Haven't been in the 10 gauge game for many years. Back in the day when I had a Remington SP-10, I believe I was shooting Winchester Double X #5. That gun could pattern. (I used it more for deer than turkeys, and it patterned 00 very well, too.) Well, I don't have that any more. But may get back into the 10 gauge.

Winchester isn't showing a 10 gauge Longbeard XR load. Just the same Double Xs. I see Remington and Federal both have 10 gauge turkey loads, the Federal with a flight control wad.

Just wondering is anyone is hunting with a 10 gauge and what load you are using.

I'm shooting Federal Heavyweight 15cc #7's. Got them back during the clearance sale at Rogers Sporting Goods. Down to last three boxes of 5 shells.

Started to buy some this week during Apex's sale. Would have been $57.00 a box of 5. It's a 2 1/2oz load which is a ton of tss. I didn't buy any. Bought 20 gauge tss instead.

Would like to get someone to load me some 2oz tss # 8. Would buy some more Heavyweight 7's if I found some at a reasonable price.

I looked at Apex. Though it's expensive, $74.99 from them seems almost reasonable. I've seen some retailers asking that much for 12 gauge.

The best lead load ever got (go figure) discontinued.

The old Winchester Supreme 2 oz. of #6 was an absolute MONSTER through a Comp-N-Choke XXX-Full tube.

I think that's what I was shooting back then, Supremes, not Double X. I just can't remember. I know they were Winchester black box #5. I did have an XFull choke for my Remington and couldn't believe the patterns.

Double X was same thing before Supreme.

I figured they just changed names from Supreme to Double X. I remember it being their premium black box ammo. And it was just buffered, copper plated shot.

I've patterned the Double X in 12 and 20 gauge and it patterns well, though in 20 gauge one probably wants to not stretch much past 30 yards.

When I had one, I was using Nitro Heavy Shot.

I had my Remington SP-10 and a Browning BPS 12 gauge 3 1/2" at the same time, the one that had engraving and a long magazine tube. Both the 10 gauge and the 12 gauge 3 1/2" loads had 2 oz of #5 shot. I wondered what the advantage, then, was for the 10 over the 12. Then I patterned them. With an extra full factory choke in each, I remember the 10 producing a significantly more even pattern. And it didn't recoil as much (weight and an auto will do that), and didn't have the ear drum splitting report of the 12.

I see Federal has a 2 oz load of #5 with the flight control wad. I actually like that wad. I also like the idea that Federal didn't cut the payload to accomodate the FC wad. Anyone shot it in a 10?

I shot some Federal Grand Slam # 4's thru a tru lock non ported choke. At 20 yards it was super tight and nearly blew a golf ball hole in the bullseye. If I were gonna shoot lead, they would be what I would use in whatever shot size I preferred.

The kid I gave my 10 to has but he really didn't say much about it.

I gave him about 100 other rounds, some Winchester 2 and 2 1/4 Oz stuff plus several boxes of the Remington 2 1/4 oz #4 which as far as #4 went they always shot better than any other load in several Brownings and several different chokes.

Best my BPS 10 ever shot was with a .695 Hastings and 2 1/4 oz Winchester #5. We weren't counting numbers in those days but at 40 yards there was always about 20+/-shot in the brain and vertebrae of those paper turkey head targets.

An absolute killer. Got stupid and traded about 5 boxes of those #5 for same in #4. The 4s work but those 5s made some impressive patterns.

Nowadays the 2 Oz loads by all but Remington have no real advantage over a 12 other than recoil isn't as bad in a heavy gun.

Where the 10 shines is with big steel shot. Even there they have cut the payload back. Haven't bought any 10 gauge steel in a long while but I think they have reduced the 1 3/4 Oz payloads a bit.

I still hunt deer buckshot, particually on weekends when the hunt clubs are active and the deer are driven. Buckshot is king, then. I recall my Remington patterned 00 better than any other shotgun I had. 00 in a 12 gauge shell is stacked and often times will protrude a bit so you see small lumps on the hull. It gets deformed easily going through a tighter choke. A 10 gauge shell is big enough that the 00 buck can be poured in with buffer. You won't get more then 18 pellets in a 10 gauge, but I think becasue its more loosely packed in a 10G versus a 12G, it patterns better.

My BPS-10 has become semi-retired.

Over the years, the turkeys and geese that met their demises in front of it would fill a few pickup beds. I still carry it as a 2nd to my kid's .223 when we're calling coyotes. What the BPS will do with a Winchester XX 2 1/4 oz. #2 shell should probably be outlawed.

