What turkey loads are you using in your Parker
 

I've always been of the opinion that less is more when it comes to Parker loads. I use 12 bore hadloads with 1 1/4 oz. of #6 shot at 1200 fps. It's a great patterning load in my guns and is easy on the stock. I used to use this load for my duck shooting but now have gone to 1 1/8 oz. of Bismuth. Nothing more is needed in my opinion. I don't shoot at game at over 40 yards.

Same here on all accounts.






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I'm planning on using some 1 1/4oz RST #5 shot this spring. 1200 fps.

I have yet to shoot at a turkey that wasn't inside 30 yds.... Figure that'll take care of business.

I just got through loading some 8 ga ammo and some 10 ga ammo for turkeys...the 8 ga I will shoot in the single barrel davenport its 2 1/2 ounce of no 6 lead pushed by 45 grains bluedot its a mild load...the 10 ga I loaded up some 10 ga Remington low brass sureshot hulls...I loaded 1 1/4 ounce of no 6 lead with 20 grains of reddot...plain on shooting this in a parker lifter 10 ga with 30 inch plain steel barrels in the 5000 serial range made in 1875 no chokes gona have to get close with this gun...ive got 2 of these plain steel barrel guns the other 10 ga is in the 4000 range made in 1875 also...I reckon they must have not put chokes in this year...both guns as tight as new...now to see if I can find a turkey all I ve seen so far is a coupla tracks...can t walk like I use too so I guess I will have to ambush one...go getem fellas....charlie

I went to the alfalfa fields tonight to look for turkeys. I counted 29 gobblers in one field along with six deer. I have never seen so many gobblers in a bachelor group. Before this the most I've seen has been under ten birds. I've seen hens in large groups but never gobblers in my area. I wonder if such a large gobbler group is common in other areas of the country.

There’s gotta be some kind of explanation for that Tom.





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I've never seen anything like it in all my years of shooting. I was shocked to say the least. Our bachelor groups are small, usually four or five birds, sometimes more, but rarely. I wish I had my camera with me. I took my friend back to see them and he was as shocked as I was. I have no explanation. I'm going to take my camera with me from now on in case I see it again. There were no hens in the field at the time. I carefully looked at every head to make sure all the birds were gobblers. A few of the birds were spreading their tails.

In the 80 acre field below camp we often see large flocks with as many as 60 or 70 birds, about 25% being toms and jakes. The number of mature longbeards among them is usually fewer than 10. When the breeding gets hot and heavy the jakes gang up and single out a longbeard and run him off... then they move on to the next longbeard and the next and the next until only the jakes remain. The longbeards don’t have the sense to protect one of their kind - they’re too busy trying to corral a hen.

That is the exact scenario that provided two jakes with one shot for me two years ago.





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That's interesting Dean. On the property I hunt, I rarely see hens and gobblers together except in the spring. In the fall when bowhunting this year, I frequently observed large groups of hens in the Timothy and Sorghum. Gobblers did not frequent the fields but when they did, I did not see any hens present. The number of gobblers yesterday was unprecedented. I’ve never seen anything like it. I didn’t know that there were that many gobblers on the property since they don't frequent the fields to the extent and in the numbers that the hens do.

I went back to the hanger and grabbed a friend and binoculars to go back and double check that all the birds were gobblers, although I was sure that they were. We looked them all over and he validated that they were all gobblers. I would say that about 10 or 12 of them were jakes that were mingling with the mature birds. No confrontations, but it’s early. About half of the birds were in one group with other groups close by.

I’m going back to the fields tonight with a camera. I hope they return.

good luck with the camera...charlie

Tom:

I do not find this too unusual. We regularly see large "groups" (40+) of mature gobblers over winter and on into about this time in the spring. There are, of course, some smaller groups.

I suspect for your area you are coming off several productive seasons. What would be interesting would be to try and establish a hens/gobbler ratio.

A few years ago I happened to look out the window and saw a line of turkeys emerging from the woods. They marched across the pasture single file. All 26 of them were long beard gobblers, not a hen or jake in the bunch. Ironically, that spring was almost devoid of gobbling.

Bachelor groups.





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No turkeys were out in the fields tonight, gobblers or hens. No deer either which is a bit unusual for an overcast and light rain evening.

it has been stormy all day here in north miss. so I did not get to hunt today but I sure thought about it...seems like I have turkey on the brain at this time of the year...I ve watched all the you tube turkey guns and ammo at least 3 times....you would think a fellow would get tired of all this chaseing turkeys for over 60 years...my first turkey hunt was in 1963....charlie

Charlie: Mine was in 1968 at college. Saw some and even a hen at about 5 feet but no gobblers any closer then about 40 yards and I was not going for that shot.

It was fun and though I dont hunt them as hard as my younger years I still go out when I can/want during the season.

BINGO!! No different than deer. Until it's rut/mating season, the bucks and Toms keep to themselves. Pretty much all my trail cam photos up until April show Toms traveling together and no hens with them.

BTW, our spring gobbler season doesn't open until May 1. Our PGC likes to wait until the majority of the breeding is over to open the season. Our gobbler numbers have been dropping lately and they will most likely do away with the special spring turkey tag next year. That tag allows you to take a second bearded bird in the spring season. The PGC already removed the use of rifles for the fall where we can kill bearded and non-bearded. I'd rather have seen them keep the rifles and only allow bearded birds. It is what it is.

I think they open the season a bit after mating season is in swing.

This morning out my bathroom window.
That big guy’s beard is almost a foot long. There are two bearded hens in the wide picture - far left is a bearded hen and 3rd from the right is another.


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We had a very mild spring upstate last year so they're probably one year olds Tom? I have never seen so many deer, and the grouse were up this year too.

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.


https://i.imgur.com/61DBxvj.jpg

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...

https://i.imgur.com/KMszsov.jpg




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?

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 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.

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.

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.

https://i.imgur.com/rYv2745.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Ej90IMW.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/dA6Yl6R.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/u4Ah10z.jpg


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.

https://i.imgur.com/yjn2YpR.jpg



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.

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...


https://i.imgur.com/mErXePO.jpg

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


https://i.imgur.com/mLoJ4lv.jpg


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

https://i.imgur.com/If2YL78.jpg

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.

https://i.imgur.com/ZlZBRns.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/s6LoIP5.jpg

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...

https://i.imgur.com/GKqhYG9.jpg

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

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!


https://i.imgur.com/9zjfSVV.jpg

Nice! Congrats!!