Smoked Turkey?

[mcdenney]

After a blown execution on two long beards at 7:35am due to my mistake I proceeded to spend the next three hours listening to absolutely NOTHING! At 11:30AM I made another move back to within 100 yards of where I messed up earlier and called in my first black powder gobbler on the opening day of the KY season. I didn't realize it until I got home that this bird also sported 3 beards.

T/C Black Mountain Magnum 12 ga.
Powder 100 Grains FFg
Over Powder Card
Two 2 Thin Cushion Wads
Steel Shot Cup with 120 grains by volume of #5's
Two thin over the shot cards

Here are some pics, hope this works:Link

Also, a many thanks to several of you for helping me with loads, etc. It is always appreciated.

 

[Rebel]

Well, congrats on the tom. Can you hunt more, or is there a limit of 1 bird?

 

[paulvallandigham]

At what yardage did you shoot the bird? Congratulations on the successful hunt. Patience is the required ingredient, along with luck. I think your load is okay, obviously, but would still want to see what that velocity is over a chronograph.

 

[roundball]

Excellent...congratulations!
:thumbsup:

 

[BS]

Nice Tom! :thumbsup: :hatsoff:

I really like the "Smoked Turkey" :rotf:

 

[spitfire]

Congrats :applause: !

 

[mcdenney]

We are allowed two bearded turkeys in the spring season in KY. One down, one to go with the old smoke pole. Thanks!

 

[mcdenney]

Paul,

I really don't know what speed/energy this load is producing but would be interested in your thoughts. The bird was approximately 35 yards and deaded than a hammer. The shot was further than I thought or wanted but basically, I was sitting under a lone oak tree near a couple cedar trees/fence line out in the middle of a field. The open field made the shot farther than I thought by 5 yards plus I think the jig was up as I was hanging out if you know what I mean. I don't think he was coming much closer as he was giving me the ole bad eye and getting nervous.

Based upon my pattern work not energy,etc. I would thinking the max range would be 40 yards. At 30 yards I have anywhere from 40-56 pellets in a turkeys head, neck & upper body (from the beard up) on my turkey paper target.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I am sure the pellet energy is responsible for the kill. When you dress the bird, take a good look and see how many pieces of shot hit the neck, and head, and where. That will tell you the story of the kill. If you get two solid( centerline) hits on the neck, or even one good pellet in the brain area of the head, you have a dead bird. Check the Lyman Shotshell Reloading Manual tables and you can extrapolate the velocity and energy from the data you have from muzzle velocity, and then the 20 yd. column and the 40 yd column for the given muzzle velocity of the load. From that, you can also find the Pellet energy at 20 and 40 yds, respectively, in the adjoining tables, and divide them to get the energy figures for 30 yds, and even 35 yds, if you must. ( Subtract the 40 yd. energy figure for #5 shot, from the higher, 20 yd. figure for pellet energy, and then multiply it times 1/2( 30 yds), or 3/4 (35 yds.))

I am also sure that #5 shot will kill a turkey to 40 yds, assuming that you get pellets in the killingt areas. That is the quest, and why we play around with making denser patterns, either with chokes, or load manipulation, or using wads to hold the shot to keep it from being damaged when it is fired and moves down the barrel. Same with the use of buffers to protect shot.

Paul