Best TSS size for 70yd turkey load???

[lastcast33]

I think this guy was simply trolling and caught a few marlins along the way. People who truly care about turkeys don’t purposely take a shot at 70 yards.

 

[N2TRKYS]

People who truly care about turkeys don’t purposely take a shot at 70 yards.

What’s the furthest rifle shot for you to consider that folks truly care about deer and elk?

 

[Mosby]

What’s the furthest rifle shot for you to consider that folks truly care about deer and elk?

Depends on the shooter, equipment, wind, temps etc.. How often do you shoot and at what ranges? Guys in PA shoot year round at 1000 yds. Their range is different than most and definitely mine.

As for myself...it depends. I've passed on 40 yds shots on deer because the animal was running in timber and I couldn't get on him. When I shot weekly, 400 yds was around my limit, in really good conditions. With current prices and availability, I shoot a lot less then I used to, so its probably closer to 250 and not more than 300 yds right now in good conditions.

I don't have a problem passing on an animal at any range, if the animal is running or the wind is really blowing or I don't have a clear shot. etc. If I'm not certain, I don't shoot and I've never lost an animal.

I passed on a really nice bull 4 years ago because he was running straight at me and I didn't have time to range him. I didn't like the shot and I don't like guessing. 2 years later I drew another tag and I killed a really nice 6x6. Biggest bull of my life. Same bull? Probably not but the mountain has its own karma.

 

[WyoHuntr]

Didn't start out trolling, but it did provide some entertainment !!! I was not aware that I was pissing in someone's morning cereal by using a shotgun setup to its full potential.... (seriously, wtf?) If I'm talking to an archery only hunter, I get it, total street cred there. Past that .... (is there a jack-off motion emoji?)

Definitely different in the mountain states! Turkey are just a fun little hunt to hang with my old man and to kill something in the Spring before bear season starts. Also a good time to test out new clothing layers, rather than during a week long backcountry hunt. Tough to put a bird on a pedestal, when I spend the Fall chasing trophy mulies, and calling in bugling bull elk! They are thriving all over WY and popping up in all sorts of new places (I heard some up at 9k ft while bear hunting). Mostly a nuisance on ranches around my parts. They are a pain in the ass if you have a haystack! We have a fall season, which is mostly just picking them off on private with rifles. I prefer to chase them in challenging terrain, with no idea where they are or where they are headed, so I travel to it. Much more fun to chase down gobbles and work angles and ambushes! Though, I will probably nail one this fall off someone's haystack with a rifle, just to have some bird to throw in the smoker!

Got some good info, I appreciateit. Gonna bite the bullet (hopefully not literally... since that sounds painful) and set myself up with some itty-bitty Tungsten shot! My current setup is choked tighter than a nuns p***, so I'm already used to dead on aiming at close range (I use a red dot). Best of luck in the Spring gents!

 

[hobbes]

Didn't start out trolling, but it did provide some entertainment !!! I was not aware that I was pissing in someone's morning cereal by using a shotgun setup to its full potential.... (seriously, wtf?) If I'm talking to an archery only hunter, I get it, total street cred there. Past that .... (is there a jack-off motion emoji?)

Definitely different in the mountain states! Turkey are just a fun little hunt to hang with my old man and to kill something in the Spring before bear season starts. Also a good time to test out new clothing layers, rather than during a week long backcountry hunt. Tough to put a bird on a pedestal, when I spend the Fall chasing trophy mulies, and calling in bugling bull elk! They are thriving all over WY and popping up in all sorts of new places (I heard some up at 9k ft while bear hunting). Mostly a nuisance on ranches around my parts. They are a pain in the ass if you have a haystack! We have a fall season, which is mostly just picking them off on private with rifles. I prefer to chase them in challenging terrain, with no idea where they are or where they are headed, so I travel to it. Much more fun to chase down gobbles and work angles and ambushes! Though, I will probably nail one this fall off someone's haystack with a rifle, just to have some bird to throw in the smoker!

Got some good info, I appreciateit. Gonna bite the bullet (hopefully not literally... since that sounds painful) and set myself up with some itty-bitty Tungsten shot! My current setup is choked tighter than a nuns p***, so I'm already used to dead on aiming at close range (I use a red dot). Best of luck in the Spring gents!

