Whether you’re new to hunting or a seasoned turkey hunter pursuing a Grand Slam, choosing the right turkey shotgun shell and load can make or break your next gobbler hunt. Spurred on by ever-evolving performance through improved shot material, shotgun shell manufacturers continue to fine-tune options available for waterfowlers, upland bird hunters, and turkey chasers. At the forefront of shotgun shell innovations has been Federal Ammunition, which has been selling ammo for the past 100 years. They help us break down the perfect loads to consider for your next successful turkey hunt. Table of Contents
Turkey hunting season is an exciting time for hunters across the country. As you prepare for your hunt, one key question is what type of ammunition to use. Specifically, many wonder if buckshot can be an effective and ethical choice for turkeys. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the pros and cons of using buckshot for your turkey hunt.
What is Buckshot?
Buckshot refers to larger lead pellets ranging from size 00 to number 4. The most common sizes used are 00 (“double aught”) 0 and 1. The pellets are larger and fewer in number compared to smaller birdshot loads.
Buckshot is commonly used for larger game like deer, bear, and hogs where more penetration power is needed. The larger pellet size carries more energy downrange and creates bigger wound channels.
The Case Against Using Buckshot
While buckshot is lethal on bigger game, there are some distinct disadvantages when using it for turkeys:
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Over-penetration – The larger pellets penetrate too deep, often passing fully through a turkey. This destroys a lot of meat and raises ethical concerns.
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Wide spread – At typical turkey hunting ranges of 30-40 yards, the pattern opens up increasing chances of only wounding the bird.
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Excessive damage – The large pellets can severely damage a turkey’s breast meat and feathers.
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Safety issues – The wide scatter increases risks of accidentally hitting other hunters or animals. Stray pellets also travel farther raising safety concerns.
Factors Supporting Traditional Loads
Beyond those cons, there are additional factors that support using traditional turkey loads over buckshot:
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Upholding hunting ethics – Most hunters strive for clean, ethical kills. Destroying excessive meat and crippling birds violates fair chase principles.
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Importance of skill – Taking turkeys with proper shotgun choke tubes and patterning requires honing skills versus just using more destructive ammo.
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Turkey anatomy – A turkey’s thick feathers and skin require a dense, consistent pattern. Larger buckshot pellets spread too quickly.
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Preserving tradition – Using appropriate gear and loads maintains the heritage and integrity of turkey hunting as a skilled sport.
Reasons Some Hunters Consider Buckshot Anyway
With all those negatives, why do some turkey hunters still ponder using buckshot? Here are a few perceived benefits:
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Increased lethality – There’s no doubt the larger pellets impart significant energy and trauma on impact. This can equate to quicker kills.
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Longer effective range – The heavier pellets carry energy farther downrange compared to lighter turkey loads.
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Greater margin for error – The wider pattern gives more room for error in shot placement, especially for novice hunters.
For hunters focused strictly on success rates, buckshot seems to offer advantages on paper. However, most experienced turkey hunters still view it as unethical and unsafe.
Best Practices for Ammo Selection
So what’s the ideal approach for choosing the right ammo? Here are some expert tips:
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Select a turkey specific load in #4-6 birdshot. Hevi-Shot and TSS are also excellent options.
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Pattern your shotgun on target at the typical ranges you’ll shoot during the hunt.
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Consider a tight choke like extra full turkey for denser patterns.
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Use a heavier load for longer range shots where legal. 3″ or 3.5″ shells add velocity.
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Take time to practice and improve your shooting skills rather than relying on a wide pattern.
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Resist the temptation to use buckshot simply to make hits easier or extend your effective range.
While buckshot offers raw lethality, it fails to align with the principles of ethical turkey hunting. For the welfare of the animals and safety of all hunters, most experts advise against using it.
Carefully patterning your shotgun and consistently hitting the head and neck with proper turkey loads demonstrates true mastery of your skills. That success is far more rewarding in the long run.
So enjoy the turkey season ahead. But for the birds’ sake and your own, leave the buckshot at home. Your hunt will be safer, meat damage minimized, and the turkeys will thank you!
