kdsberman

Based on the whole "downrange energy" associated a lot with Hevi-Shot and other heavier than lead shells, will a basic lead shell, like the Winchester High-Velocity, with #6's take down a turkey at 40 yards? I've always shot #5's but am thinking about moving down to 6's to get a little denser pattern. Thanks

Rory/MO

ive had better luck with the 5's, but if the 6's pattern better, id switch too

StruttinGobbler3

6s pattern better because obviously theres more pellets in the shell. but, while you may get more hits with them, they don't pack the same punch as larger sizes. its like the difference in getting hit in the face with four golf balls or two baseballs. which one does more damage? personally, i prefer 5s for the added power, but its up to you. you have to decide whether you want more penetration power with less shot or less penetration with more shot. as for killing a turkey at 40 yards with 6s, as long as you have a decent pattern at that range, then yes it will kill him dead as a hammer.

2 Lunger

I've killed two birds past 40 yrds. with 6's. One at 43 yrds and the other at 45 yrds. I was shooting Winchester Supreme 3".

Wingbone

Win. HV #6's will definately drop a turkey at 40 yd. I've done it twice as well... And that was with a 2 3/4" load. The extra velocity compensates for the lack of mass.

kdsberman

Hey wingbone, i thought i also heard something about that. I was told that if you did some sort of equation, cant remember what it was, that the faster #6's will equal roughly the same amount of energy as the slower #5's.

mouthcaller

E = MV(squared)

Energy equals mass X velocity (squared). The velocity componant figures more prominantlyinto the energy equation because is squared, but that doesn't tell the whole story in terminal ballistics when it comes to killing animals.

What actually kills an animal, in this case a turkey? It is generally accepted that multiple pellet hits in the head and neck, entering the brain and breaking the spinal column, disrupting vital neurologic functions that control respiration and circulation, is what kills the turkey.

So what must happen to accomplish this?

1. One must get enough hits to ensure that the brain is penetrated and/or the spnial column broken. The more pellets hitting the head/neck the better in my book. I've seen various numbers tossed around by hunters but I would challenge anyone to show me the evidence supporting that the minumim number is 9 or 12 or 15 or whatever. One pellet penetrating the brain stem can kill a turkey.

2. The pellets must penetrate the skin and soft tissue to do the terminal damage. This is a function of both momentum and the penetrating quality of the pellet.Momentumfavors heavier projectilesgoing relatively slower (larger shot sizes)than lighter projectiles going faster (smaller shot sizes). It is also important to note that as ranges increase that lighter projectiles shed velocity faster than heavier projectiles due to air resistance.

3. Pellets that are softer (lead) tend to flatten out somewhat when striking the target, limiting penetration. This is probably more important at longer ranges than closer ones as it regards killinga turkey. Note that hevi-shot is hard enough not to flatten out upon striking a turkey.

Back in the early 80s I used nothing but #4s because thatwas all I could find in 3" magnum "heavy loads" of 1 7/8 oz. Then they started copper coating the lead pellets and adding buffers to make them more resistant to deformation and I switched to #5s. I killed a bunch of turkeys withthe good ol' WinchesterSuperXX turkey loads of 2oz ofcopper coated #5 and Federal Premium #5s. They patterned well out of my 870 witha Rem extra full turkey choke. It was a reliable 40-45 yard gun (and I'm ashamed to say I killed some further, a few much further, than that) but it wasn't pretty and those birds generally required chasing and follow-up shots. I grew up and quit doing that crap.

So what shot size is best?? Depends on how far the turkey is and how good (tight) your pattern is and how well the shooter can deliver the center of that pattern on Mr. gobbler's head and neck. There is no scientific formula to determine this and one must balance pattern density (which always favors smaller shot sizes) with terminal ballistics (which generally always favors larger shot sizes).

Now I shoot nothing but Hevi-Shot becase:

1. It doesn't deform
2. It patterns much, much, much tighter than lead.
3. It is denser than lead and, therefore, carries more energy at longer ranges than comparably sized lead pellets.
4. Because of reason #3 one can use smaller pellets to achieve denser patterns, yet retain the penetrating qualities of larger size lead pellets.

wis_bow_huntr

I can drop a tom at 50 yards if needed with #6 out of my Winchester Blackshadow.

gmil6184

#6 will kill them stone dead at 40 yards. one pellet in the brain/spine will put a turkey down (even though we should all strive to hit the head/neck with as many as possible) so I believe the more pellets you put out in the pattern the better. There is something to be said for smaller size shot losing energy quicker but i think at most reasonable turkey ranges any difference is pretty much negligible.

little indian

I have taken turkeys out to 55 yds with Winchester HV #6's in 3" shells. The main thing is to know how your gun shoots at those distances.