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?