Problem for me is that the thing kicks like a mother ph***ker !!!!!!!!!!! I've shot oodles of Mossy 835's with no issues or complaints. I've shot various .375's, .416's and .458's comfortably. My BPS-10 about likes to split my brain in two.

Must be stock fit. A BPS 10 is a pussy cat compared to any pump 12 gauge 3 1/2" that I have shot.

I'm pretty sure my 10ga days are over, same with the 12ga 3-1/2". Only shotgun hunting I do anymore is turkey and with the performance I'm getting from my 20ga with the TSS shot...

But there was a time I used a Remington SP-10 for waterfowl and turkey, a 10ga Pedersoli muzzleloader for anything from upland to trap to waterfowl and a bunch of 12ga 3-1/2" guns for waterfowl and turkey. With the SP-10, turkey shells were either Federal Premium or Winchester Supreme. Thankfully back then, ammo wasn't hard to find and not near the prices of today.

10Glocks, if you're thinking of getting back into a 10ga, more power to you and enjoy!

I found 2 great looking SP-10s on Gunbroker but the seller was asking $1900 each. Pass. I ordered a Browning BPS 10 gauge with 28" barrel. Looking forward to it. I ordered some 00 buchshot and some slugs. Green Top Hunt and Fish in Richmond stocks 10 gauge tuykey ammo. I will likely get a box each of #5 Remington, Federal and Winchester and see how they do. I'll likely get a Briley extended extra full choke for it before I start patterning the turkey shot.

Are the 10 gauge BPS's overbored like the 12 and 20 gauge are ? If so, Browning recommends against shooting slugs.

No. Standard 10 gauge bores.

Same with older 12 and 20s that use Invector chokes.

Heavishot Blend and a Patternmaster Choke have been excellent for my SP-10. I stocked up on the ammo a few years ago and have enough for a few more seasons. It has served me well but when I run out, I will switch to Apex. The thought of a bunch of small pellets from a 10ga sounds wicked.

It could be that. It doesn't seem to bother my kid as much as it does me. He's a couple inches shorter than me.

"Back in the day" I patterned guns for oodles of guys. Shot LOTS of 835's and a good handful of Super Novas. Never gave em a second thought They didn't kick near as bad as most of the owners let on........... But this freakin' BPS10............ !!!!!!! Another story...........

Every BPS 10 I ever saw needed at least an inch taken out of the stock. Seems like they made them for the NBA players. Stock is to long and clobbers me. I’ve owned a couple SP10’s and they were crème puffs to shoot.

When I still had a 10, I reloaded for it. Seems no interest in that now based on my failure to sell my dies and stash

There's also the factor that the BPS is a 9 3/4 lb fixed-breech gun where the SP-10 is an 11 lb. gas-operated gun.

Us big tall guys appreciate the longer LOP's! I'm usually adding shims to increase LOP...

Make the gun fit you or make yourself fit the gun, always seems to be something to do!

Got my BPS 10 in 1993 as my HS grad present from parents, aunt/uncle and grandparents.

5' 11" and 135 soaking wet.

Fir must have been perfect because I never felt recoil was all that bad, especially once I shot a buddies 835 a few wears later.

My 870 with 3" mags always recoiled me a good bit more. 1 bloody nose.

There's a wee bit of difference between 10 gauge and 12 gauge Federal slugs.

Dean might be on to something. Maybe I need to shim it out.

Weird, though, at 6'2" 240 lbs it beats the crap outta ME. But my kid at 6' 225 lbs doesn't take the butt whoopin' that I do.

I bought a new trap gun (to me anyway) at the ATA Grand one year. I took it to the line and after the first box, I told my buddy to get my other gun out of the truck and get it to me. That new gun was beating my brains out. I could not figure out why until I noticed when both were sitting in the rack side by side that the new gun was about 1/2" shorter length of pull. I put a spacer in it and it was a pussy cat after that. That was 10 or more years ago but it just drove home what I already knew, gun fit is everything when it comes to comfort.

I've never shimmed a gun, except my Benelli Super Nova Tactical when I went from a pistol grip stock to the standard comfort tech stock, or whatever they call it. I've got a dozen or more shims in my parts box that came with my Brownings. I always just shot them the way they came. Sore cheek and bruised shoulder be damned!

Must be because of that water you drink down by the post office

I'm on the OTHER side of the tracks where Evian flows from the hillside.

You're welcome to stop by and run as many 3/4 bore candlesticks through Geraldine as you can tolerate.