Chokes and Patterning Your Shotgun
A shotgun choke is a tube that is typically attached to the last several inches of the barrel before the muzzle. Older shotguns may have fixed chokes, but nearly all newer shotguns can accept different chokes, and a selection of standard chokes usually comes with the purchase of a shotgun. The purpose of a choke is to constrict the shot to varying degrees so the gun produces the best chance of putting the most pellets on a target at particular distances. They were invented in the mid-19th century, about three hundred years after shotguns were invented. Chokes have names like cylinder, skeet, improved cylinder, light modified, modified, improved modified, full, and super- or extra-full. A cylinder choke is the least constrictive and a super- or extra-full choke is the most constrictive. Chokes affect the practical range for a shooter. The tighter the constriction of the choke, the farther the range. For example, a full choke is most effective at 40 to 50 yards. An improved cylinder is most effective from 20 to 35 yards. Now before you feel the need to go buy every choke available for your gauge shotgun, take the advice of Federal Premium’s Product Line Manager for Shotshell Ammunition Dan Compton: “I would start with what chokes were included in the with the gun you bought or have on hand for turkey hunting.” “Typically tighter is better for a turkey load,” says Compton, “but sometimes it is possible to choke too tight. This will actually make the pattern worse due apply too much constriction at the barrel. You can find an ideal combo for your type of shotgun, a certain choke tube, and an ammunition load. The key is to sample a few and see how they look on paper.” Shooting through different chokes on paper targets is called “patterning.” It’s understanding the shape and diameter of all the shot in a shell as it hits a target at different yardages. For turkey hunters, Compton has specific advice for the ideal choke and shotshell combination and what pattern you’re aiming to achieve. “Pattern the gun and load at turkey head target and see how many pellets you get in the head and neck at 40 yards,” he says. “You are looking for 15 or more pellets in the head and neck region to consider a load reliable at the given range. If you are getting much more than that you may be able to shoot a little further, but it’s good to find where your max range may be. Most hunters look at 40 yards as the maximum ethical range for hunting turkeys.”
Understanding Shotguns and Shells
A shotgun is a firearm that shoots a pattern of “shot,” which are pellets made most commonly from lead, copper-plated lead, nickel-plated lead, bismuth, tungsten, or steel. The spread of these shot makes it easier to shoot moving targets (such as birds or small game); although “slugs,” which are a solid lead projectile used for big(ger) game, is another type of shotgun load but not one we’ll cover here. Shotguns come in different gauges. The gauge is a bore measurement like that of calibers for pistols or rifles. The two most common gauges used for turkey hunting, in order, are a 12-gauge and 20-gauge shotgun. A 12-gauge has a larger, wider barrel than a 20-gauge. Here’s how gauges of shotguns are classified. Imagine a round lead ball that fits perfectly inside a 12-gauge shotgun barrel (0.729″). It would take 12 lead balls of that diameter to equal one pound of lead. Since a 20-gauge shotgun barrel has a smaller diameter (0.615″) it would take 20 lead balls to make up one pound of lead. That’s the difference between the sizes of these guns. Shotguns also come in 10-gauge, 16-gauge, 28-gauge, and a .410 (the smallest bore shotgun available).
Shotgun shells are sold by their gauge, shell length, and shot size. The shotgun shell gauge should match the gauge of the shotgun. The length of the shells will range from 2 ½” for most small-bore guns up to 3.5” inches for long-distance shots from a 12-gauge. Shots are categorized with an inverse naming system, where a #1 shot is larger than a #4 shot. One can calculate the diameter of the shot by subtracting the shot-size number from 17 and then dividing that number by 100. Thereby, a #6 shot would have a diameter of .11” (17-6 = 11, divided by 100, equals .11). Just to confuse matters, however, there are larger diameter shots than #1 and they are labeled as B, BB, BBB, T, TT, and FF. The general range for shotgun shells used for bird and turkey hunting purposes, though, falls between #1 (long-range ducks) to #8 (doves, quail, and pigeons). In a moment, though, we’ll cover a #9 shot used for turkey hunting. It’s also worth noting that “buckshot” has an even larger diameter than the shot defined above. These loads are generally for home defense and medium-to-large game, including whitetail deer. Shot sizes for these loads range from #4 (.24” diameter) to #000 (.36” diameter). To visualize the differences in shell sizes based on gauge, length, and shot, a 2 ½” shell for a .410 will hold eight #4 buckshot pellets, but a 3 ½” shell for a 12-gauge will hold 41 of the same size #4 buckshot pellets.
Turkey Choke for buckshot?
FAQ
What shotgun do you use for turkey?
A pump-action gun like a Mossberg 500, Winchester SXP, or Remington 870 is perfect, and all are easy on the wallet.
Is buckshot legal to hunt with?
The law says “You can use buckshot for deer in areas where county ordinances prohibit the discharge or a rifle or slug.