I gave myself a roaring headache last Sunday, but it was worth it to bring you recommendations for this year's best turkey loads.
Some results were satisfying, some were surprising, and some were consistent across discharge platforms, henceforth to be called shotguns.
For many years, I used Winchester shotguns for most of my turkey hunting, starting with a 1300 pump and graduating to a Super X2 semi-automatic. A one-year interlude with a Remington 11-87 Super Magnum was succeeded by a Winchester Super X3.
Last spring, I used a Remington V3 semi-auto with a full Carlson's extended choke tube to kill two mature gobblers.
Last Sunday, I used that gun with a Carlson's Longbeard Extra Range turkey choke tube to test the following loads. The LBXR tube is designed to maximize the performance of Winchester's Longbeard XR turkey loads, which are so different from anything else on the market that they require a description.
Long Beard XR shells contain standard lead shot encased within the hull of a rigid resin "Shot-Lok" sock that holds the shot column straight and symmetrical. The shot is not merely poured into the hull, but placed in orderly stacked columns similar to Winchester's Blind Side waterfowl ammo.
When a Long Beard XR shell is fired, the resin disintegrates into powder that buffers the shot and keeps the columns intact as they travel down the barrel. That keeps the entire payload intact when it leaves the barrel, as opposed to standard payloads that begin to diverge and dissipate as they clear the muzzle.
Long Beard XR shells are available in various payloads in 3- and 3½-inch 12-gauge and 3-inch 20-gauge. I tested two 3-inch 12-gauge loads. One had 1¾ ounces of No. 6 shot. The other had 17/8 ounce of No. 6.
I also tested 3-inch Remington Hevi-Premier (1½ ounce of No. 4 Hevi-Shot), 3-inch Remington Nitro Turkey (17/8 ounce No. 4 lead), 3-inch Winchester Supreme Hi-Velocity (3 inch, No. 5 lead), 2¾-inch Winchester Super-X (1½ ounce No. 4 lead) and 2¾-inch Federal Premium Grand Slam (1½ ounce No. 6 lead).
I fired every round at laser-verified ranges of 40 yards and 50 yards from a kneeling position. The targets were Champion Turkey Life-Size Sight-In paper squares.
I fired two shots at 50 yards with 1¾-ounce LBXR holding dead on the head and high right. Dead on, 76 pellets hit a 10-inch circle that encompasses a turkey's kill zone. However, only four pellets hit spine, and those concentrated in the lower spine. None hit the brain.
Holding high left, again 76 pellets hit the 10-inch circle. Five hit the spine, and they were well distributed. None hit the brain.
The slower 17/8-ounce loads performed similarly. Holding dead on, 116 pellets punctured the 10-inch circle, and 10 were well distributed in the spine.
Holding high right, 117 hit the circle, and 15 were distributed in the spine. A 16th pellet hit the middle of the eye, and a 17th pellet hit the junction of the brain and spine without actually hitting either.
That's four dead gobblers at 50 yards, folks. That's salty.
At 40 yards, the Longbeard XR loads were phenomenal. Holding high and left, the 17/8-ounce load placed 26 pellets in the brain and spine, and a whopping 226 pellets in the 10-inch circle.
I fired two shots at 40 yards with the 1¾-ounce loads holding dead high and dead low. Holding dead low, 21 pellets hit the spine and brain. The dead low hold placed nine pellets in the spine and brain.
Compare those with the Remington Hevi-Premier, which placed only 59 pellets in the 10-inch circle at 40 yards, but nine in the spine and brain.
The remaining tests were at 40 yards.
The Winchester Supreme Hi-Velocity placed 118 pellets in a 10-inch circle and 11 in the brain and spine.
The Remington Hevi-Premier placed 207 pellets in the circle and 14 in the brain and spine.
The 2¾-inch Federal Premium Grand Slam performed way worse in the 10-inch circle, but it did put nine pellets in the brain and spine.
Winchester Super X was similarly poor within 10 inches, but it placed five pellets in the brain and spine.
Finally, the Remington Nitro Turkey. I've tested this load in three different shotguns, and it doesn't pattern worth a darn. However, holding 8 inches low, it put 10 pellets in the brain and spine at 40 yards.
I shot every Nitro Turkey I had in this test, and I was glad to get rid of them.
Sports on 01/22/2017