8 Turkey Hunting Ammos Put To the Test | What Works & What Doesn't

Рет қаралды 25,810

2 жыл бұрын

This is a pattern test of some of the best turkey loads on the market, some mid-grade shells, and some unconventional turkey ammo. I use tungsten TSS, lead, copper plated lead, copper plated bismuth, cheap target loads and more. I test all of the turkey hunting ammo at 40 yards, count the pellets in a 10" circle and show the data from the experiment as well as the actual paper targets.
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The results from this test were very surprising to me. I did not expect the experiment to be so dominated by two loads that I regretted actually buying almost everything else in the test. Due to all the variables, it is not feasible to do a true scientific experiment to account for all factors, so my goal was to assess which loads where not good enough for turkey hunting at this range, which were adequate, and which were excellent. BOSS provided some the TSS and Bismuth shells tested in this video at my request, thanks to them for their support.
In this video I test:
• Winchester Long Beard XR, 12 gauge, #4, 1.75oz, 1200 fps
• Winchester Super X Turkey, 12 gauge, #4, 1.875oz, 1210 fps
• Remington Nitro Turkey, 12 gauge, #5, 1.875oz, 1210 fps
• BOSS Tom 18 g/cc Tungsten TSS, 12 gauge, #9, 2oz, 1150 fps
• Remington Nitro Magnum, 12 gauge, #6, 1.875oz, 1210 fps
• Fiocchi Golden Pheasant, 12 gauge, #6, 1.75oz, 1200 fps
• BOSS Copper Plated Bismuth, 12 gauge, #4, 1.625oz, 1350 fps
• Remington Target, 12 gauge, #7.5, 1.125oz, 1200 fps
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Пікірлер: 100

@user-gv8gp6qf8e Жыл бұрын

Great data-driven, quantitative tests! No BS or opinions, just the numbers. Thanks!

@TheNewHuntersGuide Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!

@bryantitus6634 2 жыл бұрын

I just had my daughter shoot a turkey this spring with a 2 3/4" 1oz load of #7.5 out if a youth 20ga. Throws knarly patterns out to about 30 yards. Killed dead at 22 yards.

@yourmomma2995 2 жыл бұрын

you have been putting out some really good videos. i appreciate the time and effort you put into them.

@TheNewHuntersGuide 2 жыл бұрын

Hey thank so much! I really appreciate it.

@dimebag117 2 жыл бұрын

Excellent video man, you truly went above & beyond. All out of pocket to, just a ton of respect & once again I have to applaud how detailed & informative your video's are. You got a lifelong subscriber & fellow brother in Christ here, great job & God Bless you brother!

@TheNewHuntersGuide 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much sir! I really appreciate the encouragement. I only wish I had more turkey loads to test!

@dimebag117 2 жыл бұрын

@@TheNewHuntersGuide Heck man it's tough for everyone on that front, it's sad to say but hunting ammo in general is becoming few & far between. I still can't find a single box of Remington core lokt 150 gn for my .270, it's just strange times were living in brother. We went from plentiful with ammo, to lucky if we can find anything. But hopefully we'll get back to plenty sooner than later, time will tell. But we'll be in the wood's soon enough & I sure am ready for it brother, home away from home.

@TheNewHuntersGuide 2 жыл бұрын

@@dimebag117 Absolutely, shouldn't need more than 2 turkey shells all season anyway!

@ri7589 2 жыл бұрын

I think you have the best comparison videos on KZfaq.

@TheNewHuntersGuide 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it.

@jasonanddawnoutdoors8595 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Man for all the info just ordered some boss Tom going to try them out for the first time. Looks like they are going to work good man.👍

@TheNewHuntersGuide 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I couldn't agree more! I was sold after looking at their pattern, I didn't even need to keep testing lol.

@williamrhoades1913 2 жыл бұрын

Hard to beat the Long Beard especially for the money!

@TheNewHuntersGuide 2 жыл бұрын

It is the best thing going for the cost. I didn't think it would be that much better than the other turkey loads. As far as I'm concerned that's the best lead shell on the market.

