Load penetration on Turkeys

[guylabou]

Turkey season is only about a month away here in Michigan and I am looking forward to getting out. Last season was my first with my smoothbore flintlock and I never got a shot off as I couldn’t get anything closer then 40 yards. I only felt comfortable out to about 22 yards. Part of the reason I didn’t feel comfortable last year was the penetration I was getting on the load I was trying. This spring will be busy and I won’t have a lot of time to try different loads out. I was hoping some of you might give me a few pointers.
My gun is a 42 inch smoothbore octagon barrel in 20 gauge.
I was practicing with ”“
80 grams (Grains?) powder
2 cards with pinholes
1 ¼ ounce # 5 shot
1 card over with pin

Now please don’t shoot me for my past sins but when I first finished my gun I couldn’t find true black powder in my area. In my haste to get out shooting I settled for pyrodex. Lots of trigger pulling with very little bang. I now have cans of both FFG and FFFG in true black powder. The gun now fires on every pull! Will I get different results (on penetration) using the FFG or FFFG then I did with the evil pyrodex.

I will also work on my calling and set ups to see if I can get them in closer.

Thanks much,
Larry

 

[paulvallandigham]

Generally, you will get a better pattern using FFg powder with that load.

I hope you are using 80 grains, rather than 80 Grams of powder in the gun. 1 Gram= 15.43 grains. There are 7000 grains to the pound; 437.5 grains to the ounce. A dram of powder equals 27.35 grains of powder. 80 grains is close to a 3 dram load which is a lot for any 20 gauge smoothbore. Your gun will handle the load with that long barrel, but you might get a better pattern if you backed that powder charge down to 70 grains, or even down to 60 grains.

Penetration is a function of pellet energy, and that depends on both MV and weight. The Number #5 pellet( bird shot) carried energy very well out past 40 yards. In fact, the favorite 50 yard load used by market hunters on the Illinois river back in the 1870s, before choked barrels became common was a 12 gauge gun shooting 2 3/4 drams( 75 grains) of FFg powder, and 1 1/4 oz. of #5 shot. This was used routinely to shoot ducks on the river by these commercial hunters.

Take a look at the Lyman Shotshell Reloading Manual. It has tables in it that give velocities for most of the common sizes of birdshot. Then you also have adjoining tables that give pellet energy at Muzzle, 20, 40, and 60 yards, and other tables that give you time in flight and drop in flight for the different sized pellets, based on a given MV.

You are not going to get smokeless powder velocities out of your BP shotgun, using BP. The burning characteristics of BP simply won't give that kind of performance. So, you have to hunt closer, and pass on shots that are simply out of range. Some hunters will put out ranging stakes in the fields in front of their blind to tell them when a turkey has come within shooting range of their gun. It only takes some pre-measured kite string, or cord, and a few stakes to determine the maximum yardage for your shot.

You want a load that puts 10 or more pellets in the neck and head region of a turkey. Most hunters don't even want to shoot the body of a turkey- not just because its difficult to get pellets to penetrate all those feathers and THEN penetrate the heavy muscles to reach the vital organs. You also don't want to be destroying edible meat. So, find a load that puts a lot of shot in a 15 inch circle, at your POINT OF AIM, so that you can center on the birds head, and be confident that the pattern will kill the bird quickly. :thumbsup:

 

[Dave K]

I test my loads after patterning with a good tin can. The type of can like a coffee can,good tuna can or a good soup can that is made of genuine tin and not aluminium. If the pellets can penetrate both sides of the can at the yardage I am shooting at, it has enough energy to penetrate and break bones.

 

[roundball]

Pattern tresting with both Goex 2F and 3F, the 3F gave tighter patterns with my loads in my .20ga, and of course gave a bit more velociy than 2F, which helps with penetration.

I followed DaveK's advice a few years ago using the fairly heavy metal tuna cans for penetration testing to find my max range, then was fortunate enough to tag a couple turkeys and they both dropped where they stood with head / neck shots at 40 and 30 yards respectively, so while 'unscientific' and inexpensive (yea!) the heavy metal tuna can works perfectly for that.

And thanks to DaveK, ever since then my Wife razzes me because I've never tossed/recycled another tuna can...I clean / save them for future load testing

 

[Jason Lewis]

my 20ga has a 42" barrel and i use a similar load for pheasants. i'll chronograph it and post my results, it should help you out.

 

[dbutch]

62 cal 20 ga. 37" barrel

80 gr ff-goex
2 overshotcards
2 wool OxYoke 1/8 " wads
lubed (like oreo cookie)
1.375 oz. # 5 nickel plated lead shot (from ballistic products)
1 overshot card

30 yards-13-14" pattern from turkey choke barrel

tested 2f and 3f --heavier powder charges opened up the pattern.

try 5 and 6 shot for turkeys-6 shot is more than enough if you are shooting at less than 30 yards.

good luck have fun..Don't give up till you find the best load.

keep the bore clean between shots while testing!

note 1--have 2 barrels 34" and 37" both shot the same..not sure if the extra 7" of barrel will make a differance?

 

[guylabou]

Thanks everyone for the ideas. I will try the tuna cans for the penetration and put the targets up to check my pattern at distance. I'll try both 70 and 80 grains and see if that makes a difference.
I had 11 turkeys pass through the back yard yesterday morning. 9 hens and 2 strutting toms. Sights like that sure get you in the mood to get out in the woods!