What is your "third favorite" turkey shotgun shell brand?

[timotheius]

So I can't seem to find Winchester Longbeard XR shells anywhere, and I don't want to pay $12 a shot for TSS shells.  What is the next best thing you would recommend?  Are the Winchester XX or the Federal premium grand slam shells any good?  Does anything else compare the the WLB shells?  I'm looking for a 3rd string substitute.

[btomlin]

If you had the option for Winchester xx and Fed Premium....I'd buy both.  I've killed birds with both.  I killed birds last year with Rem Nitros as it was all I could find in a suitable quantity.  Worked fine within their range.

[Izzyjoe]

The Grand slams are a good shell, but nothing like the LB's!

[crow]

the next best shot compared to tss is 15g/cc shot

Kent offers this in a turkey load

or buy some of the old federal HVWT #7 or #6 loads if you can find some

[PennBirdy]

I've had great luck with the Grand Slams, especially #4's. They are leaps and bounds over Winchester XX in my experience. As mentioned above, if you can find the old Federal Heavy Weight 15/cc 7's, I'd scoop them up. I shoot them in multiple guns and they have been fantastic in my experience.

[ChesterCopperpot]

I prefer the Winchester Double X to the LongBeards in lead. They're great shells. And never ever ever had bad lot issues as a result of resin like I have with LongBeards.


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[timotheius]

I prefer the Winchester Double X to the LongBeards in lead. They're great shells. And never ever ever had bad lot issues as a result of resin like I have with LongBeards.


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What problems did you have with the LongBeards?  You have me curious now.  I have always thought the world of that shell.

[WildTigerTrout]

I have had good luck with Winchester(Supreme HV, XX, Longbeards), Federal(Premium) and Hevi-Shot(Magnum Blends).

[HILBY72]

I have quite a few of the old Federal Turkey Thugs that I feel were a good shell

[Borden811]

I prefer the Winchester Double X to the LongBeards in lead. They're great shells. And never ever ever had bad lot issues as a result of resin like I have with LongBeards.


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What problems did you have with the LongBeards?  You have me curious now.  I have always thought the world of that shell.

I had all kinds of issues with longbeards. From wandering patterns, to random, odd shaped patterns, inconsistent numbers, etc. that's with a couple guns and multiple chokes.

[ChesterCopperpot]

What problems did you have with the LongBeards?  You have me curious now.  I have always thought the world of that shell.

They cost me multiple birds one season before I realized the shells were bad. After the second bird, I patterned from that box and twenty yards whereas I normally had a softball sized pattern I had a beach ball and it wasn't even. At 30yds I had no pattern at all. The shells were bad. Likely a resin issue. When you start looking you realize it's something that's happened to a lot of people. I've had great luck with them when they do what they're meant to do. Killed lots of birds with them. But the possibility for that failure and inconsistency means I'll never hunt a box again. Honestly, though, even when they work well they're too tight a pattern for me at 20. And that's regardless of choke. They really seem to be a 30yd and out shell which is fine. I just prefer a load that I can match with a choke and have good even killing patterns at 40 AND 20. Here's the two patterns. The top is a normal LB and the bottom is the bad shells both at 20yds. Same gun, same choke, supposedly same shell.




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[justin.arps]

This year I tested with several of the reasonably priced loads available,I shot double x,Remington nitro,Kent,and federal. I shot A 20,30,40 yard pattern all shells were 3in with A #6 shot. I'm shooting A Winchester sx2 nwtf with A jebbs .660 I was surprised to find that every shell provided A good killing pattern for me except, the Kent it shot clusters. I was pleasantly surprised and have been stocking up as I can when A store has any of these shells in.


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