lead pattern help

[rgref522]

I know you said lead but you realize that you can down load a 2 3/4 TSS handload to around 1.5 oz and still probably match if not outperform longbeards and not have to worry about consistency.

could you expand, the shell size is something im still reading on.  i have always thought the bigger shell the more shot, the more powder, the bigger the better.  now realizing that's not the case.

assume everything equal (shot size, same pattern, etc) besides shell size and compare a 3 vs 3.5 inch shell.  do they carry the same knockdown power at equal distances? or does the 3 inch have less knockdown being smaller? what else is comprised if anything. i realize this is kind of a beginner question but i think im victim to old timers old school train of thought.

Ryan

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[LaLongbeard]

I know you said lead but you realize that you can down load a 2 3/4 TSS handload to around 1.5 oz and still probably match if not outperform longbeards and not have to worry about consistency.

could you expand, the shell size is something im still reading on.  i have always thought the bigger shell the more shot, the more powder, the bigger the better.  now realizing that's not the case.

assume everything equal (shot size, same pattern, etc) besides shell size and compare a 3 vs 3.5 inch shell.  do they carry the same knockdown power at equal distances? or does the 3 inch have less knockdown being smaller? what else is comprised if anything. i realize this is kind of a beginner question but i think im victim to old timers old school train of thought.

Ryan

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

If you look at the velocity printed on most shell boxes you'll notice the 3" usually has a higher velocity than the 3.5. 3.5 will have more shot but there is a trade off, you can only get so much powder in a shell hull. The faster velocity will have more penetration than the same size pellet at slower velocity but not enough to worry about. 20 years ago a consistent even 100 pellet pattern at 40 yards was plenty still is.And the number of holes in the paper at 40 won't make a bit of difference when you miss them at 20 because the pattern is the size of a baseball.

[GobbleNut]

.And the number of holes in the paper at 40 won't make a bit of difference when you miss them at 20 because the pattern is the size of a baseball.

Exactly!  The average turkey hunter is much better off shooting a load that will be a bit more forgiving at close ranges than shooting a load and choke that puts three times as many pellets as they need to kill a turkey at forty yards.  From my experience with the turkey hunters I have interacted with over the years, very few of them (none, in fact) are target shooters,...and none are fixated on pellet numbers in a target at whatever the current rage is. 

The moral of this story is:  Get a load and choke that will put enough pellets to kill a gobbler at some reasonable maximum distance (typically agreed to be 40 yards +/-) but will also kill a gobbler at twenty or thirty yards regardless of if you have his head/neck slightly out-of-center in the sight picture when you pull the trigger.  Unless you are one of those guys that shoots dozens of rounds through their turkey guns every year and shoots their shotgun with the accuracy of a rifle (which the vast majority of average turkey hunters don't), you will be glad you did. 

(Although this is a bit off of the specific topic, it bears repeating and reinforcing)

[Gooserbat]

I know you said lead but you realize that you can down load a 2 3/4 TSS handload to around 1.5 oz and still probably match if not outperform longbeards and not have to worry about consistency.

could you expand, the shell size is something im still reading on.  i have always thought the bigger shell the more shot, the more powder, the bigger the better.  now realizing that's not the case.

assume everything equal (shot size, same pattern, etc) besides shell size and compare a 3 vs 3.5 inch shell.  do they carry the same knockdown power at equal distances? or does the 3 inch have less knockdown being smaller? what else is comprised if anything. i realize this is kind of a beginner question but i think im victim to old timers old school train of thought.

Ryan

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

I've been hand loading TSS for about 6 years.  What I've learned is first, it's not lead by any means.  It works differently.  By using a smaller shot size ( most commonly #9) you gain the advantages of TSS.  I wouldn't ever consider anything less than #8.  With a number 9 shot I've killed birds cleanly past 60 yards.  Now I know the 40 yard rules on OG and I am being honest here.  It's about knowing your equipment.  Shot density both of the individual pellet and the shot pattern itself is what makes it so deadly.  TSS weights run 18-18.5 3/cc.  Lead is like 11. Second it doesn't deform so you are able to get tight patterns eaisly.   It's not about how fast or anything like that it's just that you are putting a lot of shot down range in a pattern that is inherently tight..  so with all that said it's easy to down load for the guy who only wants to kill turkeys at 40 yards.  Now once you go down the rabbit hole you're likely going to be like "just what can I do" and then things get crazy.  I've gone full circle and now I have a load that shoots great in all my guns and it puts up around 320-330 pellets in a 10" circle at 40 yards.  I can make it do more but I sacrifice close range forgiveness.