Tidefanatic wrote:
I only use it for turkey( Hevi-13, 3”, 2 oz. #6 ) and it’s certainly done the job in excellent order up to my 40 yard limit. There’s probably lots of shells that will kill a turkey within that range, I’ve just personally not gotten into comparing a bunch of loads as to how many hundreds of pellets in a turkey head and neck target one vs. another. How many does it take anyway to effectively kill a turkey at 40 yards and in? I just know that they’ve done great through a .660 Jellyhead in my 870 Super Mag. Choices are wonderful things!
Here are some of my turkey load pattern numbers to give you an idea of how some perform at 40 yards. I did most of this work a few years back, so some of these tungsten-based loads are no longer available.
The 12-gauge 3-inch loads were shot through a Remington 870 Special Purpose shotgun and the 12-gauge 3 ½-inch loads were shot through a Remington 870 Super Magnum shotgun. A Remington Turkey Super Full Extended choke (.063-inch constriction) was used for all lead loads and a Remington Hevi-Shot Super Full Extended choke (.053-inch constriction) was used with all steel and tungsten-based loads.
Pattern testing was accomplished by using 48-inch x 48-inch pattern paper with a turkey head-and-neck target placed in the center of each pattern sheet prior to the patterning shot; yardages were measure with a tape from muzzle to target; and pattern counts, pattern percentages and Skull/Cervical Vertebrae (S/CV) hits were the average from five patterns.
In-shell pellet count averages were the result of cutting open and counting the pellets from five shells out of the same box/lot as the pattern loads. These in-shell pellet counts allowed for true pattern percentage calculations.
40-YARD PATTERNS
Fed Hi-Velocity 3" 1 ¾ oz #5 lead (322 pellets) / 30” pattern 272 (85%) / S/CV hits 3.6
Rem Hi-Velocity 3" 1 ¾ oz #5 lead (280 pellets) / 30” pattern 225 (80%) / S/CV hits 5.8
Win Hi-Velocity 3" 1 ¾ oz #5 lead (293 pellets) / 30” pattern 257 (88%) / S/CV hits 5.8
Win Long Beard 3" 1 ¾ oz #5 lead (305 pellets) / 30” pattern 295 (97%) / S/CV hits 11.0 / 10” pattern 118
Win Super-X 3" 1 7/8 oz #5 lead (317 pellets) / 30” pattern 276 (87%) / S/CV hits 3.4
Rem Premier 3" 2 oz #5 lead (328 pellets) / 30” pattern 258 (79%) / S/CV hits 3.4
Win XX Mag 3" 2 oz #5 lead (336 pellets) / 30” pattern 293 (87%) / S/CV hits 3.6
Hevi-13 3" 1 5/8 oz #6 Hevi-Shot (305 pellets) / 30” pattern 258 (85%) / S/CV hits 5.2
Rem Hevi-Shot 3" 1 5/8 oz #6 Hevi-Shot (381 pellets) / 30” pattern 341 (90%) / S/CV hits 6.6
Rem Wingmaster 3” 1 5/8 oz #6 Hvy Density (346 pellets) / 30” pattern 306 (88%) / S/CV hits 5.6
Win Hi-Density 3" 1 ¾ oz #6 Hi-Density (388 pellets) / 30” pattern 358 (92%) / S/CV hits 7.8
Fed Hvy Weight 3" 1 5/8 oz #5 Heavyweight (194 pellets) / 30” pattern 184 (95%) / S/CV hits 4.6
Hevi-13 3" 1 5/8 oz #5 Hevi-Shot (186 pellets) / 30” pattern 168 (90%) / S/CV hits 3.2
Rem Hevi-Shot 3" 1 5/8 oz #5 Hevi-Shot (280 pellets) / 30” pattern 240 (86%) / S/CV hits 5.2
Win Hi-Density 3" 1 ¾ oz #5 Hi-Density (284 pellets) / 30” pattern 262 (92%) / S/CV hits 4.8
Win Hi-Density 3 ½" 2 oz #5 Hi-Density (317 pellets) / 30” pattern 291 (92%) / S/CV hits 7.6
Fed Premium 3" 2 oz #4 lead (290 pellets) / 30” pattern 213 (73%) / S/CV hits 3.2
Rem Premier 3" 2 oz #4 lead (255 pellets) / 30” pattern 209 (82%) / S/CV hits 3.6
Win XX Mag 3" 2 oz #4 lead (258 pellets) / 30” pattern 243 (94%) / S/CV hits 4.6
Win Long Beard 3½" 2 oz #4 lead (255 pellets) / 30” pattern 247 (97%) / S/CV hits 11.6 / 10” pattern 126
Win XX Mag 3½" 2 ¼ oz #4 lead (300 pellets) / 30” pattern 242 (81%) / S/CV hits 4.2
Hope this helps, good luck!