Home Forums Birds & Dogs Turkey Hunting 20ga turkey loads

I’ve never hunted turkeys. My daughter passed her hunter safety course and hunted deer with me last year. Now she wants to hunt turkeys this spring.

If she is shooting a 20ga, what kind of loads should I be trying to find for her?

While it's not inexpensive, a TSS load would be my suggestion. If recoil isn't a concern, there are several loads commercially available in the 1.5oz range and I'd recommend straight #9s. That said, some smaller manufacturers are making TSS loads with a lighter payload, which are designed primarily for waterfowl and generally loaded with #9s. I'd go that route for kids just getting started. That's what I did with my son several years ago with a 28ga and 1.125oz of TSS. That type of load will still be fully capable of clean harvests well past 40yds and comparatively pleasant to shoot.

She just turned 15 last week. She’s 5’7 probably 120lbs. Doesn’t love recoil. Her deer rifle is a Savage Axis .243. She shoots that well.

$10 a box rebate right now on Hevi-Shot. We use the 20ga 3” Blend. Gets the job done.

Where are these available?

This through a standard full choke will probably just reach 40 yards.
https://foxtrotammo.com/products/copy-of-h20fowler-12-ga-2-3-4-1-oz?variant=31753065234491

A .410 weighing five pounds or more will be low recoil with TSS loads. You may need a turkey choke. The pattern with a matched choke may reach fifty yards. There are several manufacturers. If you're hunting shorter ranges, a hot pattern of high velocity lead 7 1/2s will do to thirty yards.

I used a Fiocchi Golden Pheasant 3in, 1 1/4oz, #6 on this tom. Shot was about 30 yards, full(ish) choke. DRT. That said, I'd love to see how the Fed high brass 7's pattern. The TSS loads would be good insurance if you can find them. Get them close and it won't make a difference what you use as long as the pattern is good.

I’ve had good luck with the Winchester Long Beards and bought some for my daughter to use in her 20 this spring.

20 gauge, a good load of 7 1/2s out of a decent turkey choke or a good sbooting full will kill more turkeys than most realize.

I have shot about half of my turkeys with a 10 gauge and over half of those were under 30 yards.

I can count on one hand the birds I have killed over 40 with both a 10 or 12.

I am starting to see all of this "turkey" ammo really isn't needed.

Get a bird within 40 yards and smoke him with about anything out there.

I used TSS 9s out of a 20ga for my son last year. I ended up
Shooting a Tom at 35-40 yards with the gun as I left mine behind one day.Other stuff would’ve worked but that pattern would kill a Turkey at 60 yards. It was equal to my 3.5” 12 with a 5,6,7 blend. Pheasant shells will kill em fine. Most of my Turkeys have been called in and shot at 20 yards or less. I was thinking about buying a .410 for him to use with TSS. The bad part is that TSS is expensive. $35-40 for five shells.

It may be what you can find!
Winchester long beards (lead) or TSS (non-lead)

I hunt federal land where I'm required to use non-lead shells so I have been heavy shot or others.

This is where my search would begin and probably end. They pattern great and are half the price of the TSS loads

The point of TSS in this application is the recoil is much less. Men tend to overlook that a light 20ga turkey load kicks like a 30/06, because they're comparing it to getting stomped by elephant gun level recoil from a 12ga.

I used these last fall, had impressive results at 35 yards. Standard full choke in my 20 gauge. Recoil wasn’t to bad.

Exactly! It's also pretty clear who has and who hasn't spent meaningful time at the patterning board.

The Winchester Long Beard's are certainly best-in-class lead shells. For the 20ga, to get reasonable pattern density, the #6s are best option given the 1.25oz payload. I pattered a box of them and they were solid 40yd shells.

Now, TSS is obviously way more expensive. However, it'll easily give 10yd more range with a 1-3/8oz load and the heavier loadings will take you to 55yd+. Just by extending the range to 50yd, that's 60% improvement in reach based on square yards covered. Whether that performance improvement is worth it is obviously debatable.

Plain old 2 3/4" #6 high brass have been killing turkeys for a long time.

I can't believe there are people dumb enough to pay 7 - 8.00 per shell for turkey loads. I've probably killed at least 2 dozen of those feathered rats with ordinary 3" 1 1/4 oz. lead magnums. Either Win. XX, Remington Nitro Mags or Federal Mag Shok. Several of them at 40 yds.+. If they weighed 200 lbs., tasted good and had antlers I might consider more expensive ammo.

I agree...

I have a franchi affinity 12 and 20 both set up for turkey. I bought the 20 because I had a bum shoulder that spring and I could have bought lighter loads for the 12 gauge instead.

It was a convenient excuse to get a lightweight 20 gauge auto... lol.

Nonsense. Off-topic.