ORIGINAL: RedAllison

DB I have put so many 3" and 3 1/2" loads through my 835 I honestly couldn't recall them all. BUT I do know that THE greatest (and one I am sold on) load I have shot from it is the Nitro Ammunition Co. 2 1/4oz 4x5x7 HeviShot triplex 3 1/2" that Ray specifically loads for the 835/935 Mossys. These guns have a larger backbore (nearly 10ga) than anyother 3 1/2" 12 so they can really deliver a payload, but the ammo must be loaded properly to take advantage of that extra ability. I can't remember the exact part number of Ray's but I know it ends with the letter "M" beside the numbers. That differentiates them from others as being for "M"ossbergs only, his other part numbers only feature numbers and no other loads of his are loaded for a specific model gun. He also loads a 2 1/4oz 7 H.S. load that is pure hell on anything inside of 50 yds. Remember a #7 piece of HeviShot is as heavy as a copperplated #6 lead so theyyield similar knockdown but obviously you get a higher pellet count with the 7s. 2 1/4oz of 7s is ALOOOOOOOOOOT of shot flyin in the air!!! (LOL he told me he has loaded a #7 HS for 10ga.s which had 3oz of the stuff in it. The pellet count is over 1000!!! )

As is the key I spoke about while using lead alternatives is NOT to overchoke them. Rhino builds a .680" tube that is superb for lead, nickel, copper and similar low cost shot types. But for pure HeviShot, Winchester Extendeds etc... type metals you should go with the .695" Rhino for the 835/935. I think alot of guys are under the misconception that acombo that patterns extremely tight @ 30-40 yds will likewise be thebest long range option. That simply isn't so. I have some guns and loads that will make you scratch your head in wonderment at 30-40yds. But when you put the target at 50-60+ yds the patterns quickly begin to lose their luster. IMHO it's all about pellet delivery and energy retention at extreme ranges. ANY load dumped ona turkey at 35 yds is gonna put him down. But at long ranges...that is why I shoot the combo I shoot. (Like I said, 22 pellets @ 60yds in a 12oz can. Most turkeys are killed with only 2-5 shots in the head/spinal column.)

When Remington first came out with HeviShot loads several years ago I used them in my 870 Supermag with an old original .665 TruGlo (the old Basner tubes that had 3 rings of ports, vs the cheaper and lesser performing tubes from TG now). The gun shot Rem HeviShot very well, much better in fact than the same gun and tubedid with2oz and 2 1/4oz copperplated #5 Winchester Supremes. Lead just doesn't hold up very well after 50-55yds. Inside of that, and like I said don't bother with the expensive stuff!

As for the new Federals I just don't know as I haven't tried them myself and haven't heard much from customers who have either. The new Winchester Extendeds are getting ALOT of good marks everywhere. But I know it is from alot of guys who have only been shooting lead and nothing else. For them they just can't get over the mental image of paying for Nitro loads yet they want something more than lead and for whatever reasons they haven't yet tried Remington's HeviShot. Thus the marketing for the Rem, Win, Fed lead substitute loads. (Let me also say that part of the "hype" with the Winchesters is their concentricity. They play on the "well that makes sense" thought in our heads about Extended being much rounder than HeviShot. But at therelatively low velocities and short distances we are talking about, the shape of shot has no realaffects on its ballistics like they would werewe talking about riflery and hundreds of yards at thousands of feet per second.)

Another point I feel needs to be brought up is that of out distancing the commonbead or even the aftermarket "turkey sights" like those from TruGlo. A turkey head/neck is simply to small of a target at ranges over 50 yds to only use those types of sights. I feel it is MANDATORY for the prudent hunter to use a red dot/holographic or even a common duplex magnification scope when using long range guns for long range birds. With a bead you are just "pointing at bird" at 55yds. With a red dot you are able to pick a spot like the head or my favorite "where feathers meet skin" on the neck. If you aren't willing to spend the money for a mount, scope, tube, custom load then don't bother trying to "stunt shoot" a turkey at 65 yds. You're only kidding yourself and risking cleanly taking a grand animal that "ol Tom" is! When I hear Joe 6 Pack say, "Wellllllllll I killed a bird at 75 yds with my ol 3" New Englander with a extra full turkey tube and a copperplated 5s!!! In most cases he is clueless about the range and even if he isn't, he is dead lucky and couldn't duplicate that shot 1ce in a lifetime...

Good luck,
RA