drdi

Hi all. I need help dialing back my TK 2000. Let me give you a little history. I am a 135 pound woman and have been hunting about 10 years now. Mostly deer and turkey, but some small game too. I live in a shotgun only state for deerso my primary deer/turkey gun is my 20 gauge Rem. 870. I also use a 50cal muzzleloader for deer which I absolutely LOVE even more than my shotgun.

I was given a brand new TK 2000 a few years back that has been sitting in a box up until today. As much as I LOVE my ML rifle for deer, I thought it would be way cool to use a ML for turkey. I had read up on this gun and heard how much it kicks, but I thought I could handle trying a shot. So I read the manual, loaded it up with 100 grains powder and used the shot wads that came with the gun (they hold 2 1/2 oz of shot I believe). I put on a recoil pad (the kind you wear over your shoulder)and a winter coat and sat down on my shooting bench out in my pasture. I concentrated on where the butt of gun was resting and held the gun nice and tight to my shoulder. Took the shot.Well now my shoulder is SCREAMING. After some ibuprofen and an ice pack, I am now a semi-rational human being again. I've been bruised by hard shooting guns before, but this was so much more than I expected. Obviously, I need to do some readjusting of things before I shoot the gun again.

So here is the list I came up with (feel free to add and comment).

1. Go down to 90 or even 80 grains of powder.
2. Less shot (I have a question about this, see below)
3.One of those add-onrecoil pads on the butt of the gun. (or two or three, Just Kidding!)

Since I am a ML shotgun newbie, I have questions about loading shot. If I want to load with less shot, I will need to buy different size shot wads, correct? I mean, you can't take a 3 1/2 inch shot wad and fill it part way, right? You are suppose to fill the shot wad full??? Can I use regular shot wads like the ones used in re-loading shotguns? I don't need a special ML shot wad or do I?

Thanks so much for any help you can give me!!!! I still think it would be cool to shoot a turkey with a ML shotgun.

lemoyne

Well, first off I don't know why you would ever use that amount of shot. I have used exactly half that much and taken dove pheasant duck and geese as well as turkey, get some 1 1/4 and some 1 oz wads and pattern your gun [a big piece of card board and a roll of butchers paper] try several different shot sizes to see what the gun likes start with the same volume of black or pyrodex as the volume of shot and work down ward when you get the proper pattern for the choke of your gun you have your load.
A couple of points: a black aiming dot with marking pencil and a string with a tack on one end and a pencil on the other I usually use a 20 inch so I end up with a 40 inch circle to check the pattern.
A selection of wads from a reloader would be a big help its had to tell which ones will shoot best in a given gun.
Hope this helps Lee

cayugad

What you might want to try for your next adventure is get some of the smaller plastic shot cups. They are for upland birds. I shoot them in my New Englander 12 gauge, and the recoil is much less. Drop the powder charge down to 80 grains and just a measure of that smaller shot cup. It will reduce your effective killing range, but it might not put you in traction. Also since you're going to shorten your killing range, go to a #6 shot and it should add to the pattern for you.

I have a TK2000 and believe me, I am not recoil sensative. BUT I added a RED DOT to my shotgun a couple weeks ago,and was patterning the gun to the RED DOT with full blow turkey loads. I shot it about ten times that day and it was all I cared to shoot. They are brutal. But you have to remember, your shooting 100 grains of powder and a 2-1/4 ounce of lead shot. That's like loading your 50 caliber with a strong powder charge, and the monster of all conicals. So there is going to be recoil. Perhaps a Simms recoil pad would help...

Good luck with your shotgun.

gearheart

2 1/2 oz? That's brutal. Tha tis like what the market gunners used to load into their 8 guage cannons. Enough to bring a big man to tears and choice words and maybe put him on his a$$. At 438 grains to the ounce that comes to 1095 grains or double loading 2 X 500+ grain conicals. The same volume of lead as powder was what I was told when I shot skeet with a friend's 2 barrel 12 ga front stuffer. A standard 12 ga shotshell load is 1 1/4 oz. I wouldn't push it past 1 1/2oz. Anticipating a heavy recoil can cause flinching = missed shots. Just my $0.02 worth.

bronko22000

drdi = I have to agree. 2 1/2 oz of shot is a lot of shot. And it takes a lot of pressure to get it moving and part of the excessive recoil you are experiencing. I suggest you go to Walmart and pick up a slip on recoil pad, drop you charge down to 80 gr and try no more than 1 oz (preferrably 7/8 oz) show wads. That should be more than enough medicine for turkey out to 25 yds.
Also to ease the recoil a might, you may want to consider not shooting off the bench. Try standing and shooting offhand. Pattering a shotgun is brutal when using heavy loads. And I've seen more than one burly guy wince at the recoil of a heavy turkey load. I know its not on my list as one of my favorite things to do.

cayugad

Quote:

David,

From extensive testing I can tell you that 100-110 grain of Triple 7 loose ffg powder and using the 3 1/2 “ shot cups loaded with 2 ½ oz. of #4, 5, or 6 should produce a pattern @ 30 yards like no other. You should maintain roughly 380-425 #6 shot pellets in a 30” circle. Hope this helps, thanks.