I've not checked in a while but loading components have been hard to find. I suppose it depends which hills and which powder your recipe calls for but it seems that guys were having a heck of a time finding hulls. Shot was available, but hulls and powder not so much.

 

[WyoHuntr]

I've not checked in a while but loading components have been hard to find. I suppose it depends which hills and which powder your recipe calls for but it seems that guys were having a heck of a time finding hulls. Shot was available, but hulls and powder not so much.

Good on powder. My .300blk and .460 Rowland pistol experiments involved a lot of shotshell powders. Hulls may be an issue, if I can't find the right recipe. (Might have to trade some primo rifle/pistol materials, once I locate local shotshell reloaders). I'd be better off if I went with 3", since there are more tungsten recipes for them. But I'm too stubborn to backpedal to smaller shells... for now.

Choke R&D with tungsten is going to be pretty expensive. But once I'm set, that gun will get shot 2-3 times per year (hopefully).... which is why I got tired of sighting in my goose gun for turkey every spring.

 

[Billy Goat]

In a 12 ga you are more than likely going to want to use steel powder.


Be cautious with handgun powders they can spike pressure quickly, and I'm going to assume you know that shotshell loading is a lot different than metallic. Find published data for a load and use the exact components.

 

[dtrkyman]

If you want to load your own, go to some turkey forums or tungsten super shots, contact Hal, he is a pioneer on the TSS front. Buy shot from him and will give you the load recipe's.

70 yds is a long way. doable with TSS but you are going to have to start to consider trajectory. I rarely shoot a bird much past 30, but occasionally one will not just commit suicide, shot one at 48 2 years ago with my 20ga and TSS 9 shot and it looked about like he was struck by lightning!

My 20ga handloads use lil gun, but if you want specifics talk to Hal!

 

[hobbes]

You want to buy shot from Hal or Shooter(Tommy). Both can be found on Gobblernation. They'll provide pressure tested recipes with shot purchase. You can't go just playing with load recipes or you'll end up exceeding max pressures.
Or.......purchase TSS loads from Foxtrot Ammo. The owner of gobblernation owns Foxtrot but does not push them hard on Gobblernation. I've shot some 20 ga. ammo from Foxtrot but I handload my own 12 ga loads. Foxtrot will have folded crimp. I use a roll crimp, same as most guys that roll their own.

 

[Yarak]

Shooting at a turkey beyond 40yds speaks badly of your calling skills

 

[deerhunt1988]

Broke a tooth on TSS in turkey sausage this fall. I have not found a comprehensive positive review on a metal detector like that that will pick up a TSS because the pellets are so tiny. There is one (below) that is supposed to work pretty for steel, but supposedly hardly picks up TSS even with a pellet in hand.

https://www.amazon.com/Garrett-1140900-Pro-Pointer-Waterproof-Pinpointing/dp/B00TADH9HA

That Garrett wand does work. I bought one a few months ago after my 2nd close call with a dentist. Luckily both times my tooth quit hurting in a couple days. But i could see where it slightly chipped this last time.

You do have to go over the meat with a fine comb. I pressure cook/crock pot my legs and will go over them before cooking, and then after cooking once shredded. But the wand will find my 8.5s that I personally missed.

I know the wand has found at least 4 shot that I wouldn't have found otherwise. That right there is worth the purchase price to me!

 

[Tauntohawk]

Experienced turkey hunters would tell you you've missed the entire point of turkey hunting with your post

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[AirborneA$$hole]

Nebraska has been 3 birds since at least around 2008. I don't think Nebraska has the same numbers they once did.

I live in Nebraska and have hunted turkeys for years, and in my experience the turkey numbers are great. All of my fellow hunting buddies agree. There are birds everywhere.

 

[Titan_Bow]

I live in Nebraska and have hunted turkeys for years, and in my experience the turkey numbers are great. All of my fellow hunting buddies agree. There are birds everywhere.