@rod675 2 жыл бұрын

I think the newer Win XX is their old Supreme loads..it's a high velocity but with the XRs, it's all about the wadding system? I'm not sure that Winchester didn't steal some design feature from the old Federal Flight Controls which they don't seem to manufacture anymore? Those were an excellent shell, as well, in their time.

@bryantitus6634 2 жыл бұрын

@@rod675 Winchester uses a special resin they pour it dip there shot into and then load it into the same wadding as their double xx shells. Where the double xx shells use traditional buffering material. The resin is specially formulated to break up under the pressure of either being constricted by the choke tube or from the initial charge. Can't remember, but it completely encases the shot whereas the grex kinda just filters into the voids of already loaded shells. I run longbeard XR and federal grand slam (their current flitecontrol loaded shells) and whole the grand slam is a very decent patterning load, when it comes to patterns with lead loads, it's Longbeard XR and then everything else. TSS shot sizes 8 or smaller are the only loads that best XR. TSS 7s probably match XR #5 patterns but tss #7 is going to penetrate tremendously better down range but that's typically past useable pattern ranges. The only lead loads in #4 that I've ever seen throw reliably useable patterns past ±40 are longbeard xr, so if you are a #4 guy, that's your ticket. Tss shot in general constricts well and doesn't deform like lead. Even plated lead is notably worse than even hevi-shot not to mention tss. And given that TSS patterns at a higher percentage of the initial payload inside 10" at nearly all ranges over every lead or hevi-shot counterpart...... Except for Longboard XR. CLEARLY Winchester worked some magic here and it's pretty damn slick. If longbeard XR wasn't a thing, literally everyone would be shooting TSS right now, except for maybe a handful of hevi-shot holdouts.

@rod675 2 жыл бұрын

@@bryantitus6634 Good to know Federal actually still produces the Flight Control. Thanks. Yeah, I know all about the rage of TSS. Just not going to pay the price. I'll stick to the XR's...and if you're using the Carlson's XR choke tube, u should see night and day different patterns than with a standard X-Full choke..even the stoke choke on the Winchester Longbeard SXP shotguns.. supposedly engineered to maximize the XR shells..they come with an adequate choke (which I suspect.#4 might do quite well?) but if you want to shoot #5 or #6, get the Carlson's XR choke..

@wizardofahhhs759 Жыл бұрын

Yeah, #5s don't pattern well out of either of my guns so I want to try the #6s but they're hard to find in my neck of the woods.

@isaiahtolo9886 Жыл бұрын

Great video!

@TheNewHuntersGuide Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!

@-B_G- 2 жыл бұрын

Good comparison man thanks! . Only thing I could suggest would be to flip the paper over so we can a better view of the pattern, especially with the smaller shot.

@TheNewHuntersGuide 2 жыл бұрын

That is a great idea, I will see if that shows up better on camera next time. Thank you!

@michaelyork7844 Жыл бұрын

Good video, man, you get those shots off fast.

@TheNewHuntersGuide Жыл бұрын

Oh I cut out a few seconds of me sitting there trying to aim patiently with each one. Takes a bunch of time but it makes the video flow way better.

@bent5434 Жыл бұрын

Great video

@TheNewHuntersGuide Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

@rickyanke9407 Жыл бұрын

Nice comparison. Every turkey my two boys and I have shot have been killed with fiocci golden pheasant. In fact I just purchased a new box. I am impressed with the new tss loads, but while I don't mind paying for premium ammo for my rifles, to me a box of 25 at $30 is a great value for something that will keep doing the job. Looking forward to more videos.

@TheNewHuntersGuide Жыл бұрын

They are a great load at regular ranges for sure! Thank you!

@ZxnithVR Жыл бұрын

I agree...

@raywilliams3530 3 ай бұрын

That BOSS Tom #9 looking dense and centered

@TheNewHuntersGuide 3 ай бұрын

It was almost unfair to put it against the others, but at the same time, its good to see what's possible.

