Turkey shot

[porterhouse]

What’s best turkey shot for 12 gauge?

[Transom]

The best would probably be tungsten but good old lead has been doing the job for hundreds of years and will work just fine.

[adchunts]

Tungsten is the gold standard these days. It is super pricey though. Around $12-$15 a shot. If just going lead route, I’ve always liked Remington Nitro Turkey loads. Really depends on how the shell patterns out of your choke. No way to tell for sure without trying it.

[Fireball]

Lead #2’s = dead turkey

[61Woody]

Longbeard XRs in 5 or 6 shot will take out a bird at 40 plus. A choke between .660-.668 probably give you a decent pattern. Whatever you want to use though you have to pattern before hunting. Blue collar outdoors on YT has tons of ammo/choke combos you can look at.

[rclark1]

Longbeard XRs in 5 or 6 shot will take out a bird at 40 plus. A choke between .660-.668 probably give you a decent pattern. Whatever you want to use though you have to pattern before hunting. Blue collar outdoors on YT has tons of ammo/choke combos you can look at.

This!

[yetti462]

My 870 groups the cheap gray box Winchester 3" #4 shot the best.

[Luke]

Longbeard XRs in 5 or 6 shot will take out a bird at 40 plus. A choke between .660-.668 probably give you a decent pattern. Whatever you want to use though you have to pattern before hunting. Blue collar outdoors on YT has tons of ammo/choke combos you can look at.

Same here
No way im paying $10-$15 per shell not a chance.
If you cant call a bird in to under 40 yards you need to learn a little more.

[jsharp]

Same here
No way im paying $10-$15 per shell not a chance.
If you cant call a bird in to under 40 yards you need to learn a little more.

I agree that a lot of guys are trying to see how far away they can kill a turkey when they need to be trying to get the bird in closer.

[adchunts]

While I am an advocate for getting them in close, sometimes that’s not an option. Arkansas turkey population is down 60% from the mid to late 90’s. Back in those days, we could pick and choose what toms to shoot, as there was always another one if it went wrong. Now, you might only see one Tom (or none) during season. Better be ready to take the shot that presents.

[Coastal Mountaineer]

I've killed many a turkey with good old lead 4-6's in my semi auto 12 gauge. As I aged, I grew tired of lugging around 7 1/2lbs. I switched to a lightweight 20 auto that weighs 5.6lbs. Not wanting to lose any range, I tried Federal's Heavyweight TSS in 9 shot. I patterned it at 40 and 50 yards. I couldn't count the number of lethal hits on the target at both ranges.

I'm not crazy about the cost, but I generally only use 4 shells, two to make sure it's on target, and one each for my two NC gobblers.

[NCdud]

Federal 3" #4 in my Remmington 1187 works fine. Each gun has its sweet spot, shoot a few through yours to determine what works for you. I do agree that if you can't get them to 40 or less then you need to practice on your calling or techniques.

[BP in ME]

While I am an advocate for getting them in close, sometimes that’s not an option. Arkansas turkey population is down 60% from the mid to late 90’s. Back in those days, we could pick and choose what toms to shoot, as there was always another one if it went wrong. Now, you might only see one Tom (or none) during season. Better be ready to take the shot that presents.

Why is that? Is it disease? The population is still growing here in Maine and they're considered a nuisance by many. Turkey hunting has actually dropped-off in popularity in recent years despite an increase in bag limits. It varies by zone but some areas allow 2 toms in the spring and 5 birds in the fall. Mainers are cheap by nature though. If they want more birds harvested, they need to lower the $22 permit fee plus tagging fee.

[adchunts]

Why is that? Is it disease? The population is still growing here in Maine and they're considered a nuisance by many. Turkey hunting has actually dropped-off in popularity in recent years despite an increase in bag limits. It varies by zone but some areas allow 2 toms in the spring and 5 birds in the fall. Mainers are cheap by nature though. If they want more birds harvested, they need to lower the $22 permit fee plus tagging fee.

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission attributes it to a variety of issues including weather during nesting season, habitat loss, and predators. They have moved spring season later to allow more hens to be bred, shortened seasons, and reduced bag limits in many areas of the state. I’ve been reading that last year’s poult count was the best it’s been in a decade, so hopefully we are heading in the right direction. I did see an increased number of turkey hens during deer season the last two years as well. Would really like to get back to the good old days.

[Arley]

This!

what I use here in Tennessee

[adchunts]

As an aside, with TSS shot, you can use a smaller gauge shotgun with no decrease in performance (and often better performance) over 12 gauge. Have heard many stories of folks using .410 on turkey with excellent results. My current turkey gun is a 20 gauge Mossberg Maverick 88. One of the least expensive out there and patterns TSS shot ridiculously well with a Carlson choke.

[BP in ME]

As an aside, with TSS shot, you can use a smaller gauge shotgun with no decrease in performance (and often better performance) over 12 gauge. Have heard many stories of folks using .410 on turkey with excellent results. My current turkey gun is a 20 gauge Mossberg Maverick 88. One of the least expensive out there and patterns TSS shot ridiculously well with a Carlson choke.

I have a Mossberg 190 "Bubba gun" 16 ga that would probably make a great turkey gun. It's a hard gun to love and it's not for every situation but with the adjustable choke and the right load it might be really good. The only thing I don't know about is the safety. I've never fired it but I think the safety is noisy to disengage.

[The5thDutton]

I'm more of a waterfowler admittedly, but have experimented with a good many different loads. For waterfowl, we're limited to non toxic shot, so lead is out. Not so for turkey hunters, so that is an option. But there are several tungsten matrix/ tungsten-iron blends available that are very close to lead when it comes to density. Only TSS which is 95% or more pure tungsten is significantly more dense than lead. For those matrix/ blend loads, you're paying significantly more for something that performs very similar to lead from a velocity standpoint (it might pattern great in your gun though, and if so that might justify the cost). But i believe only the TSS (and only available thru federal as far as I know) is going to really extend your range.

[adchunts]

But i believe only the TSS (and only available thru federal as far as I know) is going to really extend your range.

Pretty much all the shotshell manufacturers have jumped on the TSS bandwagon. Hopefully that will bring the prices down some.

[Arley]

Longbeard XRs in 5 or 6 shot will take out a bird at 40 plus. A choke between .660-.668 probably give you a decent pattern. Whatever you want to use though you have to pattern before hunting. Blue collar outdoors on YT has tons of ammo/choke combos you can look at.

this is what I use. Kills em dead.