Lol

There really isn't a whole lot of reason to use a 10 gauge anymore. At least with factory loads. Just about every turkey load and buckshot load has an equal 12 gauge 3 1/2" load. I just ordered a couple of boxes of 10 gauge Winchester Double X, 2 oz, #5, at 1300 fps. Winchester makes a 12 gauge Double X, 3 1/2", 2 oz, #5, 1300 fps load. Likewise I have a few boxes of 10 gauge Federal 00 buck, 18 pellets, 1100 fps loads. Winchester has a 12 gauge, 3 1/2", 00 buck, 18 pellet, 1200 fps load. Of course, the 10 gauge slug is 75% heavier than the 12 gauge slug, but is slower.

I don't hunt waterfowl anymore but do understand the 10 gauge does outshine the 12 gauge in big steel shot loads. But I'm not interested enough in that to really see if its true.

I just really wanted a 10 gauge. It does operate at a lower pressure than the 12 gauge 3 1/2". And my old 10 gauge just produced a much more evenly spread pattern than my first 3 1/2" 12 gauge. And the 10 didn't split my ears like the 12 gauge did.

I did order a Briley extra-full extended choke. The gun should be here tomorrow. I may take it out and shoot it on Saturday.

Stop with any rational thinking! Lol! This is a want, nothing more, nothing less! Go forth and enjoy!

"I want it" is rationalization enough for me. For my wife, not so much.

She'll get over it.

That's what I tell her.

Enjoy it and embrace the gun loony side of life.

I am a founding member of Gun Whore's Anonymous. My sponsor is in another state but I have him on speed dial....

Well, since it seems silly to have a 10 gauge and not have shells that maximize its potential, I ordered a box of Federal Custom shells. 2 5/8 ounces of #9 TSS. The free shipping helps. They come 10 to a box.

https://www.federalpremium.com/custom-shop/custom-shotshell/11-FCST1035.html

I think I need a tighter choke than the Briley I ordered. Any recommendations? I'm not sure if the custom ammo uses the flight control wad or not.

Edit: Nevermind to above. I got an Indian Creek Diamond Strike .690" Constriction

I picked it up today. May take it out Saturday and pattern some buckshot. I don't have my turkey chokes yet. I did have a spare HiViz sight.

Interesting,...but...
I use a 1924 Fox HE Super Fox or an LC Smith Long Range. Both 3 in 12s developed for the Super X 3 inch shells.
Advantages: instant different load selection with a double with double triggers. (4s or 5s) Faster than instant if a second shot-for some reason-is required. (Bobcat stalking turkey)

Lastly, the handling characteristics beat any modern guns with speed.
Had a chance at a Parker DH 10 GA, but it weighed close to 10 pounds. I can beat that with a 3in magnum Fox
and slay geese and turkey out to amazing distances.

The older turkeys like to look at the early engraving...........

Interesting.

I, also, enjoy carrying vintage SxS guns on my turkey hunts from time to time. But, for the nostalgia aspect and nothing else. The instant ability to switch between 4' and 5's and the quick handling and follow-up shots are total non--issues for the way I (and most folks) hunt turkeys. A shot at a gobbler is a very measured process.....much like squeezing of a shot at he bench rest. The ONLY thing a BPS 10 gauge throwing a brick wall of tungsten 9's gives up to a classic SxS in the turkey woods is how good it looks laying across the gobbler in the pictures.

They do look good, though. Of all the guns I've owned and sold, the one I kick myself over most is an old 60s vintage Charles Daly (Miroku) SxS, 12 gauge, 3" full/mod, double triggers. Same gun as the Brownings were. Da hell was I thinking?

As for that BPS 10, it's heavy. Not as heavy as my old Remington, but heavy still. Not unreasonably heavy for what it is. But heavy. What surpised me is how heavy the barrel itself is. The barrel alone feels like half the weight of the entire gun.

You don't want it light. Trust me. Fits you or not............you don't want it light.

Mine's been shortened o 23" and weighs (IIRC) 9 lbs 10 oz. It's very lively on the hind end. Not so bad at all with steel. But with 2 1/4 oz lead loads it's definitely an attention getter.

Just a fun comparison............

2 1/4 oz at 1225 fps in a 9.6 lb gun yields 67 3/4 lbs of free recoil @ 21.3 fps (My BPS and a turkey load)

180 grains at 3200 fps in a 9 lb gun yields 32 lbs of free recoil @ 15.1 fps (My model 70 in .300 Wby and an elk/moose/bear load)

I have some 2 5/8 ounce loads at around 1100 fps coming. I have plans of patterning 2 - one at 40 and one at 50 yards.

