Has anyone shot Winchester Longbeards thru a more open choke?

[MiamiE]

I shoot an 870 with a Remington Ventilator choke and was going to try out this load, but after seeing this I think I will stick with the Winchester Supreme or Remington Nitro loads.

[R AJ]

I saw a shot from a 3" #5 in a Stoeger with a factory full and the pattern was noticeably wider at 37 yards but still very suitable for hunting.

In my BPS using a 655 at 37 yds it was doing 242 in the 10, about three times more than needed so I am probably going to go with an extra full or 575 at least for woods hunting.

[3" 870 Shell Shucker]

I have a bunch of boxes of supreme HV #5

I like those too, for what it's worth.  I believe in that load.

I normally use a .665 choke for Lead and HTL.

I would try a .675 choke with the Longbeards and see how it does.

[darn2ten]

This is the same 26" barreled gun. First pattern is with a IC .665 and is very tight. I have shot this combo at the pattern board twice, got 203 the first shot and 188 the second time. The second pic is a Kick's .680 and shot a 118. Both with LB 3-1 3/4-5 out of the same box. I also shot it with this gun through a SSX and got 163 in the 10". All you got to do is experiment a little and I think you can get what your after with this load.

[jakesdad]

What kind of patterns did you get up close?(20 yards)

[hs strut]

there a second choice shell for me i personaly shot better patterns with the winchester high velocities but with that bieng said these shells are selling like wildfire here one of the local gun shops is actually selling higher dollar shells cheaper to make room for more long beards

[darn2ten]

What kind of patterns did you get up close?(20 yards)

I've posted a pick at 20 with the IC, It was about 7-8" wide with a very dense core. The SSX wasn't really noticeably different than the IC at 20. I didn't shoot the kick's at 20, I imagine it would probably open up a little to a full 8 to 10" pattern.

[bmhern]

I thought I would try the longbeards this year and they are now my shell of choice. An excellent pattern at 40 with my 665 jellyhead, as far as being too tight up close to me they aren't all that much tighter than any of the others I shot when patterning. I shot a bird at 15 yds. the other day as he was walking so I had enough spread to hit him shooting open sights. IMO they are a great shell for the money, well worth trying.

[nickp]

They shoot 1"-2" tighter for me at 20 yards and in than the HV, but that is nothing.  If you want a wider pattern, then you will be sacrificing your distance past 40.  If all you are doing is shooting to 40 and want a more open pattern, save some money by buying turkey thugs, winchester super x and HV(xx), and Remington Nitro Turkey.  Heck, any turkey shell can usually give you an acceptable pattern to 40.  Winchester Super X is only more expensive than the Remington and it will thump them all day to 40.  In all honesty, it is probably a better choice than the HV up to 40.  Out of most guns, super x is as good to kill up to possibly 45, thugs and HV up to possibly 47-50, and Longbeard holding the tightest out past this.  Not saying you should shoot that, but that has been my experience and many others on paper.  No need whatsoever to buy a box of shells over $12.00 when you aren't shooting past 40 yards (even out to 45). 

[Longshanks]

I have been shooting the LB's out of .655,.660 kicks. The patterns are super tight from 20-40. I have experimenting shooting off a rest at 20-30 yds and it is very easy to get off target. Not to mention shooting free hand after sitting dead still for 2 hours. I am re thinking my patterns with them after missing a turkey at 30yds the other day. It was a gimme shot and I snatched on the trigger sitting in an akward position. Gonna try the LB's out of my Browning Citori factory full/mod and see what the do. Where I have been hunting allot of the shots are 15-25 yds. My Win HV 5's are looking really good right now.

[MuddyRiver]

It seems strange to hear people not wanting to shoot LB because it shoots too tight.  For years everyone has been chasing the magic turkey choke that tightens up patterns! 


I'm shooting LB through a Stoeger 3500 and Carlson Coyote choke.   There is no doubt the pattern is much better than my old load/choke combo.  It also does really well in my SBE and Briley choke.

[Longshanks]

Switched my Rem870 from Kicks .655 to Hastings .665( non ported)

Kicks .655           214 in a 10 @ 40 yds

Hastings .665      184 in a 10 @ 40yds

-I now have a larger pattern @ 30yds which most of the turkeys I kill are 30-35yds. I noticed with the kicks that my patterns were about 8" at 20-25 yds and not much more open at 30yds. Shooting off of a rest it was easy to be off on a turkey target at 30 yds. Free hand you can imagine how easy it is to miss. I missed a gimme shot at 30 yds the other day with a 214 @ 40 pattern. Looks great on paper but in the woods I need a little more wiggle room.  Turkey walking fast at 30 going down in a creek is not as easy a shot as one would think with an 8" pattern free handed. Looking forward to hunting with the pattern I have now. Great pattern in close and certainly more shot in the 10 @ 40 than any other previous lead load I have shot.

[lowoctane]

 
Posted some 3x4 patterns thru a Wrights .670 / Old School 11-87 yesterday. Gonna hunt with fours for the first time in a LONG TIME this year...

[wibirdhunter]

While I understand wanted a more open pattern then some guns shoot longbeards why not just shoot cheaper ammo?

[learn2hide]

It seems strange to hear people not wanting to shoot LB because it shoots too tight.  For years everyone has been chasing the magic turkey choke that tightens up patterns! 


I'm shooting LB through a Stoeger 3500 and Carlson Coyote choke.   There is no doubt the pattern is much better than my old load/choke combo.  It also does really well in my SBE and Briley choke.

It's all about what you want but the info is great...most all of us are looking for both.  I want max pellets in 10" without giving up coverage out to 15.  I agree that the LongBeards I've shot, especially the #4 are too tight for me to hunt with.  It puts nearly 170 in 10" with #4's and leaves almost nothing outside 10"...it's more about pellet count.  The #5's put 170-200 but also has enough to get good coverage out to 12-15", that load I would hunt with.  I could care less about how tight the 10 yard pattern is...cause at that range I can aim accurately.  If a turkey was only 5 steps away, no matter what load/choke, you gotta be perfect to kill em or just shoot em through the wings it would be like a rifle.  If our average turkey kill was really 15 yards this forum wouldn't exist cause we could shoot em with Skeet chokes and 2 3/4 1oz loads of #8 shot  :-)