EARLY BIRD WITH 1883 E
 

Fooled with this bird 5 hours and thirty minutes Saturday, opening day. Three times to 60 yards but no closer, last time at 11:45 (ends at 12 p.m.). Six hens with him. Left him in the field strutting. No Sunday hunting so I had a whole day to devise a plan for Monday. Fifteen minutes after light (6:30) I had him on a string. Pulled trigger at 33 steps as he was coming fast.

1883 E 10 gauge
Right improved modified barrel (.030)
1.5 ounces number 6
29 grains International Clays
SP10 wad
1160 fps (per S. Bell)

Wow! Congratulations and nice turkey! I can't wait to go myself. I am going to try your load. Did you roll crimp it?

heh jerry thats a mighty good turkey and a fancy lookin gun your totin there..boy i do like the challenges some of these old birds give us..that 5 hours musta seemed like a lifetime...i ve gota try your load will put it in my files i may already have it but won t hurt to have it in there twice.. good hunting...charlie

6 point crimp in Remington black letter hull. It's in the Sherman Bell 10 gauge loads floating around. I like 1.5 ounces. But it is kind of slow.

At a stationary target velocity shouldn't matter at all. 1.5 oz. of #6 shot should deliver a dense charge at 40 yards - 1 pellet per 2 sq. in. or better at the center of the pattern by my figures - and even denser at closer yardages. NICE!!

Jerry, please show us more pictures of your Parker.

Dean,

I posted pictures in a previous thread under Hammer Guns a while back.

http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthread.php?t=12601

I had hoped to have it finished before last turkey season but it took over a year to get everything done. I've shot it three times at game, a double on Canadas and this bird. I may retire it now before I either ding it up or miss.

Dean,

It may just be me, but I always want to kill game stone dead. When you hit them with slow moving loads it kills them no doubt due to the number of hits. But they flop around, and to me that is an agonizing death. Maybe just death throes, and maybe already dead, but I don't like it.

When I hit them with the high velocity stuff, especially hevi-shot at high speeds, they do not move. I've gotten soft in my old age but I hate wringing necks of game birds to put them out of their misery. I've seen friends quit hunting in their older age because they did not want to kill any more animals, and am now getting somewhat in that category. I thought about this bird I killed yesterday. He had a nice harem, and was living a great life until the sixes hit him in the head. Just like to kill them like they do on the tv commercials advertising tight choke tubes. Dead as a doornail with no movement.

I probably should back up to a lighter load for these desired results.

"To each his own." - and I mean no disrespect in that at all. I hate to wound an animal, be it mammal or bird, and I'm not especially fond of gore in any form.... but to me, dead is dead even if it takes a minute more. If I put a turkey on the ground and he is in his 'death throes' I just sit on him or kneel on him and his breathing, flapping, and his life... will stop.

Dense patterns will do it at any reasonable velocity, yours or mine. :cheers:

Nice job! Good looking bird and gun too.