What turkey loads are you using in your Parker

[Cory Rams]

For my Damascus Charles Daly 2 7/8” 10 gauge SxS I’m using 100 grains of FG, a 1/4”nitro wad packed over the powder, 692 grains (1 5/8oz or a hair less) of BPI nickel plated number #6’s, a BPI shot card on top, and roll crimped with a quad pin roller. I just loaded for and tested my gun for the first time a few weeks ago.




I’m going to guess I’m not going to get to much better of a pattern and season starts in a few weeks so I’m done load testing for now. I have had smokeless loads in choked guns not pattern as good. My left barrel measured .750 and right measured at. 760” with my cheap micrometer.

I patterned the load at 25 yards with the shot card just glued in place. And put 40 hits in my turkey target head. I picked up a quad pin roller and rolled them shut. I’m guessing my pattern won’t change much from gluing the card in place to roll crimping and I won’t have to worry about the recoil knocking my overshot card loose now. Never chronographed my load but I’m guessing it’s around a 1000 FPS.

My target below is from the left barrel...






There’s approximately a 120 hits on that 8.5”x11” copy paper turkey target I set up at 25 yards using the left barrel. I am sure I could take a turkey close to twice the distance or more using this load and the left barrel. The right barrel put around 21 in a turkeys head at the same distance. Both better then RST #5’s or #6’s which at best was 17 with the left barrel with #5’s. The RST 6’s using both barrels and 5’s using the right barrel with RST put anywhere from 2 to 12 shots in a turkeys head at 25 yards. The RST 6’s were horrible. I had maybe a 7 to 8 hits in the left barrel and 2 hits, two times in row with the right. The right barrel with #5 RST’s weren’t much better at 7 and 8 hits on the right barrel. I did try 116 grains of FG with 692 grains of #6 BPI but my patterns opened up. I have shot tons of turkeys with smokeless rounds and arrows but am probably more excited than I have been in a long time to see one in the ground this year for the first time with black powder. Santa brought me a pair of DSD breeding decoys so I’m sure my shot will be close.


Otherwise in years past I use my national wild turkey federation 10 gauge browning gold, a pattern master turkey choke and either federal or Winchester 2 oz #5’s. I switched it up last year and used my 12 gauge beretta a390 and 3” #4’s. I dropped a 28 pounder with a 12” beard and 1 7/8” Spurs 3rd season at 15 yards and 5 th season I pulled off a Hail Mary shot on a Jake a little over 85 yards knocking him over like a bowling ball pin without even a a flutter or flinch! I put 7 pellets in it’s neck and one directly in back of its eye socket and out the other side.


I’m curious what type of patterns members here shoot and consider acceptable for turkey hunting using Damascus barreled shotguns?

[Dean Romig]

Ummm... I see about 27 killing (or slowing down) pellet strikes on that turkey head target - but that still should be enough, all others would merely be flesh wounds. They need to be bone-breaking pellet strikes to be effective at all.





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[George Lang]

I have always used #5 or #6 shot, 1 1/4 ounce loads in my 10, 12, & 16 gauge guns. A few times I tried Remington's duplex loads in a 4/6 combo and they worked well also. All guns were full or fuller choked.

[Cory Rams]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

Ummm... I see about 27 killing (or slowing down) pellet strikes on that turkey head target - but that still should be enough, all others would merely be flesh wounds. They need to be bone-breaking pellet strikes to be effective at all.





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I agree...

But it only really takes one pellet with 4 pounds of energy in the right spot to get the job done. If I am lucky enough to put one right behind the eye like I did on my target and the bird I shot last year at 85 yards that all it takes. All other pellets not hitting bone still help with TKO factor (energy transfer) for trauma and shock to help slam the bird to the ground. Many more hunters, including myself, have harvested turkeys at some pretty far distances with way worse patterns then the above target I have posted. In all reality I don’t plan on pulling the trigger past 25 yards this year where I’m set up.


I still would like to see other members turkey load groups for reference using older Damascus barrels with their loads and data. That way I know if I’m on the right track with my own turkey load. I’m sure I could add a plastic wad to tighten up my pattern. I have some heavy shot plastic wads. I’ve seen some slice two cuts opposite of each side of the wad making patterns pretty tight at long distances. I just don’t want to find out I have a melted plastic mess inside my barrel from black powder. I might give it a try this week. Just don’t want “to tight” of a pattern so I get my pattern to open up enough at closer distances. I shot a couple last fall with a .670” kicks gobblin thunder choke and cheap federal 7 1/2 100 box target loads by luck. One at 12 yards while small game that walked up by surprise. The shot literally took its head odd like a slug and the wad put another 12 gauge hole through its chest. The other in flight at 20 yards. I TKO’d it in the air knocking it straight to the ground. It was a good day.

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Cory Rams

I agree...

But it only really takes one pellet with 4 pounds of energy in the right spot to get the job done. If I am lucky enough to put one right behind the eye like I did on my target and the bird I shot last year at 85 yards that all it takes. All other pellets not hitting bone still help with TKO factor (energy transfer) for trauma and shock to help slam the bird to the ground. Many more hunters, including myself, have harvested turkeys at some pretty far distances with way worse patterns then the above target I have posted. In all reality I don’t plan on pulling the trigger past 25 yards this year where I’m set up.