I don’t live in Nebraska, but I visit from a neighboring state multiple times a year to hunt deer and turkeys. I do wonder if the populations are impacted in a much more localized way? The area I have hunted for about 10 years now, does seem to have fewer birds and I’ve heard the local chatter putting the blame on drought. When you look at the USDA drought map, the SW corner of NE has been in extreme drought for a couple years now. Anecdotally, I just haven’t seen the same numbers of turkeys the last 2 years that I have seen in years past. I did get a bird with my bow this year, and my son got his second turkey last year. They are definitely still in our area in what seems like healthy populations, just not quite like they were 5 or 7 years ago. Really encouraging to hear they are still doing good in different parts of Nebraska. I really hope in the next couple years we move out of this current weather pattern! I was going back through older pics, and river bottoms and areas we had been in or killed turkeys in years past were very green and lush, but pics from this year during the same timeframes, it looked like mid-December. Everything brown and dead…


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[dtrkyman]

As long as he shoots at turkeys within an ethical range of his equipment it's all good.

According to some of Hal's ballistics number 9s will get you to like 72 yards energy wise and run out of pattern density at around the same distance.

Personally I would not want to be on the edge of my gin/shells performance so I would consider some 8.5 shot or just cut it back to 65 yards.

If you want to buy a commercial load look into Foxtrot.

Some die hard turkey hunters have come up with 40 yards being some magical distance that turns you into a turkey hunting god when you get birds inside that distance. When I started hunting 40 yards was just simply where you ran out of pattern density, things have changed!

 

[Snailz]

You’re looking at this through the wrong lens. The numbers are so bad why would we not get the low lying fruit and make a quick fix by limiting our range? Especially if it keeps guys like the OP who “doesn’t care about turkeys” out of the woods?

Poult production clearly is an issue - I agree. But there’s compounding theories about pecking order and dominance and how killing a dominant bird before hens are bred can completely jack up the breeding cycle in a given area. So if limiting TSS and maybe letting a few of these dominate birds ( who usually are damn near impossible to kill WITHOUT long range capabilities) go?

I just can’t sit around and say welp there’s nothing we can do…. Gotta be willing to put in the work and sacrifice to help them. Me personally am looking to get trappers into our farm to get coons and possums. Going to adjust our control burn patterns to happen after peak nesting. Obviously limiting TSS isn’t my only idea…

TSS is the only viable non-tox option until (potentially) warchief #5 came out. Some people don’t give a hoot for shooting at long range, they just don’t want to use lead. I went with a 410 using #10 TSS because I wanted my range limited to 50 so long shots are off the table and so my pattern density was maximized within that range while using a sub gauge.

 

[yfarm]

Was elk hunting a subalpine meadow in northern NM last week and had a flock of turkeys walk by at 200 yds. 10,700 ft

 

[Fowl Play]

I shoot 3" shells out of my 12 gauge. 3.5" is unnecessary with TSS and patterns better for me. 3", 2 oz, 1250fps, TSS #9 is effective at embarrassingly long ranges. A high quality red dot is a must. And use a rangefinder...

 

[Turkeytider]

It's not what you asked but you surely had to expect it. You'll catch quite a bit of negative feedback when asking for 70 yards loads on hardcore turkey forums. TSS will do it with the right setup but damn that's a long way. Getting them to come in that additional 30 to 50 yards is some of the best part of turkey hunting.

This in spades. Not saying you can`t kill a turkey at 70 yards ( I guess ?? ), but I`ll never believe some won`t be crippled at those ranges regardless of load. Amen big time to the last statement. If I can`t get him to 40 yards, preferably closer, he`ll be with the hens next morning. Just my opinion, mind.

 

[Fowl Play]

I've mentioned this elsewhere, but my personal belief on turkey ranges. Someone who has spent the time to sight a red dot in at 60 yards with a TSS load. Is more in the right taking that shot, than a very large percentage of "holier than thou" turkey hunters.

A huge portion of the turkey hunting community has never patterned their gun at 40 yards. They actually have no idea what their gun, ammo, choke combo does at that range. They think that just because it's a shotgun and that's what grandad did, it's fine. Truth is, I've spent allot of time patterning over 10 personal guns, and none of them shoot to point of aim. Many of them high quality guns. Some of them should not be shot at 40 yards with the stock turkey choke. Some of them need a red dot sight to even be considered a turkey gun to correct the point of aim shift.

There are way more guys wounding turkeys at 40 yards with a single bead. Then there are at extended ranges shooting red dots and TSS.