead shell. What makes lead inferior to htl was never just the patterns it produces it was mainly the density of the lead itself. Winchester dipped a turd in chocolate and has many convinced there is caramel inside. When season opens many people are going to take a bite and realize that aint caramel!

This is a ridiculous statement. The difference in density between lead and hevi is not as substantial as people make it out to be.  If this is your end all be all, you need to rethink your stance.  To call a great lead load a turd is beyond asinine.

HTL shines in its patterning. Looks like lead is catching up. It changes the game.

I was using a turd as a metaphor to show no matter what you coat something in it is still the same thing. In comparison to hevi lead is close in performance but in comparison to HW or TSS it is not by far. To say it changes the game for everyone is a asinine statement. Best lead load yes by far best turkey load no not even in top ten.

I don't believe anyone thinks or has said it's the best Turkey load, unless I missed it.

The majority of us shoot a max distance of around 40 yrds, which this shell does very well for a $2 lead shell. I think other companies who sell lead may see a dip in their sales if they don't come up with something. At least, that's what I got out of the previous posts...

[jakesdad]

This shell does very well at 40 yds for a $2 lead shell.Also is really tight at 20-25 yds,almost too tight for my liking..........because my liking is not to miss

[WVHills]

This shell does very well at 40 yds for a $2 lead shell.Also is really tight at 20-25 yds,almost too tight for my liking..........because my liking is not to miss

I don't like to miss either!  I'll have to shoot this at 20 yrds to see what it does out of my setup.     

[trkehunr93]

This shell does very well at 40 yds for a $2 lead shell.Also is really tight at 20-25 yds,almost too tight for my liking..........because my liking is not to miss

I don't like to miss either!  I'll have to shoot this at 20 yrds to see what it does out of my setup.     

Exactly!!! This stuff has brought lead loads back out in the forefront, but you have to remember not all turkeys come in at exactly 40 yards all the time.  I have killed alot more at 15-20 yards.  At 15-20 yards this stuff is equivalent to throwing a baseball at a turkeys head, makes the miss factor go WAY UP!

[Longshanks]

You have to give up one to get another..if you want a gun that patterns best at 15-20yds you could shoot a modified choke and any shell. To get what patterns best at 40yds whether it's HTL or LB's..it's gonna be tight at 15-20. The patterns I have seen at close range with LB's don't look much different than my guns set up for HTL. My 870 with a kicks .655 shoots the entire pattern inside a 10" @ 20 with all of the 3" 6 lead turkey loads from Winchester (super x, xx, hv)  Turkey guns with tight chokes shoot tight patterns at 15-20, just the way it is..aim small..miss small.

[darn2ten]

You have to give up one to get another..if you want a gun that patterns best at 15-20yds you could shoot a modified choke and any shell. To get what patterns best at 40yds whether it's HTL or LB's..it's gonna be tight at 15-20. The patterns I have seen at close range with LB's don't look much different than my guns set up for HTL. My 870 with a kicks .655 shoots the entire pattern inside a 10" @ 20 with all of the 3" 6 lead turkey loads from Winchester (super x, xx, hv)  Turkey guns with tight chokes shoot tight patterns at 15-20, just the way it is..aim small..miss small.

^^This^^ After I shot at 40 I was a little concerned about the close stuff too. My gun shoots right at 200 with a 3" 5, but looks really no different at 20 than it does with other 3" 5 shells. About a 8" pattern with a solid 6" core. I mean there are pattern pics at 20 in the pattern section, check them out.

[cuppednlocked]

What I find to be quite funny is the "too tight at 20" crowd is saying...

Take ANY turkey shell with your #1 hunting choke and post a picture of your more open pattern at 20.

It seems like the HTL guys are trying hard to defend their "best pattern" turf by discounting a lead load.

As an example: I posted a picture of my Turkey Thug pattern last year on a different forum (~120 in 10" at 40) and got HAMMERED by the Nitro/HTL crowd because it was lead.  This year I posted a picture of the LB (241 in 10" at 40) and all the HTT (holier than thou) HTL posters didn't say a word...

[d.winsor]

I patterned my SX3 with .665 choke, used 3 1/2" winchester supreme HV #5's and Long beard #5's.  Range finder set target at 40 yards.  I don't count holes, but the pattern was so tight with the long beards that I can't hunt with them, I would have to get a more open choke, A little one way or the other and I would miss.  I think a lot of people will be taking long shots and missing.  Just like rifle shooters, some can make the long shots, most can't.  Myself I am going to hunt with my go to shell and that is the winchester supreme HV #5 3" and 3 1/2", I have 4 boxes of 3" and 9 boxes of 3.5"  I will probably be dead before I run out of HV shells.  I wish winchester would have come out with the long beard around 1992, I would not have had to buy as many chokes, looking for that 40 yard pattern.  Have never seen a tighter lead pattern with #5 shot.  Not trying to make anyone mad but long beard #5's have made #6 shot obsolete, beyond 40 yards I don't know if 6's will kill a turkey.