paulvallandigham
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Is the barrel choked? If not you have a cylinder bore 20 gauge, and its going to be effective, using #6 or #5 shot out to 25 yds., on turkey, assuming you are in a ground blind, and you are shooting at a turkey that is walking into range, not flying.
Pellet weight is going to determine how long a range it can travel and still carry enough pellet energy to kill a turkey.
There are two schools of thought about turkey loads:
1. use the heaviest pellets( shot size) that will pattern well out at your chosen maximum distance.
2. use smaller shot pellets, expecting to get more hits on the bird, and kill by the cumulative effect of the Aggregate energy of all the pellets, shocking the bird to death.
Using lead shot pellets, you first need to know how many pellets of a given Shot Size are in 1 ounce. From that you can figure out how many pellets you have in any other load you choose to use. For instance:
#5 shot pellets are .012" in diameter, and there are approx. 170 pellets to the ounce.
#6 shot pellets are .011" in diameter, and there are approx. 225 pellets to the ounce.
#7 1/2 shot pellets are .0093" in diameter, and there are approx. 350 pellets to the ounce.
You can consult any Lyman Shotshell Reloading manual to find tables that give you MV, and velocities at 20, 40, and 60 yards. The tables also give you pellet energy at those distances, as well as time in flight, and Drop in flight at those ranges.
Pattern your gun with various size shot, and when you find which # sized shot your gun seems to like best, then determine its Effective range at which it will kill a large bird.
Using a Steel- Not aluminum-- can to test penetration is a valid test to use to get a good idea how much energy the pellets will transfer to the bird. Tuna fish cans, for the most part, are made of steel, as are some of the juice cans and cans still used to contain vegetables and fruit.
Unlike Breechloading firearms, which are limited by the capacity of the case used to carry the powder and shot, a MLer has more flexibility- and is only restricted by the limited power of Black Powder, and the resulting lower velocities. However, you can add more powder, and more pellets within reason, as long as both you and the gun can withstand the recoil forces.
62 grains of FFg Goex launching 1 oz. ( 68 grains by volume) of shot is a good combination load for any 20 gauge, and usually provides good patterns. The recoil is light enough to not cause you to flinch and miss, and the load is sufficient to put enough pellets on the head and neck of a turkey out to 25 yards from most guns. Its a starting point for you to use while you learn what your gun likes. :thumbsup:
Pellet weight is going to determine how long a range it can travel and still carry enough pellet energy to kill a turkey.
There are two schools of thought about turkey loads:
1. use the heaviest pellets( shot size) that will pattern well out at your chosen maximum distance.
2. use smaller shot pellets, expecting to get more hits on the bird, and kill by the cumulative effect of the Aggregate energy of all the pellets, shocking the bird to death.
Using lead shot pellets, you first need to know how many pellets of a given Shot Size are in 1 ounce. From that you can figure out how many pellets you have in any other load you choose to use. For instance:
#5 shot pellets are .012" in diameter, and there are approx. 170 pellets to the ounce.
#6 shot pellets are .011" in diameter, and there are approx. 225 pellets to the ounce.
#7 1/2 shot pellets are .0093" in diameter, and there are approx. 350 pellets to the ounce.
You can consult any Lyman Shotshell Reloading manual to find tables that give you MV, and velocities at 20, 40, and 60 yards. The tables also give you pellet energy at those distances, as well as time in flight, and Drop in flight at those ranges.
Pattern your gun with various size shot, and when you find which # sized shot your gun seems to like best, then determine its Effective range at which it will kill a large bird.
Using a Steel- Not aluminum-- can to test penetration is a valid test to use to get a good idea how much energy the pellets will transfer to the bird. Tuna fish cans, for the most part, are made of steel, as are some of the juice cans and cans still used to contain vegetables and fruit.
Unlike Breechloading firearms, which are limited by the capacity of the case used to carry the powder and shot, a MLer has more flexibility- and is only restricted by the limited power of Black Powder, and the resulting lower velocities. However, you can add more powder, and more pellets within reason, as long as both you and the gun can withstand the recoil forces.
62 grains of FFg Goex launching 1 oz. ( 68 grains by volume) of shot is a good combination load for any 20 gauge, and usually provides good patterns. The recoil is light enough to not cause you to flinch and miss, and the load is sufficient to put enough pellets on the head and neck of a turkey out to 25 yards from most guns. Its a starting point for you to use while you learn what your gun likes. :thumbsup:
