Problems with Federal's Flitecontrol Wad and extra full choke?

I've read mixed reviews of Federal's mag-shok turkey load with the Flitecontrol Wad and an xtra full (turkey) choke. I picked up a box on sale for my son to use with his 20 ga, #4's were all they had for sale. I haven't had a chance to pattern this load yet. Does anyone have any experience with these Fed loads (esp 20ga) and choke recommendations with them? Thanks

I use these in a 12 gauge 870 with absolutely no problems. I have about 5 extra full turkey chokes and have used these loads in all of them with great success. They are my favorite turkey loads. They should work great in a 20 gauge too. Use any full or extra full turkey choke and you'll be golden. I've even used them in an old fox sterlingworth with no problems: Have taken turkey at over 45 yds with that shotgun with its mod and full barrels.

Thanks BSA for your testimonial. These flitecontrol turkey loads seem like a good idea, esp for a 20 ga. I haven't used them before. Just got to wondering if the extra full chokes would be too constricting and work against the flitecontrol wad.....CT

I think you'll be happy with them. They patter very well out of my shotguns. Good luck with your turkey hunting too.

With 11yo son in tote, luck always helps

The problems are not from too tight of a constriction, they are from the ported "wad stripping" chokes. The aftermarket chokes that are extended and ported are designed to strip the wad away from the load and provide a tight pattern. Federal designed its "Flite Control" to strip away from the shot on its own. If you shoot them from a non ported choke, you will like them and they will likely pattern well for you. You probably won't get very good results from a ported choke though. Federal Heavy Weight shot is the heaviest available commercially too which is a good thing. It s15 gm/cc where lead is 10-10.5 and Hevi shot is 12. Very dense heavy stuff.
Lee

Originally Posted by Ebby

The problems are not from too tight of a constriction, they are from the ported "wad stripping" chokes. The aftermarket chokes that are extended and ported are designed to strip the wad away from the load and provide a tight pattern. Federal designed its "Flite Control" to strip away from the shot on its own. If you shoot them from a non ported choke, you will like them and they will likely pattern well for you. You probably won't get very good results from a ported choke though. Federal Heavy Weight shot is the heaviest available commercially too which is a good thing. It s15 gm/cc where lead is 10-10.5 and Hevi shot is 12. Very dense heavy stuff.
Lee

Have you tried them in the ported chokes? I have and they work great. Again, nothing to worry about. They are one of the best performing turkey loads I've used.

i shot the heavyweights in my mossberg 935 with a rhino choke and had terrible patterns, then after some reading i shot them thru a factory improved cylinder choke and was amazed at the pattern i was getting.i have shot several turkeys with this combo most between 25 & 30 yards but some at 45 as i missed judged the distance.

Originally Posted by jjenkins

i shot the heavyweights in my mossberg 935 with a rhino choke and had terrible patterns, then after some reading i shot them thru a factory improved cylinder choke and was amazed at the pattern i was getting.i have shot several turkeys with this combo most between 25 & 30 yards but some at 45 as i missed judged the distance.

I don't think the op is asking about "heavy shot" loads. The ones I think he's talking about are these:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/default.aspx?productNumber=274986

I may be wrong, but that is what I got out of the op's original question. Remington makes hevi shot loads and federal does make a non toxic heavy load, but that wasn't what he was asking. The federal's premium "mag shok" flitecontrol turkey loads are just copper plated lead shot and work great in any choke configuration in my experience. They do however state that they may work better in a non ported choke tube and certain choke constriction. Take a look at the reviews from cabela's:

http://reviews.cabelas.com/8815/215...views.htm?page=2&sort=submissionTime

I bought a Mossgerg 20 gauge and use the factory full choke with Federal flight control 5 shot. I have a 40 yard pattern, no joke. A little better choke should make a little better improvement; I recommend a smooth extended.

I shoot the federal flight control wad high velocity lead 3.5" out of my Mossberg 835. The stock choke was not great, I then tried a more open choke like they recommend, and it was the same or worse. Finally I tried a Carlson smooth .675 (I think) and it is great.

I also shoot the flight control wad high velocity lead 3" out of my 500 12 gauge with a factory extra full non extended choke with great results.

4 shot has been giving me as good of a long range pattern in my 12 gauges so I opt for the heavier bb. I chose 5 shot for the 20 gauge for more bb's due to the 1 5.16 oz shot.

I am thinking about trying magnum heavy loads in the 12 gauge versus the current high velocity loads to maybe improve my pattern density. Less velocity but more bb's and subsonic I believe. 4 shot or back to the high velocity.

Mossberg 500 20ga. Undertaker Choke-- Federal Flitecontrol #7 Heavyweight- Will kill turkey's at 40 yards-- Web

The undertaker also does wonders in the 870's too. Is your undertaker ported or non?? Thanks.