@muddybadgers5205 Жыл бұрын

Going off of pellet count will favor smaller pellets because there's more of them. You need to use the percent of pellets and ounces of payload that are on target. Percent of pellets on target tells you how tight your pattern is and ounces on target generally tells you how hard the turkey got hit. Yes the tss had 31.5% better penetration, but we're talking about a turkey head here, not a grizzly bear. It's like comparing a rifle to a slug. Even a .223 has way more penetration than a slug, but which one dumps more energy. Boss TSS was not impressive at all. 40% of the pellets were in the kill area. That's 0.804oz of payload. Long Beard XR had 52% of the pellet count which is 0.916oz of payload. 14% more weight hit that turkey. You won't find me spending 3x as much on something that doesn't pattern as good. If I sound biased, it might have something to do with me trying Federal 3rd degree TSS last year at $7 a shot and watching my turkey run away after a well placed shot. Granted, Federal and Boss are not the same, but neither one performs as well as a $3 lead round

@TheNewHuntersGuide Жыл бұрын

Weight on the turkey head is a very interesting metric. I've not heard it calculated like that before. The more of these tests I've done since this one, the more I'm seeing pellet count mattering much more than pellet size. Pellets hitting a turkey in the brain or spinal cord are killing turkeys. A #4 lead in those areas is not more effective than a #6. Yes you get 30% more penetration but you still have plenty of penetration on the #6. The TSS #9 gives you many more pellets on target and more penetration. Unless you are using lighter than lead shot, more pellets is going to matter more every time. #6 lead and #9 TSS run out of pattern density before they run out of ballistic energy at range. Using #4s do not give you any advantage on range because you run out of pattern density much faster. The single most important metric for long range is how far out can a load still get 100 pellets in a 10" circle.

@tims.5995 Жыл бұрын

How do u like the Mossberg 930 ? I am thinking about getting one. Love your channel .🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

@TheNewHuntersGuide Жыл бұрын

Thank You! The 930 is a great shotgun, been using it for years. Just upgraded to a 940 this year, they are very similar though. I did a video comparing them kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qbmZrK923d-YoH0.html You couldn't go wrong with either.

@armedfarm3429 2 жыл бұрын

What you have against Federal loads? Not testing the Federal flite control wad blows me mind.

@TheNewHuntersGuide 2 жыл бұрын

Blame the store, they didn't have any at that time. That's all there is to it.

@armedfarm3429 2 жыл бұрын

If I just checked out stores for ammo these days all I would get done is driving around.

@mattsweet7918 Жыл бұрын

I just found this video. Good comparison of different shells. I shoot 3” 12 gauge Longbeards in a 20” barrel with Carlson’s Longbeard choke. I get good tight patterns to 30-35 yards but nothing like you do at 40 yards. Do you think using a longer gun barrel like 26 or 28” will significantly improve my pattern density at 40 yards and beyond? I am going to pattern my gun with a longer barrel once the 10” of snow on the ground finally melts. Thanks for the good video.

@TheNewHuntersGuide Жыл бұрын

Thanks! I do not think barrel length is a regular contributing factor to pattern. Sometimes it may make a difference, but I've heard people pattern 18" guns as well or better than mine. I think is mostly choke/barrel combination. Maybe try another choke or two. I've had good results with the Muller Turkey/UFO and Indian Creek has an amazing following.

@Bpugh323 Жыл бұрын

Is your choke the .683 version? Thanks

@TheNewHuntersGuide Жыл бұрын

@@Bpugh323 For this test I used a Carlson's Long Beard Choke 0.660 Constriction.

@blainek9344 2 жыл бұрын

Would be interesting to see how boss TSS #7 does vs. #9 for pattern and gel test. I went with #7 this year figuring the added down range energy would be in my favor as I run and gun vs. sitting on decoys.

