Home Forums Birds & Dogs Turkey Hunting 20 gauge with lead

You guys still usin a horse and buggy? Or do you have one of those horseless cariage thingies?

Definitely more the Indian than the arrow, but does a better arrow make a better Indian?

Must be a slow morning for me! Lol!

Yep, same here.....Hb

FOR ME, Longbeard is much better than Double X, although lots of turkeys were killed with Double X and everything else before LB came out. And I think you'll be surprised how much better #5s do than #6's. I've just never had the need or desire for the TSS, although no doubt about it's effectiveness. I don't like the cost, and so far, haven't needed it.

Dean and Pullit were the ones that convinved me that a 20 gauge and TSS was an awesome turkey combination. I still remember the thread. Up until then, I had never used anything other than a 12 and 10 gauge, and lead. I shot my first bird with a 20 gauge, with TSS no less, in January 2023. #7 Federal TSS, at 41 paces, with the stock full choke. Bang-flop. Sure made me a believer. And I got my first bird with a .410 and #9 TSS in January of this year. Now I am going to try TSS in 12 gauge. TSS is amazing.

I'll still hunt with lead. I have too much of it to not use it. But Dean and Pullit were right. TSS is "game changer" as they say.

I have no doubt TSS is some bad stuff, especially for the 20 gauge and smaller crowd that hunt fields.

For me it's close range stuff from here on out. I wanna smell his breath.

I haven't even killed a bird with LB, just XX, Federal Premium #4 and Remington Premier or Nitro Mags.

Possibly a few dove loads tossed in many moons ago.

I have 2 410 turkey guns.

Mossberg 500 410 turkey gun.
Mossberg sa 410ga turkey gun.

Both with Indian Creek chokes .385. And Apex Ninja 9.5 TSS loads. The 500 410 i carry it the most.

Dang I'm still working on my 20 boxes of Federal heavyweight #7's. Think those will last me another 10+ years....

I wish I had found those before they quit making them because my federal land forces me to use non-toxic shot. My Hevi-shot isn't impressive, but works. Now using 20 gauge TSS because once you pay the hevi shot premium... just go to the end with TSS.

I think Kent makes the heavy weight equivalent called TK7 and it didnt do well... I don't see it on rogers or my sporting good store shelf.

Side note... Muddy feather girl is my favorite.

Tss has turned sub ga guns into lethal 40yd killing machines...

In 20, the Long Beard XR are 1000fps, not sure if that looses some distance to get good groups at 40 yards. Federal Grand Slam are $18 for 10 rounds, that's $1.80 per round. Federal should get you 40 yards if your gun/choke likes it. Another option is Remington Nitro Magnum (Extended Range Buffered), it is $31 for 25 rounds, that's $1.24 per round. It's only good in my guns out 35yards, I use it when I woods hunting. Your gun/choke may like it out to 40 yards. These are some good, low cost alternates to TSS, but you won't get pass 35-40 yards.

In my wife's Franchi Affinity 20 ga with a Pure Gold .570" choke, Winchester Long Beard 3" #6's is a solid 35 yard gun but 40 yards is pushing it. Switched to Federal Prairie Storm 3" #6's and it's impressive to 45 yards. I would have never guessed it.

If any of you guys that switched to TSS have any Federal Premium 20ga sitting on the shelf, I’ll take it off your hands!
PM me!

Federal grand slam #5 with the flex wad will give you a dead turkey at 35-40 yards every time. You don’t need to get caught up in the 10 inch circle jerk numbers game.

I’ve used tss and heavyweights but $11 a shot is just retarded and a don’t see the point in playing that game anymore.

A Longbeard #5 out of my Mossberg SA-20 with a Carlson's Longbeard choke did a bang flop on a tom at almost 40 yards this past week. I've never killed a turkey with anything but lead shot. Never saw a reason to use anything else.

The Carlsons Longbeard XR choke does seem to pattern Longbeard XR very well. At first I thought it was kinda gimmicky - an ornately machined and ported choke with wad stripping rings in it. But in 12 gauge, I've got a Longbeard XR choke in .665, as well as a Carlsons Extended (smooth, non-ported, no wad strippers) choke in .665, and the Longbeard XR choke patterns Longbeard better than the smooth choke shooting the same ammo. So Carlons seems to have hit some kind of sweet spot with the Longbeard XR choke, at least in 12 gauge Invector Plus.

I have one in 20 guage in .568 but have not tested in side x side against my Carlsons .565 smooth extended turkey choke.

I have an 11-87 compact 20 gauge that I let my granddaughters use. I have two turkey chokes for it, an Indian Creek and a Carlson's Longbeard. If the youngest one is using the gun, I load it it with 2 3/4 inch 5's or 6's, which the Indian Creek choke seems to pattern a little better. When the oldest one hunts with it, I use 3 inch Longbeards and the Carlson choke, which patterns better.