The 12ga slugs I used to cast and load, would be off the charts! Lol!

The Federal 1.75 ounce slugs at 1,280 fps probably will thump a bit. I'm looking forward to giving them a whirl.

I really like this BPS. I used to have a 12 gauge 3 1/2" model with the extended mag and engraved receiver. The receiver on that was a little longer than the 3" models at the time. But I don't recall it being as heavily built as it is on this 10 gauge. The sides of this 10 gauge BPS are thickened over that of the 12 gauge BPS I have.

I've had the chance to acquire some nice shotgun recently. But I've sold off a Winchester 70 Alaskan .300 WM, a Winchester 70 Super Grade .270, a Browning XBolt .270, a Ruger 77 Express .270, a Swedish Mauser, and Ruger 77 African 6.5x55. My end of the state is pretty much shotgun only and my desire to drive hours to a place where I can hunt with a rifle has fallen way off. I'm enjoying tramping the forests near home.

I got my box of "Custom" Federal 10 gauge rounds. Expensive, but fairly in line what I would expect to pay given the increase in payload. The free shipping helped.

Those look like there should be a cigar cutter in that picture! Lol!

Very impressive looking shell to say the least, I remember them well!

Yeah. I don't know if I want to shoot any.

How long will Federal allow you to finance those ???

$15.30 per round. I once paid a guy $20 to fire two rounds out of his .460 Weatherby Magnum and thought that was a lot.

2 rounds of 460 WBY is enough...

Don't blame you ,OUCH !

As for lead: Winchester doesn't make a LongBeard XR load in 10 gauge. So I got some Winchester Double X 2oz #5 1300fps loads. Yesterday I found these on sale at Green Top Hunt and Fish in Richmond, Va. Now I have something to compare the Winchesters to.

If the Federal has the FC wad the Winchesters will not keep up.

The non FC wad 2 Oz Federals did pretty poorly in mine and my buds BPS.

As far as 2 1/4 Oz loads went the Remington #4 was always the best in quite a few 10s we messed with and the old Winchester XX/Supreme #5 was an absolute patterning monster for lead out of a .695 Hastings.

These do have the Flight Control Flex Wad.

I have three chokes to try: the standard full choke that came with the gun, a Briley Extended Extra Full Choke .735, and an Indian Creek Black Diamond .690. Wondering how the Federals will do out of the Indian Creek. It has some pretty aggressive wad striping rings in it.

Try it and see.

Supposedly the old FC wasn't designed to work with ported tubes. We never could see any disadvantages to them when paired together.

Reading this thread has my shoulder hurting and my teeth wanting something to bite into in order to help cushion the blow.

Freakin' FedEx.

I ordered some Remington Premier Magnum Turkey shells from Mack's Prairie Wings. I got a message from Mack's a couple of weeks ago telling me they shipped and that I should have them on June 26. They gave me a Fedex tracking number. June 26 rolled around and I didn't get them so I checked FedEx and their site said they hadn't even been picked up yet from Mack's. I contacted Mack's and immediately got a reply that they would send out a replacement order and start a claim with FedEx. Today, I get both orders. The original FedEx tracking number is still not updated.

Now I've got to send an order back. Or decide if i just want Mack's to charge me for the second order.

FedEx sucks. Mack's Prairie Wings is awesome.

FedEx is the Dollar General of shipping options.

Sometimes you really DO get what you pay for. Sucks that you gotta go through the riggamaroll.

Back from my trip. Will be getting out putting the new 10 through its paces. Just a reminder of there things stand.

.30-05 versus 10 gauge




Turkey hunters are a strange lot. Some complain about recoil from a centerfire at the bench but we're perfectly content shooting 20 rounds through a shotgun that recoils like an elephant gun.

Looking at that makes my shoulder hurt....

.30-05. That's older than the .30-06.

This is the one I dread shooting. Just a hair under 2 oz of shot at 1,450 fps. That's 240-350 FPS faster than standard buckshot loads. This one does literally hurt.

I don't know that I am that pissed off ant anything....lol

try some Nitro Ammunition, 12 ga. 3.5" turkey loads, 2 5/8's oz. of TSS. they will kick the lard out of grandma's homemade bisquits.

The Remington SP10 I had wasn't bad to shoot. It's weight, and gas operated action softened it up a lot. The BPS and Nova 12ga 3-1/2" guns, different animals. The Pedersoli 10ga muzzlelaoding SxS was anything I wanted it to be. Only 12ga I have anymore is a first gen Winchester 101 trap gun with a 34" top single barrel. Everything hunting now is with a 20ga. 10Glocks, more power to you and enjoy!

