Question about damascus barrels and turkey loads

[charlie cleveland]

if you look on the real old shotgun shell boxes there was a chart for recommended shot size to use on game..on the box it recommends bb and no2 shot for turkeys... charlie

[Dennis]

I just checked an old, "Winchester Shotshell Game Guide", I have had for many years and it indicates for turkey hunting with a 10 gauge to use 2 1/4 ounces of shot size 4. For a 12 gauge it indicates 1 1/4 ounces of 4, 5 or 6 shot. For a 2nd showing for a 12 gauge using Double X loads it indicates the same shot sizes of 4, 5 or 6 but a load of 1 1/2 or 1 7/8ths ounce. 16 gauge uses 1 1/4 ounce of 4 and 6. 20 gauge uses 1 1/8 or 1 1/4 ounce of 4 and 6 size shot. It really says much of what has been discussed here already. I am assuming my 3 frame 10 gauge should work just fine with RST 1 1/4 ounce load of 4, 5 or 6 size shot. The wheel is dated 1987.

Dennis

[10 bore]

I found that in all the 10 ga's i shot for test patterns(around 8 different guns) 1 1/2 oz 6's shot the best with 1 3/8 ths oz 6 next best, 1 5/8 ths not so well as with 1 3/4 oz. 4's next best in the same order from best to not so good, in the 12 ga. 1 1/4 6's . i shot 50 or so test rounds over the last 3 years. scott

[Mills]

Turkey reports are coming in and the most interesting. . . my cousin and her husband got attacked by a coyote while hunting in SC on Saturday. The coyote is no longer with us (fatal overdose of turkey loads), but that is one more thing to look out for. Are coyotes good for anything? Do they make good taxidermy mounts even?

[tom tutwiler]

Originally Posted by Mills Morrison

Turkey reports are coming in and the most interesting. . . my cousin and her husband got attacked by a coyote while hunting in SC on Saturday. The coyote is no longer with us (fatal overdose of turkey loads), but that is one more thing to look out for. Are coyotes good for anything? Do they make good taxidermy mounts even?

I've been told they make great fertilizer.

[Thomas Garver]

I used to deer hunt at a camp near Weldon, NC several years ago. My guide shot a coyote and mounted it in a sitting position. The eyes that he used made the dog appear to be alive and staring at you. He sat him by the camp door so you had a greeter every evening.

[J. A. EARLY]

Will,

Back to your question about "misses," which ofter they are not. Hits to the head but not the "Vital Areas" often result in a bird, especially a big old one, running off to die. As you can see, only about a fourth or less of a turkey's head contains a vital area. Does not mean they won't drop like a stone if hit in the non-vital areas, but I've had many run off that I knocked down, and knew I was on target and the distance was right, much to my amazement.

Thus the saying: "One tough old bird."

You should be able to print these targets.

[Mills]

This would bolster Dean's theory of using 6 shot.

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Mills Morrison

This would bolster Dean's theory of using 6 shot.

And from a tight choke!

Thanks Mills.

[J. A. EARLY]

If it is close enough to penetrate, yes.

For longer distances, harder/bigger/heavier shot (and more of them to approximate pattern density of the 6s).

Notice the target says: "Vital Areas, Bony skull and vertebrae (Penetration will immobilize). Must penetrate. As in my bad experience, slow moving soft lead 6s at their maximum range did not. Stunned the turkey so that he was unable to get away, but did not bring him down. Extra hard or plated shot is always worth the extra money.

I asked two long time turkey hunters, both having probably killed several hundred birds apiece, now in their late 70s, what was their favorite shot.

Both shooting Belgium Browning A5s.

First one shot only 2s regardless of the distance from a 3 inch Browning A5. He swore by the fact only one pellet of number 2 was needed to bring a turkey down when hit in the neck or head.

Second one, who in his later years never went before 9 a.m. in the spring and killed his limit every year, shot a 2 3/4 inch A5 with 7 1/2 or 6, but only at 25 yards or less but never let the bird get too close (I gave him a box of Hevi-shot in 6 and he loved them).

Both used factory full chokes, non-choke-tube guns.