Hunting load

[tha bugman]

What is the definition for you of a good hunting load?  If your not a pellet hound, what would consider good numbers in a 10" circle turkey target at 40 yards?

[surehuntsalot]

I mainly look for a good overall even pattern, don't have to have 200 pellets in "the circle" to take a bird.
Some of my favorite loads don't put but 80-90 pellets in the 10" circle (20ga.), but the turkeys never know the difference.

[Daniel703]

X2 I have a choke shell combo that can put over 200 in a 10 inch. But my favorite combo gives me between 90 and 110 and almost perfectly even.

[Philippe]

Well a long time ago I was using #4's and considered 90-100 evenly distributed was phenomenal. The numbers game is fun, but honestly how many folks harvest birds beyond 25 yards? I've learned to scale back when hunting thick timber with lots of overgrowth. That's when the ole LB 4's and StarDot comes back out.

[tha bugman]

Well a long time ago I was using #4's and considered 90-100 evenly distributed was phenomenal. The numbers game is fun, but honestly how many folks harvest birds beyond 25 yards? I've learned to scale back when hunting thick timber with lots of overgrowth. That's when the ole LB 4's and StarDot comes back out.

so you would recommend #4's hunting in thick timber at close yardage?

[learn2hide]

If you aren't hunting past 30 yards it makes very little difference what you use.  But if you are going to pattern your gun most guns are capable of 100-180 pellets in a 10 inch circle at 40 yards with the right choke and load, many are capable of much more.  Obviously 4's will have harder hitting capability but fewer pellets, 6's are the opposite, lots of pellets less energy but more than adequate.  Heavier than Lead almost always patterns better than standard lead shot but the LongBeard XR has really changed the game there, with great patterns and much less expensive, but they are also so tight that you better be certain of your aim and point of impact at 10, 15, 20 yards cause you wont' get much spread at all.  Good luck to you....

[Philippe]

Well a long time ago I was using #4's and considered 90-100 evenly distributed was phenomenal. The numbers game is fun, but honestly how many folks harvest birds beyond 25 yards? I've learned to scale back when hunting thick timber with lots of overgrowth. That's when the ole LB 4's and StarDot comes back out.

so you would recommend #4's hunting in thick timber at close yardage?

I would, but that just a personal preference.

[tha bugman]

Good middle ground between 4's and 6's

[lowoctane]

My go to standard. Kills roosters...

[ahfox16]

Any load that puts 100 hits of size 5 in a 10" circle at 40 yards is good all day long.  Before the days of HTL ammo. Winchester Supreme was go to load for sure.  Slayed many a Turkey with that load.  Now I shoot a 20 gauge wand Heavyweight 7s

[Cottonmouth]

Personally,  I look at the 20" pattern at 40 to see the coverage.  Lots of things can happen at the time the trigger is pulled. Awkward shooting positions and the occasional bird doing the jelly neck head bob.

[Ontario_caller]

My favourite loads put up between 110 to 130 hits in 10 evenly distributed with a good 20 inch spread
Consistently. This has just the right amount of wiggle room, workable close range patterns and If you do your part every bird you point and pull on is done.

[trkehunr93]

Not a numbers guy, I look beyond the 10" circle out to 20" and I look for evenness of the pattern.  I'm lucky to get 85-90 in the 10 with what I shoot but it's what is to the left and right that's important to me.  What are they gonna walk into if they step left or right when I squeeze the trigger?

[Bowguy]

Before I joined this forum I don't think I've ever counted holes in my life. I'd pattern guns by looking at the pattern and judging if it was suitable or not. I did though count fatal strikes in a turkey target. Think about something. 6-7" off can be a complete miss w some of today's loads yet it'd still be in a 10" circle.
Get the density on your target which is the actual turkey. Leave no large holes for escape and decent density on side of it for error and decide the load's effective range.

[MK M GOBL]

When I was first learning "turkey hunting" I was told all about patterning, loads, choke and I shot a lot of shells doing all this... As I learned about turkey hunting and things changed, I decided to build a dedicated turkey gun and had a lot of work done to it, the gun does pattern great and will easily kill a bird at the 40 yard mark. I have changed shells as I was shooting Federal HV 5's but since their introduction of the flight stopper wad it totally screwed up my pattern, I now shoot Winchester HV 5's, always liked the 5's as a load. For quite some time my hunts have changed and no longer play the long range game, don't even think of squeezing the trigger until his under 20 and closing in on 15... Biggest thing here is having a scope on my gun and sighted in Dead-On at 15 yards, all I need anymore.

Funny thing, most will talk about how far away they can shoot at a turkey, I talk about how close I kill them.

MK M GOBL