I still haven't fired it. Will probably wait a couple weeks. I've accumulated some 10 gauge turkey and deer ammo. The Remington Premier Magnum 3 1/2", 2 1/4 oz, 1,210 fps load should be a good thumper. Out of that BPS it's going to produce somthing like 62 ft lbs of recoil. More than the .458 Win Mag and in the range of the .416 Rigby. 2.6 times as much recoil as my .300 Win Mag. Can't wait.

IIRC I have shot 6 gobblers with the Remington 2 1/4 oz #4 copper plated. BPS 24” with factory turkey choke. Nothing further than maybe 35 yds or so. But none flopped. One wiggled. One was 17 steps away in a sapling filled stream bottom and I shot a 1” sapling in half at 8 ? steps before the load got to him. I’ve only taken one other with the gun and that was the same weight load but #5 in Winchester. 49 steps and he flopped half his feathers off before I could get a boot in his neck. But son shot a black coyote broadside running with those winchesters at 15 or 20 yards. Dead right now and hide looked like he’d been rolling in a fire ant bed.

Only 10ga I'd think about getting back into, would be another SxS muzzleloader. Really enjoyed the years I used my first one. But that would definitely be a nostalgic decision, and not a performance decision. But, there is a nice BPS 10ga on the rack at the gun store I go to... I'm not just a rifle looney! Lol!

.

Lol! I'm SO computer adept!

You are computer adept. You just posted a picture of a #10 TSS shot pellet.

I wouldn't carry that thing for turkey or deer if you paid me. If it was given to me I'd sell it and buy something useful. I'm glad my days of hucking shotgun slugs of any gauge at deer are behind me.

Unintentionally maybe! Lol!

Because I could, I used to cast lead round balls for the 10ga ML SxS shotgun. Never got on a deer with them, but the range I go to told me had had to stop using them on the steel gong plates. They hit the plate hard enough to break the frame they hung on. In their defense, the frames were made more for cap n ball revolvers than the stuff I was using...

I don't see the advantage of using loads that kick the sh*t out of you. 1 5/8 to 1 7/8 oz at 1300 to 1350fps in my BPS or AyA Matador ll 10 ga are very effective on flying birds. Maybe those folded wings on standing birds are Armour plating?...mb

When I had a place to hunt turkeys, I used
a 10ga with the Winchester Supreme black
box 3 1/2 " 2 1/4 ounces of #6 shot.
That's what worked the best out of trying
Winchester, Federal, and Remington in the
different shot sizes and payloads
It would make roadkill out of a turkey head.

No place to go these days without paying
out the wazzoo

Those black box Supremes were great. That's what I settled on back when I had my SP-10 10 gauge.



I'm sure the right load is one of these, or somewhere in between.

Anybody tried the salt creek 3oz yet?

no but I think the Shotgun Scientist on YouTube tried them on there YouTube channel. Lol Not a really scientific analysis but showed that they are good out of their BPS 10 I believe. I load 3oz and they are the most impressive patterns I have ever seen, so I imagine the Salt Creek would be also.

HeavyBarrel

And it’s impressive to see. One of the birds I shot with Remington 4s was maybe 25 yards out. Feathers may still be coming down.

3 1/2" means different things to different makers.

I finally got out for a little while and shot my BPS with the Double X and the Remington, using my Briley X-Full choke. Recoil is not bad. Both about the same - Winchester 2oz at 1300fps, and Remington 2 1/4oz at 1210fps. Patterns were a wash. Both patterned very well at 40 yards. Nice even pattern. I haven't tried my the Federal Grand Slam #5s or the Federal Customs #9 TSSs, or even my Indian Creek choke. Will give them a much better test before spring. I do know this, I'll be hunting with my Primos Trigger Stick. That barrel is heavy and holding it up steady for any period of time is going to be a challenge. That Browning feels way more muzzle heavy than I remember my SP-10 being.

I use Winchester Super X 2 7/8" #4 shot. For waterfowl I use Federal 3 1/2" BB or #2. I have a pack of slugs too. They kick terrible. Still if my gun shot them straight I'd use them for deer

I ordered some salt creek in 3oz tss. They are nothing short of impressive. Shoots alittle high but will work great at longer ranges. The weight of the bps absorbed a lot of the recoil.
Ready to try it on the turkeys.

Gun store I frequent has a really nice, all camo, SP10 in the consignment rack for under $900. My days of 10ga 3-1/2" are over, so I'll use the savings to buy some more 20ga TSS! Lol!