I have used these with a Primos tightwad choke in my 12 ga 870 with great results. However I haven't done so well with my Browning and a .665. Others also feel its may be too tight. The Primos is vented the Browning isn't.I am goingm to try a more open choke in the Browning.

bsa1917hunter ---Non Ported Undertaker--- Web

"I don't think the op is asking about "heavy shot" loads. The ones I think he's talking about are these:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/default.aspx?productNumber=274986"

Yep, that's the load to which I was referring

Originally Posted by wldthg

bsa1917hunter ---Non Ported Undertaker--- Web

Thanks, just checked mine too and it is unported. I've got other turkey chokes that I use with the 11-87 and 870 that are ported and have worked well. I did, however, notice the undertaker choke patterns better than the ported ones. If the ported ones were all I had, I'd use them without question. If someone doesn't already have a turkey choke I'd suggest the undertaker with these loads.

Originally Posted by Ebby

The problems are not from too tight of a constriction, they are from the ported "wad stripping" chokes. The aftermarket chokes that are extended and ported are designed to strip the wad away from the load and provide a tight pattern. Federal designed its "Flite Control" to strip away from the shot on its own. If you shoot them from a non ported choke, you will like them and they will likely pattern well for you. You probably won't get very good results from a ported choke though. Federal Heavy Weight shot is the heaviest available commercially too which is a good thing. It s15 gm/cc where lead is 10-10.5 and Hevi shot is 12. Very dense heavy stuff.
Lee

This is exactly as I have found with the Fed Flite Control loads. I've shot #5 & 6's in my chokes with ports, they do not pattern well. I have pards that shoot them in non-ported chokes and like them. I've seen them roll birds over easily at 45yds

I shoot Win Supreme #5, and they work for me.

I too vote for the Win Supreme 2 oz #5s for my 12 gauge shotguns. I have yet to find a combo that works as well with the Fed Flitecontrols. Still looking, since I have several boxes of them.

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[/quote]Have you tried them in the ported chokes? I have and they work great. Again, nothing to worry about. They are one of the best performing turkey loads I've used. [quote]

I have used them in several different guns and chokes in both ported and unported chokes. They shoot much better in unported chokes. I use Win supreme's, mag blends, and Nitro's(my preferred) in my guns now and with ported chokes they shoot significantly better than the Fed with Flight Control Wads. I will be patterning some Fed's tomorrow in a gun for my Dad with a non ported choke and I'll report back.

I now prefer Nitro's in my main turkey gun and used to avoid them for the reason that most guys do, they cost too much. However, I then realized that I spend hundreds if not thousands every year chasing birds and very little of that money actually helps me kill turkeys. I buy new clothes, calls, decoys, blinds, etc every year and they are nice but they don't do much that my current (i.e last years) stuff does. I have killed birds for a long time with the same old equipment. The Nitro's though, add a really tangible difference to you ability to kill turkeys. It extends your range at which you are able to kill a turkey. I have shot birds at 50 plus yds with other loads before and I have also missed them at that range with other loads. With the nitro's there is no doubt that the load will perform well enough if you do your part. When you can put 250 plus pellets in a circle at 40 yds every time it makes a difference. The cost is roughly $50 more for 10 shots than plain lead loads and $30 more than premium type loads. I don't know about you but for me, $30-50 more per season to ensure that I don't go home empty handed is money well spent. Some will argue with me and that's fine. It's just my opinion. I chase turkeys is 6-7 states every spring and I like every advantage I can get.
Lee

I've been using the Federal Mag-Shok { 1 5/16 oz #5 lead shot} with flite control wads out of my 20 gauge Browning BPS with the factory full choke tube for the past couple of seasons. So far I've pounded 3 turks decisively at 37,42 and 46 yards. My 12 gauge will be spending alot less time in the woods from now on.

Originally Posted by Ebby

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Have you tried them in the ported chokes? I have and they work great. Again, nothing to worry about. They are one of the best performing turkey loads I've used.

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I have used them in several different guns and chokes in both ported and unported chokes. They shoot much better in unported chokes. I use Win supreme's, mag blends, and Nitro's(my preferred) in my guns now and with ported chokes they shoot significantly better than the Fed with Flight Control Wads. I will be patterning some Fed's tomorrow in a gun for my Dad with a non ported choke and I'll report back.

