What turkey loads are you using in your Parker

[Tom Flanigan]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

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.

.

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.

[charlie cleveland]

good luck with the camera...charlie

[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.





.

[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.

[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.

[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.


.

[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?