A few years ago I had two longbeards come in to my calls but they wouldn’t come any closer than about 35 yards. They were about 6 feet apart and I decided to take the larger one of course, and with the longer beard. I put the bead on the tom’s neck just below his head and held it there for a couple of seconds as they eyed my setup. I touched off and to my shock both birds lifted off with the one I hadn’t shot at making a clean escape. The one I shot at flew directly to the woods and crashed right smack into the trunk of a huge old maple, regained his balance and then crashed into another tree about 30 yards away. He continued crashing into limbs and trunks until he was out of sight and earshot. I never found that bird even after more than an hour of searching. I was shooting a full choke Parker 12 with constrictions of .034” and .035” and my load was 1 1/4 oz. of #6 shot.

So, that one lucky pellet you mentioned, from my shot, I presume went right through both eyes and all others that hit him were of no significance whatever.





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[Cory Rams]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

A few years ago I had two longbeards come in to my calls but they wouldn’t come any closer than about 35 yards. They were about 6 feet apart and I decided to take the larger one of course, and with the longer beard. I put the bead on the tom’s neck just below his head and held it there for a couple of seconds as they eyed my setup. I touched off and to my shock both birds lifted off with the one I hadn’t shot at making a clean escape. The one I shot at flew directly to the woods and crashed right smack into the trunk of a huge old maple, regained his balance and then crashed into another tree about 30 yards away. He continued crashing into limbs and trunks until he was out of sight and earshot. I never found that bird even after more than an hour of searching. I was shooting a full choke Parker 12 with constrictions of .034” and .035” and my load was 1 1/4 oz. of #6 shot.

So, that one lucky pellet you mentioned, from my shot, I presume went right through both eyes and all others that hit him were of no significance whatever.





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Nope, you didn’t have “a lucky pellet” that hit the brain. To your defense I have missed birds a lot closer.

Thought I still had pics in my phone from last year. Here is the Jake I shot at 85 yards last year. This was entrance and the exit was right behind the eye socket on the other side. The brain pan was crushed and loosely moving around. I was using #4 though. I had a few hits in the neck. None in the body. I’m sure I just got lucky as usual. The bird had zero interest in my Walmart decoys or calling and was headed at a steady pace in the other direction when I took the shot. I did miss one around 10 yards last spring because it moved its head at the shot. From patterning that modern 12 gauge gun I can tell you at that distance it puts a slug hole in my paper target.










Here’s my other bird from last spring. It was at 15 yards. Most my pellets went into the two trees it was standing between and the rest took part of its noggin off.





So, what kind of pattern did you have at 35 yards? I can tell you I wouldn’t have wanted to try and shoot a turkey past 20 yards with the 1 1/4oz RSTs after testing them. If they patterned like my 10 gauge did with then I understand why your bird got away. At the poor patterns I had with my gun and RST ammo I would probably not had one pellet hit it in the head at that distance. I do know using #6’s I don’t want to shoot anywhere near as far as I do with #4’s. IMO the “TKO” value just seems to run out of steam past 40 yards using #6’s on turkeys. I am going to have to pattern my gun out to 30, 40, and 50 now. It will bug me till I try it out. At least I will know my limitations then.

[Cory Rams]

I went out today and tried 40 yards and 50 yards with my same RST hulls using 692 grains of BPI #6’s and 100 grains of Fg. The only difference was I roll crimped them this time VS just gluing in an over shot card.

I had 12 hits in my turkey head target at 40 yards and only 5 hits at 50 yards. I then tried the same load but in a federal hull. I had 13 hits at 40 yards. I put a pop can behind my 50 yard target. The #6 BPI nickel plated pellets passed through the cardboard box my target was stapled to and then completely through the pop can I placed in the box to test for penetration. I don’t plan on taking a 50 a yard shot but if for some reason my bird hangs up at 40 yards I won’t hesitate to shoot it. I can tell you if that was a real bird at 50 yards today it would have been dead as a door nail IMO. One pellet to the brain and one in the neck vertebrae. Same with the RST hull 40 yard shot. I guess I just get lucky a lot with a pellet to the brain.


My first target i shot with a roll crimp RST hull at 40 yards...




My second shot with the same load at 50 yards...





And here was my last test at 40 yards with the same load but with a federal hull...



I must have had a “hot” pellet or piece of powder melt part of one of my RST cases. Here are the fired cases after I heated the roll crimps with a heat gun.





When I inspected it the hole did not burn all the way through but I took the shell out of service just to be safe. The other two cases look great yet. I might order some brass case in the near future. I am guessing I could have still used the other case since the hole wasn’t burnt completely through?

Forgot to add a picture of my quad pin roll crimps...

[Keith Sirmans]

RST 5'S IN 12 AND 6'S IN 16

[Cory Rams]

My load is now proven. Harvested a double bearded gobbler today at 25 yards give or take. Dropped it like it was hit with Thor’s hammer!

[John J Sundelin]

Nice! Congrats!!