Long Range Turkey Hunting

[Broken Brow]

Hi, I am new to the forum. Looks like a great site.

I was wondering if there was any interest in long range turkey hunting on this site? I am talking about rigging and patterning shotguns with HTL (heavier than lead) shot for a possible 50-yard shot or more.

 

[J E Custom]

Hi, I am new to the forum. Looks like a great site.

I was wondering if there was any interest in long range turkey hunting on this site? I am talking about rigging and patterning shotguns with HTL (heavier than lead) shot for a possible 50-yard shot or more.

To date I have been successful with a 3.5" 12 gauge using 2 1/4 oz #2 lead loads up to 67 yards
(Longest)and lots at 55 to 60 yards.

When using a shotgun I like to talk them in to at least 50 yards but sometimes the hold up (Lots
of hunting pressure) and won't come closer than 60 or 70 yards.

I normally use the #4 shot but have several of the #2 loads handy just in case.

Hear we can use rifles and sometimes have to near the end of the season when they are call shy
But the crowd I hunt with believes that anything under 200 yards and a head shot are not
sporting so If we want to do some long range hunting we chose rifles and make it sporting.

So far no one has wounded one and misses are a source of lots of ridicule, so only high percentage
shots are taken.

I have tried the "Heavy Shot" and found that lead gives better patterns at extended ranges
and will drop them in there tracks. I set my limits at 65 yards and try to stick with it.

The 2 1/4 oz loads are not to easy to find but they can be ordered on line and I try to keep
plenty in hand.

The downside to these loads is recoil. They have plenty, but they are devastating and head shots
are easy with the shot count being high. And you dont have to pick shot out of the meat.

I have killed them with pistol,bow,rifle and shotgun, next is the crossbow (Tack 15)

Just the way I hunt them.

J E CUSTOM

 

[HighKnob]

I've done some work with a mossberg 835 and it's a clean 60 yd gun with Nitro 4x5 lead 7hevi shot combo. The last couple of seasons i've been working on a 20 ga. 870. So far have taken a few in the 40's with Hevi shot 1 1/4 oz 5's.

 

[Broken Brow]

Great.

I am shooting the H-13 2.25 7's. Mine is patterning out close to 60 yards under the right conditions.

There are some guys out there reloading TSS (Tungsten Super Shot) down to straight 9's and they are getting awsome long range patterns. TSS is an expensive reloading project, but I would like to try it some day.

 

[J E Custom]

Great.

I am shooting the H-13 2.25 7's. Mine is patterning out close to 60 yards under the right conditions.

There are some guys out there reloading TSS (Tungsten Super Shot) down to straight 9's and they are getting awsome long range patterns. TSS is an expensive reloading project, but I would like to try it some day.

The problem with 71/2 shot (I assume that is what you call 7's) is at longer distance you will not
get penetration, That's why I use #2s for the longest shots and #4 for the closer shots.

Another Issue I have with the Heavy Shot is that the shot count is far less and you cant find any
21/4 oz loads. And they are a lot cheaper (About 1/3).

Use a turkey target and aim at the head, then count the number of hits in the head and spine,
Even though the pattern may be good the number of hits will make the difference.

Just an opinion.

J E CUSTOM

 

[HighKnob]

#7 Hevi Shot should penitrate about the same as a #5 Lead. They should have plenty of energy to penitrate head and neck at 60 yds. I do have some 2 3/8 Hevi shot loads, but they are expensive.

 

[Broken Brow]

The problem with 71/2 shot (I assume that is what you call 7's) is at longer distance you will not
get penetration, That's why I use #2s for the longest shots and #4 for the closer shots.
J E CUSTOM

Hevi-13 is suppose to be straight 7's, but the pellets are not always real uniform, so you could argue it is a mix. I have seen the Hevi-Shot in 7.5's.
A lot of people think 7's are too small. I did too before I tried them. If you were talking steel or lead 7's I would agree that your range would be reduced, but the H-13 7's are actually a little denser than lead so they penetrate better than lead 7's. The densities look like this:

Steel = 7.5 g/cc
ITX Original-10 = 10 g/cc
Lead = 10.6 g/cc
Hevi-Shot = 12 g/cc
Remington HD = 12 g/cc
Win Xtended Range = 12 g/cc
Hevi-13 = 13 g/cc
ITX Extreme Turkey Trauma-13 = 13 g/cc
Federal Heavyweight = 15.2 g/cc
TSS = 18 g/cc

I think HighKnob kind of summed it up. H-13 penetrates better than lead the same way lead penetrates better than steel and you can down size.
I will say that since the shot is smaller, I want to get a lot of hits on the turkey. When I pattern my shotgun, I want to get at least 100 pellets in a 10-inch circle at the farthest distance I plan to shoot.

 

[DocHolladay]

3" Hevi-Shot #5's, Winchester 1300 12ga... 56yds, 62yds and 71 yds. I put a red dot scope on my shotgun this year and didnt get to shoot a turkey with it(the scope). I killed 2 turkeys this year before the scope though. One made it to the taxidermist, the other made it to the freezer.