What turkey loads are you using in your Parker

[Bruce Hering]

Originally Posted by Tom Flanigan

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.

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.

[Gary Laudermilch]

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.

[Dean Romig]

Bachelor groups.





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[Tom Flanigan]

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.

[charlie cleveland]

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

[Bruce Hering]

Originally Posted by charlie cleveland

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.

[Mike of the Mountain]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

Bachelor groups.





.

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.

[Dean Romig]

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.


.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

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

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.

[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?