New 20ga this year and running tss 9s Apex. Alot of people are getting over 300 in the 10" and some prefer closer 10" - 20" numbers.
At 40yds im consistently shooting 250s in the 10" and 220s in the 20". I know that will kill, however would you chase the 300s because you know its capable, or stick with the even 10" and 20" numbers.
Thanks for your comments.
Stick with 250. You'll be fine.
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It depends on what you are after. The appeal of TSS to me is the ability to shoot a wider pattern of adequate density up to 40 yards or so. So your patterns sound just fine. You can spend a lot of time and money bumping it up a bit. I pay more attention to uniformity in the 10-15" ring than anything else because that's about the maximum width of pattern of reliable density for that 20 gauge load.
I'd hunt that pattern and never look back.
Funny how times have changed. Getting those numbers out of a 20 was unheard of not long ago and now it is considered not enough. Go hunt.
No, that is killing pattern. I chase longbeards to kill not pattern counts. Good luck
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Numbers are nice. But I chase turkeys............not numbers.
If I was only killing paper, but I'm interested in killing turkeys. Id be more than happy with those numbers.
Good number for turkey hunting pattern.
Only reason to chase more is if you want to see how many in the 10" you can get.
I would hunt with that.
I wouldn't. I am out to kill turkeys. As long as I have a good killing pattern to 40 with pellets that contain sufficient energy I am happy. I would rather have 120 evenly spread pellets that hit like a train than a bunch of pinholes. Big fan of #6 hevishot and #5 lead. I can't speak for tss since I have no experience but I do know you can go higher in shot size and get the same performance as larger lead pellets. I just can't justify the cost for the range I consider to be the end of the game.
That is 470 in 20 for a 20 gauge. Plenty of pellets to kill birds consistently. If you want, clean and polish your barrel. Also as temps rise, pellet count will also. But to answer your question, HUNT IT.
Thanks for all your comments. Think Ill stay with what I got and not chase it. Its better numbers than my 3.5" 12 ga with mag blends or longbeard 5s. Excited to hunt with the 20ga.
I prefer the on 20 number to the in 10. I have myself missed a very close bird,and have seen a couple others miss because of that super tight pattern.
That's actually what I'm hoping to achieve if I got 300+ I'd try and open it up. I want the balanced 10 and 20" pattern that's the draw of TSS to me.
I have a buddy who thinks am an absolute idiot to pay quadruple for TSS over longbeards it kills great at 40 he says. To that I agree but then I asked how many youth hunter or people he took out missed close inside 20yd shots or hard angle shots inside 40 last year. As I know he takes close to a dozen poeple out a season. He replied too many at least 4.
I then asked if he could have that hunt back and I asked him give me $10 and this kid will flatten the bird would he do it. Of course.
I'm not saying you can't miss but with all those pellets you can really take advantage and open up that pattern and almost double your effective kill pattern size. Asking a kid on his first bird to hit a possibly moving baseball (turkey head) with a softball size pattern with all that adrenaline running at 12yrds is a tall order. If I can get a pattern to be twice that size but still kill no questions asked at 40+ I'll do it.
Please don't pm me asking why I'm hating on longbeards, I'm not they are a great shell and changed a lot for the average hunter with a 20ga but for my preference and purpose they can be silly tight in close and I take a lot of inexperienced people out. I'm taking them out to set them up for success so I want my gun to be set up for easy of use and success.
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Quote from: upfold99 on March 04, 2018, 09:54:51 AMwould you chase the 300s because you know its capable....
Never.
Quote from: upfold99 on March 04, 2018, 09:54:51 AMAt 40yds im consistently shooting 250s in the 10" and 220s in the 20". .......or stick with the even 10" and 20" numbers.
I would not change a thing, plenty to kill, and plenty of forgiveness for the tight shots.
Others that like shooting paper, missing turkeys up close, or shooting them long distances in open places will likely have a different opinion.
Quote from: davisd9 on March 04, 2018, 10:44:20 AM
No, that is killing pattern. I chase longbeards to kill not pattern counts. Good luck
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X2. Give yourself some wiggle room
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Dead is dead....how dead you want him? If a shell contains 500 pellets & you can get a 250/250 pattern then I'd hunt that all day long. A consistent, even distribution of shot over the entire 20" circle will hunt.
I was getting 350's out of my 20ga 870 and it was too tight for my liking. I dialed it back to 280's and more even pattern thru the 20". I killed one at 22 yards last year running at 100% full speed right at me. I had enough spread to give him a ride home in my truck.
I chased numbers and have a good hunting pattern. Very rarely do I miss, in the few years I've been loading tss I've only missed on one morning and the bird wasn't close.
Out of a 20 I would not chase 300 with 1.625oz or less of shot.
I patterned three chokes when switching to loading my own TSS. The best numbers were consistently ~350 at forty yards in ten inch circle with one choke, but was blowing a hole in the target at twenty yards. Another choke was ~230 at forty yards, and a nice even, tight pattern (but not too tight) at twenty. While another choke gave me ~150 at forty and as you could imagine, a wide, even patten at twenty.
I chose the middle ground, as my goal is to kill turkeys, not win a pellet count contest. 150-250 within the 10" is really the sweet spot when talking overall effectiveness of your load at close and long (40 yard) range. I wouldn't change a thing, you've got a killer load already.
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I'm shooting 260/10 and I don't want it any tighter. I have a friend who's gun seems to like 300+ no matter what choke he uses and he has told me numerous times it's too tight.
If you're dead set on chasing numbers, do it with a different gun. Hunt with the setup you have now and go buy a numbers gun to play. Get a 10 ga and load up 3 oz of tss #12's. That should do the trick.
Want some sound advice. ...don't get caught up in the numbers , you got a good shooting gun allready
focus your efforts of turkey hunting ... if needed , if not go hunting and enjoy yourself in the turkey woods
A good analogy. ...you know I like giving those ....
You ever see the kids who just got to have the latest iPhone ....I call it "iphone-itis" you see.these kids line up at the mall days in advance like they can't live without out it
..bow hunters on forums are like that , folks got a dead shooting reliable and fast bow....what do they do.....trade it in and spend a fortune on this year's latest bow
Thank you all again, for the sound advice. I plan to leave it alone and kill birds this spring.
:OGturkeyhead:
I wouldn't.
I have two 20 gauge combos that do over 300, but I don't particularly care to chase it. With 12 gauges, I only run around 260 in the 10 with T8's and that is plenty tight for me. I look to be as close to 250/250 as I can.
Yeah stick with the 200 numbers
Some guys play golf, but I love being on the range tinkering preseason. If you have the time and money, then chase the 300 and enjoy!
I would chase turkeys and not pellet count
As others have said, I would hunt that load. I am switching to hand loaded tss this year and would be tickled with that pattern. My goal is 220 - 250 in the 10" and the same in the 20".