Home Forums Birds & Dogs Turkey Hunting Longbeards & Jellyhead

I picked up a new tube today and hit the range.
I like it.

Looking good. I've been using a Jellyhead on my BPS for a few years and like it a lot. Turkeys hate it!

Heck 7's didn't do so well

Neither did the mag blend.

I'd stay with the 5's.

The first two patterns have some holes but the #6's are looking good!

I do like the JellyHead and the 6's but for hunting this year in going to use the #4's and a Carlson .660"

I'd never shoot at a bird this far but I'd damn sure would pepper a coyote. For 70 yards and 4's the Longbeards are pretty impressive. 34 hits in 10" should put 10+ #4's in tge side of a turkey killer's head.

should get it done

Nice patterns

#5s

mag blend is the classic example of bait and switch

make a good shell at 1st
then cheapen it once everyone goes apechyt about it

word..
plenty of turkey hunters have noticed this also

their 10"@40 counts went down a lot from those 1st and 2nd year lot numbers


"flax seed /#5 #6 blend" is what they ought to call it now

I've unfortunately heard that about the magnum blend. I set a gun up for my Dad (jellyhead from a Mossberg 935) a few years ago and at 65 yards it looked like your 40 yard target. We bought up some ammo, so he has 20-25 rounds or so left. I guess when he runs out it will be back to the patterning board.

You have some great patterns there! Good luck this spring.

Do your dad a favor. Buy an Indian creek Black Diamond Strike .675 for that 935....you'll thank me later

gitem 12, I have an 835 Moss. that I have used very little.. What loads do you like with the Black diamond Strike???

Yesterday I was able to find a Primos Jelly Head for my SBEII 26" bbl. I'd been looking for 2 years and all the stores were out when I did check.

anyway... I put it in and ran some Win XR Longbeard 3" #5's down the tube. Recoil was quite impressive! But good lord did it throw a pattern at 30yds. It would have been a true "jelly head" at that range. 36 in the head and neck and more than I wanted to count in the 10" circle. It was by far the best pattern I've ever shot.

So I figured what the hell and tried one at 50 yards. 22 in the head/neck, nice even pattern with no major holes in it. Turkeys are pretty safe at 50 yards unless I goof up and mis-judge, but coyotes sneaking to the dekes are toast!

The federal hevyweight 7s. Hevi shot 7.5s and the Longbeard 3.5 #5 should all do very will with an indian creek. My 935 loved 3.5 inch hevi shot 7.5s

My current 835 has a bone collector smackdown tube(couldn't find an IC and i was in a hurry) and is really digging the 3.5 #5 longbeards

How much of an improvement have you seen on the 3.5's? In the shotguns I've used it in, the pattern was actually worse.

They can be choke sensitive in a lot of barrels. However with the Mossberg overbored bbls there is no question the 3.5s out pattern 3 inch shells

My Extrema 2 has an extended range Patternmatser in it that never comes out and is an absolute goose crusher with 3.5 BBBs

My SBE2 had the forcing cone lengthened, which i think definitely helps improve patterns with 3.5s that gun wears a Patternmaster code Black Goose in it that does double duty for geese and back up for turkeys. For ducks it gets swapped with one of Rob Roberts decoy chokes


Generally. I have been able to get 3.5 shells to pattern better than 3 inch shells. But I do think they are more choke/shotsize sensitive

Hard to beat a Mossy with that ten gauge bore if shooting a 3.5" load. Lotsa room for the shot in that barrel, a buddy of mine has one and running an unported Hastings .690 and 2 1/4 oz. 4's or 5's out patterns my 10 gauge with Hastings .695 and comparable loads of 4's and 5's.

The federal heavyweights aren't to be shot thought ported chokes, especially the Indian Creeks. The flight control wads don't pervorm correctly through ported chokes for one, and two, it could actually damage your choke/barrel. Also, the hevi 13 shells are 7s, not 7.5s. If you want to shoot the federal heavyweights, get a trulock choke made for them. It's the ticket for those heavyweights. I have an Indian creek in my benelli, and it throws some wicked patterns, closely followed by my pure gold, and a wrights. The wrights shoots well with the heavyweight shells in my gun also.

What do the 10 yard patterns look like with the longboards? I've thought about giving them a try but I was afraid it would perform like a slug in close.