I was talking to Gordy Edwards at Knight rifles about the TK2000 and what he felt was a good turkey load for it. That was his answer to an email I sent him. But as I was saying, that might be a little much in the recoil department for you. I have a bunch of smaller shot cups that load in the TK real good. I have not patterned them for a turkey load though. Maybe if I think of it, I will take it out on the range. As long as it is good to 30 yards, is actually plenty. But according to Gordy, on film, they have a kill at 72 yards with the TK2000. I also have a friend who lives to hunt turkey. He collects shotguns like I do muzzleloaders. And his go to turkey gun is a Knight TK2000 with #6 shot. He claims he took a turkey at 45 yards once... And I have no reason to doubt him.

Gotbuck

Ican flat out tell you the truth as God is my witness thatI took a bird at 62 yards with 110 grs of Pyrodex and a 3-1/2 shot wad full of #4 shot. I took the shot as all conditions were perfect, no wind, clear shot and I have practiced many times the shot. Does it kick absoletuly, but just remember to pack the stock tight against you and all I feel is a push with no jarring what so ever. When turkey hunting I have a turkey vest with a padded sling I use andI do not have an added recoil pad. You may want to custom cut your wad cups until you get a shot that feels comfortable. Take a 3-1/2" cup and cut it to 3/4, 1/2 in that size and see what happens. (They also make a 2-3/4" cup as well.) The full 3-1/2 holds 2-1/2 oz of shot, I use it and the results even at 20, 30 yards are devastating on birds, I have targets that look like you put your fist through it as the pattern is so tight. In my opinion and experience these are the best but you need to try all kinds of testing for your gun. I know a fellow that has one and does not use a wad cup, you load your powder, then a cardboard wad, your measured shot then an overcard and pack it tight then your ready to go. His patterns nice out to 30 yards. I have done testing out to 65 yards andI am confident in my loads on anything that crosses in between. I am also a bowhunter and shoot some extreme shots at 70 yards at targets but when deer come in at 20, 30 yards they seem like chip shots. The same is true in shooting guns. I only take the shot if everything is perfect and that has only happened once and maybe never again.

My long range load is 110 grainspyrodex
Remington Kleenbore 209 primer
3-1/2" shot cup filled with #4 shot
Shot card on top and packed as tight as you can get on the powder

I have shot many times with 120 grain of pyrodex but the results were similar to the 110 grains so I say save the powder.

When I first started I used 80 grains and the full 3-1/2" shot cup with #4 and had decent groups at 20 yards. The recoil was not bad all compared to a 50 caliber muzzy with 100 grains. If you plan on taking birds closer than 30 yards this load will be a good starting point. Keep in mind this works in my gun, your gun will have different results as all guns are made different even if producedone after the other.Good luck and post any results you may have.My turkey season starts the 20th and I am taking off work to take my dad who has never hunted turkey before.He is having an itch toshoot my TK so I might let him, might.

Gotbuck

Here are the wads I've used:

http://www.ballisticproducts.com/prodinfo.asp?number=3221235
http://www.ballisticproducts.com/prodinfo.asp?number=3221235US

Overshot cards:

http://www.ballisticproducts.com/prodinfo.asp?number=N712

Great products if you shoot a lot.

goatbrother

Go visit Doc Whites web site, he has some loads listed for the White Tominator that use as little as 1 1/4 oz of shot. http://www.whitemuzzleloading.com/images/whiterifles/Tominator.htmthere are also some lighter loads for smaller foul hunting that could work for turkey too. The Knight you have is not much different from the White Tominator and load information should be interchangable. Be warned, working up a load can be time consuming with all of the varriables involved with shotgun components. Have fun.

Oh, my present load consists of a BP Multi-Metal 12 gauge 3.5" long cup, 2.25 oz copper plated #5 shot and 80-90 grains of Goex Pinacel powder, 80 grains ofTriple 7 workswell too. I don't use an over powder wad but do use an over shot wad, I make my own over shot wads out of pink or blued foam construction insulation board I find on job sites, use an IP choke to cut out plugs of foam then slice them into 1/4' thick disks. I use 2 of the foam disks on top of the shot to hold it in place. And the choke is .665" constriction.

Gotbuck

Here is a pattern I can get consistency out of with #6 shot at 45 yards. It usually tears the target and yes it groups that tight.

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p119/gotbuck1127/Turkey_target.jpg