I now prefer Nitro's in my main turkey gun and used to avoid them for the reason that most guys do, they cost too much. However, I then realized that I spend hundreds if not thousands every year chasing birds and very little of that money actually helps me kill turkeys. I buy new clothes, calls, decoys, blinds, etc every year and they are nice but they don't do much that my current (i.e last years) stuff does. I have killed birds for a long time with the same old equipment. The Nitro's though, add a really tangible difference to you ability to kill turkeys. It extends your range at which you are able to kill a turkey. I have shot birds at 50 plus yds with other loads before and I have also missed them at that range with other loads. With the nitro's there is no doubt that the load will perform well enough if you do your part. When you can put 250 plus pellets in a circle at 40 yds every time it makes a difference. The cost is roughly $50 more for 10 shots than plain lead loads and $30 more than premium type loads. I don't know about you but for me, $30-50 more per season to ensure that I don't go home empty handed is money well spent. Some will argue with me and that's fine. It's just my opinion. I chase turkeys is 6-7 states every spring and I like every advantage I can get.
Lee

Sounds like you know your chit. Oh the stories we could tell about our first turkey hunting/learning experiences

. Maybe someone should start a new post on that subject. Good luck with your turkey hunting this year. I usually just hunt the rios in oregon, but know exactly what you are talking about when it comes to cost!!!!!! I've tried many turkey loads (that I can afford

) which narrows it down to the standard winchesters, remingtons, and have used the federals w/flitecontrol wad since they came out and they pattern better than anything I've tried thus far. Still like taking great grandads side by side out every once in a while too.

Originally Posted by taz4570

I too vote for the Win Supreme 2 oz #5s for my 12 gauge shotguns. I have yet to find a combo that works as well with the Fed Flitecontrols. Still looking, since I have several boxes of them.

Sounds like you need a good ol remington 870 with the undertaker choke. Pretty hard to beat that combo IMHO.

Yeah, I've spent a ton of money over the years on chokes and loads! Hard to beat the nitro combo with rhino. I shot the Win Supremes for years and the Federal before the flite control out of a fixed choke Browning that my Grandpa had given me. I eventually moved up to a Remington Hevi shot load out of my Browning Gold and MAD choke and killed a pile of them with that combo. When I started shooting Nitro's from that gun, it was an eye opener. They were unreal compared to what I had been using. Killed many birds out to 60 yds and all were bang flop. A buddy used to borrow it b/c it shot so well.

Of course, like all good things, I sold it for some dumb reason. My SBE 2 does a good job now too but not like that gun. I'm about to start rolling my own TSS loads so I'll post back results from that experience.

I bow hunt birds a lot and prefer to get everything close but I also travel to hunt quite a bit and when I'm out in open country it's nice to be able to stretch out the shotgun from time to time.

I'm really getting pumped up. We open youth season on Sat and then Regular season on March 12th. I'll be getting out early with my Son and then its full Bore from then until May 8th when I finish up in KS.

Lee

Shot the Federal Heavyweight Flite Control 3.5" #6's today from a SBE 2 with an unported XX full aftermarket turkey choke but the maker is unknown. Nice uniform pattern with out any holes in it. It put 83 pellets in 10" circle at 40yds. Plenty good enough to kill a turkey at that distance. With the federal heavy shot it is equivalent to #3's in lead. Lots of energy left at that distance.

However, this is in comparison to the Nitro 3.5" 4,5,7 combo Hevi shot from a Rhino Choke .660. The 10" circle contained 279 pellets but there was a golf ball sized hole in the right center. Too much difference for me to ignore.

The Hevi 13 "mag Blend" 5,6,7 combo put 201 pellets in the circle with another SBE 2 and a Jelly Head choke. Pretty good backup load and much cheaper combo.

I shot quite a few other combo's if anybody has a question then please let me know. I shot 2 SBE 2's, an Extrema 2 and a Franchi.
Lee

I shoot them out of my 835 with a Stardot ported choke with no problems and I have no trouble killing 50 yard birds. I have used them in a 20 gauge 870 with a Hastings extra full without a problem as well. I have taken turkeys as far as 35 yards with the 20gr. reflex264

The Flite Control (FC) wad has 4 small pockets at the base of the wad that open when the wad clears the barrel. These pockets act like air brakes and slow the wad and allow the shot string to carry on. In this way, the shot string stays together much longer than a normal shell. Erratic performance is caused by two things: Wad stoppers or ports, and too-tight of a choke. I called Federal and spoke with one of their techs to inquire about the constriction they would recommend. He said anything from modified to X-full, and he thought X-full may cause problems. Wad stoppers and ports rip those little pockets at the base of the wad, and when the wad clears the barrel, unless all for pockets were torn identically, the wad begins to yaw, and releases the shot-string at an angle, causing blown patterns.

Shoot a factory full or X-full choke (no ports or wad-stoppers), and I think you�ll be amazed at the patterns you get.

I have been using high-brass Federal #4 3-inchers since 1996, and I have to say I really did not notice a big change when they switched to the FC wad. At the time of the switch, I was shooting a ported barrel and a ported choke.

Sometime after the FC wad came out, I read about the problem and I switched out the choke with a non-ported Carlson's Dead Coyote and got a slightly improved pattern.

My favorite load is a Federal Flite Control 3" in my Mossberg 835 with ported barrel and factory extra full choke. I look for a nice EVEN pattern to 40 yards, which is the longest distance I will shoot. IMO the fun of turkey hunting is calling the bird in close. Heck, Va. allows rifles for those not wanting to play the up-close-and-personal game.