Hi all, I'm pretty new to the forum but have already learned a lot here, thanks to all of you. I'm also new to turkey hunting. I made my first serious attempt at hunting gobblers last spring and took my first tom a couple weeks ago. Though very grateful to have gotten a bird, I wasn't thrilled with the patterns I was getting with Hevi-shot Magnum Blend; they really fell apart between 30 and 40 yards. So I bought a few Apex TSS shells. What a difference! Thought I'd post my results.
Winchester SA-08 20 gauge — 26" barrel
Sumtoy .562 choke
Apex Smalltown Hunting Blend 20 gauge — 1 5/8 oz (5/8 oz. #7.5 + 1 oz. #9) — ~490 pellets per shell
348 in 10" at 30 lasered yards
216 in 10" at 40 lasered yards (pictured)
149 in 10" at 50 lasered yards
(https://i.postimg.cc/254xvGbM/IMG-4909.jpg)
Congratulations on finding a pattern with which you are happy. TSS is definitely a gamechanger. Now if you want to really supercharge your patterns, unless you live in a state where it would not be legal to do so, ditch the blend and go for a straight load of 9s. The 7.5s in that blend are doing your pattern no favors and are taking up room that could be used for more than adequate 9s. A straight load of 9s would have 585 pellets vs your current 490. TSS 7.5s for turkeys is akin to shooting lead 2s at doves - way overkill at the expense of pattern density.
Quote from: BandedSpur on June 05, 2022, 07:58:49 AM
Congratulations on finding a pattern with which you are happy. TSS is definitely a gamechanger. Now if you want to really supercharge your patterns, unless you live in a state where it would not be legal to do so, ditch the blend and go for a straight load of 9s. The 7.5s in that blend are doing your pattern no favors and are taking up room that could be used for more than adequate 9s. A straight load of 9s would have 585 pellets vs your current 490. TSS 7.5s for turkeys is akin to shooting lead 2s at doves - way overkill at the expense of pattern density.
Thanks, BandedSpur. I'll look to get my hands on some pure #9 loads at some point. I'm sure having 20 percent more pellets wouldn't hurt!
Completely agree with BandedSpur no need to shoot 7.5s in TSS at turkeys. 3" 1 5/8oz. 9s is the ticket for the majority of 20 gauges. More than likely gonna put 300-320 in the 10 @ 40 yds. Keep in mind there are alot of different ammo manufacturers...
Apex
Foxtrot
BOSS
Wilson custom loads ( this is one AWESOME load for sure)
Burgess creek
Rogue
Pendleton
Etc....
Good luck and keep us apprised of ya choice!!!
Thanks, Bink. My brain is still trying to adjust to these kinds of numbers! With the Hevi-shot Mag Blend, I was getting fewer than 50 pellets in 10" at 40 yds...