@TheNewHuntersGuide 2 жыл бұрын

That is a good idea there. I actually have a box of the #7s. But I'll need to get more #9s to do the test. I would probably try a longer-range test too. Maybe 50 or 60 yards. Not sure if I'll be able to get more shells this season or not.

@blainek9344 2 жыл бұрын

@@TheNewHuntersGuide Agreed, a 60yd test would be good, no one has done that between the two yet. Maybe you could test the #7 at 40yd and cut in the ballistics and pattern test for the #9? Great content btw

@TheNewHuntersGuide 2 жыл бұрын

@@blainek9344 Thanks so much! I'll look into this more.

@-B_G- 2 жыл бұрын

#7 is overkill as you can flatten Turkeys with #9 and get a much denser pattern at longer ranges. Remember a #9 TSS hits as hard as a number 5 led and the penetration is much better than the 5

@TheNewHuntersGuide 2 жыл бұрын

@@-B_G- Yup, bit it could be nice to do the test and see the real results in paper and gel. I agree with you, but I haven't seen it tested yet.

@josephsnisky1851 2 жыл бұрын

All turkey ammo is good. Some are cleaner shooting than others . It's all in the eye of the beholder. We have it good these days everything is well made .

@TheNewHuntersGuide Жыл бұрын

Thanks

@johnmenius673 3 ай бұрын

What do you think of Federal 3rd Degree (5,6,&7)?

@TheNewHuntersGuide 3 ай бұрын

Never shot it, but hope to do a video on it for next turkey season.

@johnmenius673 2 ай бұрын

I've been very impressed with it.

@bigwestreviews4933 2 жыл бұрын

You missed my personal favorite. Kent diamond shot. Seems to be a good compromise of everything for me

@TheNewHuntersGuide 2 жыл бұрын

You know, I had not heard of them until just a few days ago. I'd like to get a box to test against the Long Beard.

@bigwestreviews4933 2 жыл бұрын

@@TheNewHuntersGuide give them a shot. I like them because they are economical but still extremely effective. Pulling the diamond shot out of pheasants shows it’s better at penetrating than a standard lead ball. I pretty much exclusively use their pheasant loads for pheasants. Haven’t tried the turkey loads yet but am excited. It might be worth seeing if the pheasant loads will work for turkeys also.

@TheNewHuntersGuide 2 жыл бұрын

@@bigwestreviews4933 Nice, I'll see if I can get some.

@bigwestreviews4933 2 жыл бұрын

@@TheNewHuntersGuide I pattern tested the Kent ultimate turkey today. Kinda sporadic patterns. Sometimes they were the best ones and sometimes they seemed to have holes. I’m wondering if the diamond shape shot had something to do with that. Love their pheasant loads but the fiancé picked another brand for turkey. I’m using the Kent in my 20gauge because it’s all I could get right now. That being said, we decided they could kill just as good as the more expensive stuff. Would be worth more testing.

@TheNewHuntersGuide 2 жыл бұрын

@@bigwestreviews4933 Thanks!

@steemerxaxon1643 Жыл бұрын

JUST LIKE THE PRECENTAGE SAYS!!! The LONG BEARD is the BEST load OUT THERE for turkey !!!! REGARDLESS of how much the celebrities APRAISE the FED. TSS.

@TheNewHuntersGuide Жыл бұрын

Thanks! Yes is it. Till they ban lead for everything...

@mulcahy123 3 ай бұрын

DNR says you have to use a turkey load No2 or smaller

@TheNewHuntersGuide 3 ай бұрын

Every state is different. Its #4 or smaller here.

@riverrivers250 4 ай бұрын

I wonder why there isnt any 3” lead shot with like 1-3/8oz of shot going at 1330 or 1400fps like how it is with steel shot 3 inch shells,,,,,, almost every time u see a 3” lead shot, its a turkey load with 1-7/8oz of shot going 1200fps

@riverrivers250 4 ай бұрын

Maybe cause the ammo manufacturers can already get those spec’s with the 2.75” shell????

