buckshot and turkey

[john4645]

have any of you hunted turkey with a 20 ga smoothbore loaded with #4 buckshot. I so, how many balls in the load and what were the results.

 

[GobblerKnob]

John ~ Why, exactly, would you want to hunt turkeys with buckshot?
Rick

 

[john4645]

We can't use buckshot here in WI. In the track of the wolf catalog they mention that in their 20ga fusils that #4 buck shot is a perfect load for turkeys. So I was wondering where can you hunt turkeys with buckshot and how well does it work.

 

[Wehrmacht]

Number 4 Buck is about a .24cal. Each pellet weighs about 20.7 grains.

In my 20ga double I use 21 pellets per load which will give you right at 1 once of shot.You might consider adding one more,because it MIGHT be the "golden one"!

In my 16ga Kentucky fowler I use 24 pellets per load which figures out right at 1 1/8th ounces.

I haven't shot a turkey with either of these loads,but I don't see why it wouldn't work out OK. One of these balls connecting in the vital zone SHOULD put a turkey down.(But a turkey is one tough character,however!) Both of these loads are devastating on feral house cats and armadillos. That's what you Yankee Fellas need to keep your practice up....ARMYDILLERS....want me to send you some breeding stock :rotf:.

 

[GobblerKnob]

Let me ask this, then. If you can only fit 20 some pellets in a #4 buckshot load, why wouldn't you use 6's when they come a couple hundred to the ounce?

Guys, turkeys aren't wearing some type of lead-defeating armor. They are easy enough to kill.
This spring will mark my 30th season of chasing them.

They key to killing a turkey with one shot is where you put that one shot. You need to put as many pellets as you can on the head and neck. You never body shoot a turkey unless you are using a rifle! :nono:

You must pattern your gun to learn what the effective range is. Most will find that it is up to 30 - 35 yards. It takes considerable time at the patterning board. While my exerience come from using a modern shotgun, the principles still apply to muzzleloading shotguns as well.

In my opinion, forget about the buckshot and use #5 or #6 lead.
Rick

 

[john4645]

I agree about not using buckshot. Thats why I was wondering why track of the wolf would say that #4 buckshot is an ideal turkey load for a 20ga smoothie. I have shot only three turkeys and only one of those was with my fowler. Loaded with #6 and only 20yrds away. He was not quite dead and almost got away, so I know how tough they are.

 

[Vic Price]

I agree with what has been said above about #4 buckshot and using #6 or #5 shot instead. I've hunted turkeys for some time now and shoot turkeys out to 40 yards with 5's or 6's. In WI we cannot use shot heavier than #4 and duplex loads aren't legal either.

It would be interesting to hunt turkeys with a muzzleloading smoothbore though....something new, something different.

As was said above as well, turkeys must be hit very hard in their neck/head area to kill them or knock them down hard enough to get a second and finishing shot before they recover enough to run and fly away. They are tough birds and if you want to eat turkey, you must "get-r-done". My experience has only been with a Browning BPS shotgun and not a smoothbore BP gun.

Regards, Vic

 

[Maestro]

In the track of the wolf catalog they mention that in their 20ga fusils that #4 buck shot is a perfect load for turkeys.

I think they meant regular #4 shot - not buckshot.
#4 shot is .13 diameter (largest legal for turkey)
#4 buckshot is .24 diameter
Most commercial turkey shotgun loads use # 4, #5 or #6 - my favorite is #5 - a compromise - more pellets than #4 and more velocity than #6. YMMV
:hatsoff:

 

[Wehrmacht]

Gobbler...

Please read my last paragraph again.I've never shot at or killed a turkey with #4 buck.My personal choice is #6's which I "Think" is a little more effective on turkeys than #5's,but I have nothing to prove this.It's just my personal choice. I do think,however,that if you could bust a turkey with just one #4 buck in the neck/head area,that enough shock power would be there to put the bird down. Turkeys ARE tough birds,and I've shot them with rifles (legal in Florida) and had them fly 100-200 yards before falling. I'm not suggesting using #4 buck by any means,and I doubt that it would be as effective as #5's or 6's,but I bet it would work!

 

[Flintlock58]

My Pedersoli 12 ga. with 80 grains of bp, over powder card, 1 1/4 oz of # 5 bismuth in a paper cartridge, over shot card. Fired thru the full choke barrel, flattened a nice tom at 30 yards last spring. A little bit of work at the patterning board before hunting is a must! I would guess that using #4 regular shot may work in some guns but started to show holes in the pattern on mine. #4 buck I THINK would have pattern holes unless the bird was veeeerrrry close in which case you would just remove his head if you hit him!!

 

[john4645]

once again I only asked this question because of the comment in the TOW catalog. I don't think it was a mistake because it is in the buckshot catagory. When using smaller shot like 5,6 or 7 do any of you use cornmeal as a buffer?

 

[ffffg]

cornmeal seems like it would pick up moisture and resist flowing thru the shot when loading.. dont know for sure.. i use typeing paper shot cups and multimetal (plastic) buffer from balistic products.. these two coupled together and loaded properly will definitly tighten patterns. i use it for ducks with bismuth in cold weather..dense cold air spreads patterns significantly faster.. .. dave

 

[Ron LaClair]

12ga English Fowler flintlock. 80gr 2f, card over, fiber wad, 1 1/4oz #6 lead shot, card over....30yd's

 

[Flintlock58]

NICE BIRD!

 

[Stumpkiller]

Think of it this way. Many muzzleloaders are straight cylinder bore or thereabouts. You're looking at a pattern of 40% of the pellets in a 30" circle at 25 yards. With a 20 gauge you can get 12 to 15 pellets in a 1 to 1-1/4 ounce, we'll say 15 for argument's sake. 40% of 16 is 6 pellets in 30" at 25 yards.

Take a garbage can lid and put 6 peas on it randomly. Now, see how many ways you can lay a turkey's head and neck on that lid without covering up a pea. If you put them evenly around the edge that's one pellet per turkey if you happen to catch him at all! Center a 30" circle around a standing turkey and he'll fit inside pretty well.

I'd MUCH rather stick to #4 (or #6) shot and forget 4/0 buck. I'm guessing someone confused the two.

 

[netoleon]

I concur, #4 buck will give you a pretty skimpy pattern without some choke, even up close.

Hmmm,...maybe TOTW says that because they ONLY sell buckshot ??? In marketing there are no lies, only "variations on the truth" (mea culpa - I was in that line of work myself for 3 years !).