bigcountryok

I've read before where they do not recommend going tighter than .670. Can't find the article now, but my x-full choke mic's at .675 and does great with hevi #4s. Killed several birds in the 40-45 yard range and one hog at 15 yards. All of them were VERY clean kills.

I'm convinced.

kdsberman

I understand the whole "better penetration" part of Hevi Shot, but I seem to have absolutely no trouble with my Winchesters as far as penetration goes. The bottom line is,dead is dead.

Todd1700

True enough. No real argument there. But you can buy a box with just 5 Heavy 13's in it for about 12 bucks. And five birds are all you can kill per season here in Alabama. Most places don't allow you that many. So 12 bucks for a seasons worth of shells is basically nothing compared to what one tank of gas for my truck costs these days. The reason I like Heavy 13's is that not only do they pattern great in most guns but you can shoot number 6's which have far more pellets than 5's or 4's and yet still get just as much penetration at 40 yards as you could with the larger pellets.

mouthcaller

It's really not about just penetration. Hevi shot is denser and harder than lead. You can shoot smaller shot and still have roughly the same energy as one size larger shot. Smaller shot = more pellets = denser patterns.

Additionally, Hevi-shot, by virtue of its hardness, is less subject to deformation as it passes through the choke. Less deformation = fewer flyers = denser patterns. The center core of a hevishot pattern is amazingly dense compared to the typical pattern with lead.

Cost - yeah,hevishotcosts more than conventional turkey loads, but how many do you plan to shoot?? After sighting in (three shots last year because I had mounted a new scope on my Mossberg 835) I only shot 3 while hunting last season, and I had a great year.

Have you ever shot,crippled, and lost a turkey? There is no sicker feeling. If you hunt long enough it will happen to you. I've lost three in 27 years of turkey hunting and I still regret and occasionally think about those lost birds. All were good shots with conventional lead loads inside 40 yards and the turkey was flopping on the ground then the next thing I know he got up and either ran off or flew off. I struggle to come up with a reason why each of those happened. Maybe the shot was deflected by small branches, maybe I pulled it a bit or my aim wasn't perfect. I don't know. What I do know, however, is that I have now eliminated one variable by my willingnessto purchase,practice with, and shoot the absolutely best turkey loads available - Nitros. If it happens again it won't be because I am shooting something less than the very best available ammo.

Once again, these are simply my choices, and to each his own. Is this a great country or what !!

Tom

Lefty26

Has anyone tried the Remington wingmaster HD loads for turkey? I got some of these on clearance for $17.00 a box with a $15.00 rebate. I have 3" #6 1 3/8 ounce loads doing 1450 fps. I think this should work just as good as the Hevi Shot but I wanted to get some opinions.

RIStrutStopper

You guys have me almost sold. I just got a mossberg 835with a 20" barrel. I'm not happy with the 40 yard performance with various 3" #5 loads that I've tried out of a pure gold or ulti-mag choke. I hope to have a jelly head in the mail when I get home tonight, and its back to the range this weekend. All I want is a decent pattern at 40. I want a dead turkey, not a championship pellet count. I suppose after I find the right choke for my gun, playing with nitro or hevi's might just give me what I want. After all, once I get it dialed in all I'll need to do hopefully is fire one or 2 shots a year to make sure I'm still on and throwing a decent pattern.

mouthcaller

Strut Stopper

"Oh brother let's go down, let's go down come on down, Oh brother let's go down, down to the Hevishot load".

In the immortal words of Delbert in Oh Brother Where Art Thou, "ThatNitro preacher done washed away all my sins from usin' them lead turkey loads".

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

I promise you won't regret it. I have an 835 with the ported 24" barrel. It shot lead "OK" with a StarDot .676 choke but the difference between the Nitros (or Hevi-13 for that matter) and lead was like night and day. My forty yard Nitro pattern (see page 1 of this thread) looks like a lead pattern shot from 20 yards.

But don't just take my word for it - see for yourself. Prepare to be amazed.

kdsberman

Chances are I probably will stick with Winchesters, but if I do happen to switch and try Hevi-13's, does everyone recommend #6 shot then?

MichiganBowbender

I'm another hevishot believer. I have used the H378 load for several years in my 12 gauge 3inch Remington. It is a combination of #4-5 and 7 shot. AWESOME STUFF!! http://www.nitrocompany.com/

Bigtimer

Being new to turkey hunting, all this talk about patterning guns with different loads makes me want to grab my crossbow and take my new turkey gun back. It seems that no matter what I go buy, there's something else better. Anyone want to buy 9 boxes of turkey ammo? Very frustrating[].