Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Come on Man......20 gauge turkey loads

"only" LOL. Hell it's still cheaper than 20ga saboted slugs!

I've gotten weak & ordered from Larry a few times, but don't suspect we'll be close friends as I just can't afford him on a regular basis.

On a more serious note, I have a friend that matches custom tungsten loads with chokes/wads , etc in 20 ga, & is reporting good kill zones to at least 70 yards. And...his loads cost more than Larry's.

If it goes according to plan, ya might see his new company pop up in a year or 2.

TSS or plain Jane lead, THAT is "ONE DED BURD"!

If it will kill a quail, it will damn sure plant a turkey! 😃
The head and neck are the targets!

Do you use TSS in a 20? I’ve wanted to try it but my 20 likes Hevi-13 #5’s so much I can’t imagine changing over. I have enough Hevi-shot for it to last a long damn time.

A 22 works just fine

Nope.
Have shot plenty of brands in 12 ga.
Hevi 13 7,s
280,s
Hevi 13 6,s
260,s
Browning 9,s
250,s pos tss load
Mag blend 5 6 7
260,s
Nitro rays.
4c 5c 7h 501L
320,s


Longbeard 6,s
230 to mid 250,s depending on temp

Basically buy 2 longbeard boxes of 10 for 60 bucks versus 1 box of 5 tss for same price.
Longbeard will kill out to 50 yds in a 835 easy.

Yet to kill a Tom with my 935.

All I can say guys is if you find a shell that is kick azz for your needs.
You better buy as many of that lot # as you can.

I have made many post on here on how these companies will scrimp on payload many times once they get people on their band wagon the 1st couple of years they come out with something.


I have weighed out components
Pellet counts from dumped shells and on paper.
And payload weights on digital scales by individual components.

On original 1st or 2nd year shells versus yr 4 or 5 shells.

These companies will play bait and switch with filler wads added or different buffer materials or heavier shot cup wads and still advertise as a 2 oz payload.

Enter the world of tungsten. Look up what 12 gauge TSS are. $$$$$ But I've watched videos of guys smoking yotes
at 80-90 yards with BB TSS.

Last year, one of my buddies killed a tom at over 60 yards with 20 ga 3" Apex TSS shells. I think it was 7 1/2 size shot. Patterns are fantastic.

Still the cheapest part of the hunt.

Can you eat them with all that #9 TSS in them? I would think if the pattern is that dense there would be a lot of shot in them.

I've never eaten a turkey head or neck


I dont care what they cost, I paid 53.99 for the federal 20ga tss #7s the other day at BPS.

Really think I care about the cost of a $12 shell after I've dropped money property taxes, tractor work, food plot seed and ferts, gas to and from, etc. I want the best shell I can have in my gun, tss is it for me. Heck, we can only kill 2 birds a year in Ga now, not like I'm going through tss like candy.

I've shot a few turkeys in my time back in west PA

Plain ole Rem 1100 with heavy loads...dead bird

What I remember is the Savage O/U guns....222 on top....12 gauge on bottom

Quick search doesn't show much.......no longer in production ?

Hmmmm.....Tikka built 'em too

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/101016506

What's that, maybe three gallons worth of gas?

Saw a .222/20 last Friday. Think it was $695. Didn’t even pick it up. Maybe the older ones were nicer, but the .30/30/12 I had was an anvil, crudely made, and the plastic stock had a very uncomfortable square comb. Shot very well. Killed a buck with it once while still-hunting to my treestand.

To me, the TSS is for head shots at short to medium ranges. If confined to shotguns, I’d load TSS on top, followed by a good lead load or two for follow-ups. Since we’re allowed to use rifles, I’d much prefer a smallbore load for those 50-60 yard pokes. Not at all interested in sniping one far out like a big, feathered woodchuck.

Finalized the zero on my .410 yesterday. With Apex Ninja 9.5s, pretty much the entire load landed on an 8x8 pistol target at 30 yards. At 40 it spread a bit, but still put plenty where they’re needed. Requires (for me) a good sight and careful aim, but should work well in the timber.





Definitely not what you want for jump-shooting!

You guys shooting turkeys out beyond +/- 40 yards need to learn how to:
A) call better
B) pass on iffy shots
C) hunt with a .22 Hornet if the law allows it

I hear about these 50, 60 and 70 yard shots and I just cringe!

I'm not saying the ammo you're using won't kill at that range.
I'm saying the turkey's chances of survival increase exponentially for every yard beyond 40 to 45 yards.
Why take an iffy, pattern thin shot at 50+ yards that will allow a magnificent game bird to escape or die unrecovered?
The target on a turkey is small.
Why.in heaven"s name take that chance.
I couldn't care less whether you're shooting #8 .410 field loads or 3.5" 10 gauge #2's.

WHY?
Too many people get the idea that if you buy this expensive, turkey specific ammo with magic TSS shot, they can kill turkeys at 70 yards as if they are 10 yards!

Agreed, and hitting where you want gets pretty difficult out there as well. Those tight patterns only matter if you can put them where it hurts. There’s a cute, plump YouTube hunter gal that killed one last season that had a copper 4 embedded in its leg. Who knows how many others it was carrying elsewhere?

Got the Hornet, and some good mid-power loads. No plans to use it this Spring, but it will make a good setup for squirrels and turkeys when the Fall seasons overlap. Just scored a nice older fixed-6 Burris to lighten it up a bit.

40 yards is my limit. I don't have a gun whose pattern density doesn't open up too much at 50+ yards to make it a reliable killer. A turkey's head is awfully small looking to me at 40 yards. On to of that, 40 yards is about as far as I can see where I hunt. I set my decoys out at about 25 yards.

What TSS shot does do, given the right choke, is turn a 20g from a 30 yard gun into a 40 yard gun. This is the first year I'll be hunting with a 20g and TSS shot. Prior to this, it's been 12g 3" and 3.5" # Longbeards and Double XX. I really like how TSS patterns out of my 20g, and LOVE the recoil reduction.

Glad I stocked up on 12 ga. Turkey loads way back in 2000 - 2001. Still got 50-something rounds of Federal & Remington turkey loads here with the purchase year marked on the box with a sharpie. One of the Federal Premium, 3", # 5 shot, "High Energy Turkey" 10 round boxes from 2000, has a $7.99 price sticker on it. Just for grins recently bought a 10 round box of Winchester 12 ga. 3" # 4 shot Turkey Loads, ( not that exotic stuff), for $12.99 + tax. Gonna pattern test a couple, just out of curiosity, versus my old stuff soon when I do my annual pre - turkey season pattern testing.