Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Turkey Shotgun Shell Pricing

I have not been turkey hunting in years, but was asked by my brother in law out in Alabama to drive over and hunt with him at his lease. I was looking at Turkey loads, and discovered that pricing has left the realm of reality. Hevi 18 tungsten shells are running near $20 EACH?

As I'm sure you know - Hevi 18 Tungsten shells aren't required to kill a bird tho either.

Scheel's ships and has good prices often

Turkey and coyote shotgun shells have gone insane.

Funny how we killed turkey back in the day with a full choke and hot loaded duck and pheasant loads...

Bidenomics

Just shoot some high brass lead 6's . Long time turkey hunter- but actually not much of a killer, just hunt a lot. But those old lead 6's work well when I get one in range. I also shoot them out of a high gloss walnut stocked 870.... Joe

Um.... I just bought some high speed 12g in 4 shot lead for sub $20 per box of 25... not sure why you would want to use a mandatory type of expensive round for waterfowl for hunting turkey when you can use lead... but with that said, those prices for the waterfowl loads are plain stupid

Take the above advice, and exert a little downward market force on the outrageous.

I called the BIL and asked what he was using. He said just regular stuff kills Alabama turkeys just fine. Those TSS shells are either #7 or #9 shot?

Shot federal 3 inch copper plated 6s in 12. Dead every last time out to 55 yards assuming you have a pattern. Plated shot was important. If I could have found nickel plated I would have used that.

OTOH if the heavy shot patterns well, lets say you use 100 dollars, IE 5 shots to confirm pattern. Then one shot per bird. What maybe 4 birds. 200 bucks overall on a turkey hunt really isn't that much money.

I bet the copper plated lead isn't cheap though either these days if they still make it. I bought quite a bit of it before I decided I'd had enough of killing turkeys and moved on.

Any turkey now gets shot with a rifle as a byproduct of another hunt. They were predictable enough via spring calling it wasn't really much of a challenge to get them it was just time spent in the process I'd prefer to use other ways.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/2900545926?pid=829383

Winchester Super-X Turkey Ammunition 12 Gauge 2-3/4" 1-1/2 oz #4 Copper Plated Shot Box of 10

$1.30 per round.

Really not that hard to get a turkey in range to kill with these.

Buddies son has killed multiple gobblers with a .410 and BOSS [bleep] shells! It ain’t magic!

Magic not required, lead still works. None have survived my efforts or I'd provide witness testimony.

I've got about 12 boxes of those except in #5 shot that I bought on clearance at Wal-Mart a few years ago for 3.97 a box. They've been killing turkeys just fine and I've got enough to last me the rest of my life.

Winchester Longbeards are what I consider to be a top of the line turkey shell, and they only cost a couple bucks a piece. I'll probably pizz somebody off here, but if you think that you have to buy a shotgun shell costing $12 dollars or more just to kill a turkey, then you're very uneducated about turkey hunting.

Agreed, the cost of all those super turkey loads is an indicator of some sort of mental deficiency on the part of those who buy them. If they were to properly pattern and zero the gun, they’d have a few hundred bucks downrange in no time. Only ones who can afford them must be gunwriters and industry shills who promote them on the internet.

I have a dedicated turkey gun, a 24” rifle-sighted barrel for my Encore, that does just fine at a pretty good distance with 3” 12 gauge lead. Also I have killed some at close to 50 yards with my 3 1/2” Beretta duck gun and copper plated 4’s.

All that said, I have probably killed as many turkeys with my 16 gauge Merkel, IC/M, with the Fiocchi Golden Pheasant load of 1 1/8 ounce nickel plated 5’s as with anything, targets of opportunity.

My brother has killed a small truckload of turkeys with an old 16 gauge Ithaca double. If you asked him how the barrels are choked he’d have no idea. If you asked him what loads he uses he’d tell you, “16 gauge, of course.”

Must be some kind of miracle, that we somehow kill turkeys with just an all-around shotgun and a box call…

Fortunately, I stocked up on 12 ga. Turkey shells back around 1999 - 2002, and still have somewhere around 50 rounds left. Haven't turkey hunted in about 5 years but may give it a try again one of these years. Just looked through all those turkey loads and one box still has a price sticker on it. $8.29 for a box of 10 Winchester 2&3/4" Magnum copper plated lead #5 shot turkey loads, and back then I recall thinking they were expensive. But I also figured that I may as well stock up now because next year they will just cost more. How often do ammo prices go down from one year to the next?

I've got a 25rd box of 2¾ inch Fiocchi Golden Pheasant 5s that are hell on turkeys

Using a Primos turkey choke

Never felt the need for "turkey" bullets

my wife killed her first one last year, with a skeet load of #8s . Range 25 yards , dead right there

RE the 410 use... gal we used to hunt on her place. Only thing she used was her voice and a model 12 in 12 ga with Win dove and quail 7.5s. Close enough it doesn't take much at all. I've killed plenty with a bow. Plenty with rifle and shotgun. A few with handguns.

Gee Wilickers!! First I've heard of this! I remember when we could buy single turkey loads from the Fergler's Hardware - $.15 a piece!!!

that tungsten super shot is crazy expensive. I've killed I have no idea how many birds with good old #6 copper plated buffered shot usually out of the Winchester high velocity. anymore it's just 3 in something years ago I shot several with 3 1/2" but that is totally unnecessary.. I don't feel you gain much shooting 3 and 1/2 except a few pellets and a lot of recoil.