@TheNewHuntersGuide 4 ай бұрын

There are lead loads with similar specs for pheasant hunting.

@johnr3443 Жыл бұрын

No safety glasses for the second go round?? Were your glasses hurting you?

@TheNewHuntersGuide Жыл бұрын

They actually obscure my vision of the target at the angle I was shooting. I need to get better ones.

@jakobledbetter743 2 жыл бұрын

How’d the shoulder feel after this video lol

@TheNewHuntersGuide 2 жыл бұрын

Oh the shoulder was feeling it, but my face was hurting a lot more! I don't think my comb heigh is dialed in perfectly. This always happens when shooting a lot of turkey loads. Makes me not want to do more videos lol.

@jakobledbetter743 2 жыл бұрын

@@TheNewHuntersGuide only like shooting them when the adrenaline is pumping! A lead sled is in your near future lol great video tho

@TheNewHuntersGuide 2 жыл бұрын

@@jakobledbetter743 Thanks! Yea, a sled would be great. When hunting I don't even feel it. Shot a turkey this morning and had no sense of recoil at all. But I only shot one round!

@kylefulton2615 10 ай бұрын

I had to turn the volume all the way down on my TV because you’re yelling, just talk, normal other than that I like the video

@TheNewHuntersGuide 10 ай бұрын

Thanks. Well, this one was shot a long time ago. I can't go back and change the volume now.

@wonkachocolates6133 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for showing the power of tungsten.

@TheNewHuntersGuide 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@KingJackstone Жыл бұрын

Bros shoulder is prob dieing

@TheNewHuntersGuide Жыл бұрын

This was a really painful day. I think I should 3 turkey ammo videos that day. My should and face were bruised for weeks... It was bad.

@tahoe829 11 ай бұрын

No doubt u had some pain after those loads😖 i think those Turkey loads and some 3 inch high brass duck and pheasant 12gauge are worse recoiling then any 30/06 rounds in a rifle!

@HALWG51 2 жыл бұрын

That gun is really beating you.

@TheNewHuntersGuide 2 жыл бұрын

Oh man, that was a painful day. I think I should 2 more videos on top of this one, all with testing turkey loads. I was beat by the end! Nothing kicks like turkey loads. I never feel them when hunting in the field, but on the range after shooting a dozen, it hurts.

@accurateoutdooradventures Жыл бұрын

Shot my fist 2 turkeys with small game loads

@TheNewHuntersGuide Жыл бұрын

There was a day when those were about the only options too!

@jeffchambers1383 3 ай бұрын

Must be afraid of testing hevi shot

@TheNewHuntersGuide 3 ай бұрын

Made lots of videos with it. Just didn't have a box on hand back when I made this video.

@tannerfrance7698 Жыл бұрын

George buddy I love the channel but buddy give your face a break when I test shotgun loads man u look beat up. Love the videos but I hate u get beat up buddy;!!!!

@TheNewHuntersGuide Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! The big problem is I usually shoot 2 or 3 videos every time I go to the range, and when they are all turkey ammo videos, that does a number on you! None of these loads are that bad to shoot a few times but by video 2 or 3, I am feeling it lol. Just trying to make the best use of the range time.

@raybobkowalski2154 2 жыл бұрын

You need turkey Target's you cont see the pellets, Don't be cheap

@TheNewHuntersGuide 2 жыл бұрын

Haha, and where do you expect that money to come from? I don't get paid to make these videos, it's all out of pocket and those targets aren't cheap!

@DEVILDOG1964 Жыл бұрын

I KNOW BIRCHWOOD CASEY TARGETS ARE EXPENSIVE BUT KZfaq IS A VISUAL MEDIA BROWN PAPER DOESN'T GIVE ME A STANDARD COMPARISON TO MEASURE EFFECTIVENESS. OF EACH SHELL FOR TURKEYS. COME ON MAN!!!

@TheNewHuntersGuide Жыл бұрын

This was like the first turkey ammo video I ever made. Just look at anything made in the last year.