I have killed many turkeys and never felt the need for heavier than 1 1/4 oz. loads. And those loads are not the typical high brass 3 3/4 dram equiv. loads. I load 3 1/4 dram equiv loads behind 1 1/4 oz's. This is the old pigeon load. I believe RST sells these.
I hunted ducks in Sasketechawan for two weeks every year for about twelve years. I experimented with different loads and settled on the 3 1/4 dram equiv. load. You can get a few lifetimes of experience hunting ducks and geese on their breeding grounds. The numbers of wildfowl around Debden, Sak. is incredible.
Frankly, I found that the 3 1/4 dram equiv. load kills cleaner and surer on the ducks and geese. The reason is that the typical 3 3/4 load produces a long shot string. This doesn't show up on the pattern sheets but certainly shows up when pass shooting and shooting over decoys. Many feel that the difference would be small between the two loads but in practice it really isn't. I can tell the difference. And the 3 1/4 load is nicer on the shoulder and on vintage guns.
Also, trying to stuff more shot than 1 1/4 oz in a twelve bore is an exercise in futility. I have patterned those loads to prove my point to a friend. The twelve bore handles 1 1/4 oz. of shot nicely. Patterns go to hell with heavier loads. The same is true of 1 1/8 of shot in the 16 and 1 oz. in the 20. It is also true with the 28 bore. My 28 patterns beautifully with 3/4 oz loads and terribly with the overstuffed 1 oz. loads.
For heavy loads, I believe it is better to use the amount of shot that a particular bore size handles efficiently. Over-stuffing more than a standard amount of shot in a particular gauge ruins patterns and is not good for vintage guns.
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