I have killed turkeys with my 20 guage with low brass 6s when we had a fall season squirrel hunting. A shotgun shell that will penetrate and kill squirrels will kill a turkey head.

I only used Hevi Shot when required on public land otherwise lead which isn't that bad.

It's all about the latest fad. There are a group of hunters, and I use the word "hunters" for the lack of a better one, who buy into the belief that unless you use the latest gadget on the market, that you will not have any success. All it takes it for some writer or YouTuber to say that something is the best invention since sliced bread, and they'll line up to buy it regardless of the cost.

New hunters tho - they know what they saw last, not 30 years ago because they weren't there either. Start hunting today and you think a RAR is a quality rifle and what a "deer rifle should be" - because they don't have the context of wood/blue MKII's. Never saw it. Don't know what you don't know.

This. Or a Win lever 22 Win Mag.

No way n hell I’d pay that

I've been using the same box of Winchester SuperX Magnum #6's for 20 years. Never had any of them bounce off a bird. 2 3/4" too.

I’ve killed many turkeys with a bow. Before using a bow, a 12 ga, mod choke, 1.25 ounces of fast #5 or #6 shot worked great. Not need to buy those insanely expensive shells.

Shoot them in the head with 71/2's,as long as their in range your good.

While our window was open for a few days I ordered a goodly number of .410 and 20g stuff that was "on sale"...............in quotes because it's still pricey scheidt. And not available locally.

Can't use lead like I used in AZ, so have to go with the non-toxic stuff. And I wanted to try/pattern some of the TSS stuff before I try setting up to reload it. Guys in the forums downstairs seem to speak highly of it.

I'd try steel but as far as I can ascertain in the regs, we're restricted to #4 shot size and I just don't like the possibility of not getting a clean kill if I decide to take a 40 yard shot. I've got some 12 and 20 in #2 or larger for duck/geese I'd be willing to try, but heck, I figure I've got to do something to stimulate the economy

TSS with the proper choke changes a .410 from a stunt gun to a practical 35-40 yard head-shot piece. That may apply to 28ga as well, but I don’t have one to test. 12 and 20ga are fine with good lead loads. Pick something, pattern it, and hunt within the limits the pattern board shows.

If you can call em in under 25 yards all the time, guess you can go the more economical route LOL

Guess one could factor in the overall cost............are ya shooting em in the backyard or taking vacation from work and traveling?
The latter..............shell cost is nuthin'.

223 is legal here and way cheaper

I laid in a supply when I had a chance to buy it wholesale.

I don't care about state of the art shells, just state of the kill.LOL

rte
That's a lot of dead turkeys!

Sam,
As others have already said lead still kills just fine. Fun to play with new innovation, but not necessary.

PM sent

Even buying TSS, still the cheapest part of the hunt.

When I saw the price of TSS I decided to just take the money and buy 3 Butterballs. 😂

LOL!

I'm an old tightwad with a near terminal case of OFS!
I shoot a 1932 Rem "Sportsman" 16 gauge and I've got a butt load of Rem 16 ga field loads #8's!
They kill hell out of turkeys!

All you need is ONE #8 pellet to enter the brain or disrupt the CNS and you got a turkey down.
A turkey's head and neck are extremely vulnerable. That is always my target. 🦃

P.S. - I ain't about to spend mega bucks on "turkey specific" ammo.

This site is three birds I killed one spring. All one shot kills! All #8 lead shot. Two and three quarter ammo.

Mag, 3.5" and high dollar shot isn't required to kill turkeys.
Patience, a good shotgun and a 1 oz load of #8's will put them down.
If you can't call 'im in close enough. Let 'em walk. He'll be around to hunt another time.


https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi0.wp.com%2Fwww.charlieelk.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F06%2Fone-turkey-neck-xrays.jpg%3Fresize%3D1024%252C842%26ssl%3D1&tbnid=BI64bn_0p0BlVM&vet=1&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.charlieelk.com%2F2017%2F06%2F16%2Fbeyond-the-patterning-board-x-rays-of-shot-turkey-headnecks%2F&docid=-nsAbBFrGTvzRM&w=1024&h=842&hl=en-US&source=sh%2Fx%2Fim%2Fm1%2F4&kgs=75d0162ffc1d31b5

in some ways I would agree. but for some of the old guys that's turkey hunting forever and has guns stacked up camo stacked up called stacked up you get the picture. and not to mention you're on your own private place just outside your house and turkeys are everywhere it's almost a matter of self-defense LOL

^----this man knows.

I'm working on my last box of Federal from years ago. I did lay in a small supply of Winchester Longbeard after it came out. It's gone up in price a bit since then!!

Scouting pic, it's deep in the woods despite the presence of the gate.

TSS is expensive. And unnecessary in a 12 gauge. But it makes sub-gauges shine. Like was said earlier in this thread, it makes a .410 a very viable turkey killer out to 40 yards.

I've done a lot of patterning with 20 gauges and TSS is simply superior, significantly so, over lead in pattern denisty.

Here's a 20 gauge pattern using a 3" load of #5 lead at 40 yards using a .565 constriction choke. Will it kill? Abosolutely. But that's a thin pattern.


Here's the same gun and choke at 40 yards using #9 TSS. Lots of holes in important parts.


I decided to try TSS in .410. It works. Well. I shot this bird a few weeks ago with a .410 and #9 TSS.


As much as you would shoot turkey shells, it doesn't seem to me the cost is all that prohibitive. A few boxes will last years.

This box will likely last me a decade.