Wild turkeys have been challenging hunters since their revival in North America during the 1900s. Before that time, turkey poaching and habitat destruction were normal practices. Once thought to be doomed, the conservation story of the wild turkey is one of the greatest in North America’s history. Today, there are an estimated 7 million wild turkeys struttin’ around North America. The wild turkey in North America is the Meleagris gallopavo, within this species there are 5 subspecies. The Eastern, found throughout the midwest and southeast, Osceola, exclusively in the Florida region, Merriam, found in the western mountains, Goulds, a southwestern special, and the Rio Grande, residing throughout the greater plains area.

The abundance of wild turkeys around North America makes them a popular critter to chase around the woods during the springtime, their breeding season. There is nothing like it, hunting turkeys. Trickin’ tommy turkey to slowly creep to your calls and into your setup is indescribable. With premier eyesight, you must be on your best game, or the special opportunity will end in Tommy’s favor. When the time comes to squeeze the trigger, your turkey loads must be on their best game as well. It is crucial that you have the best turkey loads chambered when its time to take out ole Tommy. Read along as we discuss the current turkey load offerings. TSS Turkey Loads, copper plated turkey loads, and traditional lead loads. By the end of this article, you will have a better understanding of what your chambering in predawn of springtime and why.

Choosing the Best Turkey Hunting Ammo: What You Need to Know

A good start is to determine what gauge best suits your needs. Popular turkey gauges are the 410 bore, 20ga, and 12ga. However, the not as popular 10ga, still holds a special crowd. Sub gauges such as the 20ga and 410 bore are on the lighter more agile side. 410’s and 20ga’s are great for youth hunters as well. On the other hand, 12ga or 10ga are heavier and can deliver 2oz + payloads. Opt for whatever you feel the most comfortable with and can shoot well. After you choose your preferred gauge, it’s time to start thinking about the kind of turkey loads you want to pair it with.

There are a wide variety of turkey loads on the market for today’s hunters. The most popular being traditional lead or copper plated lead. These two shot types also share the market with TSS Turkey loads – tungsten super shot. Outside of these three, there are other alternatives like steel or bismuth, both which are non-toxic. Wild turkeys are tough creatures. Do not underestimate the amount of protection they are provided from their feathers. This yields a small kill zone, the neck and the head. Being able to get adequate penetration in these two areas are crucial to get that tom floppin’. Getting into the finer details, shot size, payload weight, and the pellet density hold tremendous importance when it comes to discussing penetration and effective range.

Shot Material Breakdown: Pros and Cons of Turkey Loads

• Lead Turkey Loads: The Classic Choice
  • Without a doubt, lead delivers results on birds. Traditional lead loads are the most common load you will find. You can typically find a lead turkey load no matter where you find yourself. The downside to lead is that it is a soft material. Any altercation to the pellet’s shape during loading or firing can affect accuracy since deformed pellets do not fly straight. However, Remington lead turkey loads are loaded with buffering. Buffering material gives cushion from the shot hitting itself upon firing. It also spaces out the payload, so it flows easier through the choke. Modern lead turkey loads can also be copper plated. Copper plated lead helps reduce the amount of deformation traditional lead may experience. This added hardness also helps with effectiveness over range.
  • Best Lead Turkey Ammo
    • Remington Premier Magnum Turkey
    • Remington Nitro Turkey (Budget Friendly)
    • Federal Premium Grand Slam

• Tungsten Super Shot (TSS): The most lethal option
  • TSS turkey loads have the highest density amongst the turkey ammo community. Comparing Remington’s TSS loads with its lead loads, the density in the TSS loads are approximately 58% denser. Increased density leads to higher retained energy on target. Carrying more lethal energy further, tungsten increases your effective range well past traditional hunting distances common with lead. Moreso, this higher density means TSS #7’s hit like lead #5’s, from an energy perspective. Smaller shot sizes also mean you get more pellets in the hull of your turkey shotshell. All these factors make TSS turkey loads the most lethal option you get a hold of.
  • Best TSS Turkey Loads
    • Remington Premier TSS
    • Federal Premium Heavyweight TSS
    • Hevi-Shot Hevi-18

Shot Size and Payload Breakdown: Choosing the Right Pellet for the Job

Discussing Shot size can be confusing, especially to new hunters or shooters. Shot size is exactly what it sounds like. It describes the size of the pellet (shot) loaded into your shotshell. Selecting the appropriate shot size is crucial when it comes to hunting ammo or target shooting ammo. Here’s why conceptualizing shot size can be confusing. The relationship between the shot size number and the actual size is inversely related. What I mean by this: The smaller the number you see on the box, the bigger the shot pellet. For example, # 4’s (you say that like “number-four’s) are much larger than # 8’s. To get around this confusion, try to think of shot size like this: the bigger the number, the more the pellets are loaded into the shell because of their smaller size.

Shot size plays an important part in turkey hunting. The most common shot sizes for turkey loads are: #4’s, #5’s and #6’s, - predominantly copper plated and traditional lead loads – and #7’s, and #9’s – common TSS loads. The caveat with turkey loads, they are not one size fits all. I shoot copper plated #6’s and a 2oz payload. I shoot these because I’ve spent time patterning my 12ga turkey gun, and I know what my gun likes. I’ve learned the patterns I get with #6’s outperforms those of #4’s and #5’s up close and at ranges. To figure out what shot size works for you, you’ll have to pattern your gun. We will discuss this practice later in this article.

TSS loads are a different story than standard lead and copper plated lead. As we discussed, tungsten metal is much denser than other material including lead, steel, or bismuth. So, even though you trade off the physical size of the shot when you select #7’s or #9’s, the energy you gain from the denser tungsten outweighs that in a larger shot size of another material. Additionally, there is less surface area for a given area to be affected by wind resistance (smaller pellet). Wrapping this up, with a TSS load, you get denser shot pellets and more shot pellets, yielding greater energy and more shot on target.

Payload (shot weight) is the total weight of the pellets loaded in the hull. This also gives insight into the physical number of pellets in the payload. For example, a #5 2oz load is going to have more pellets than a #5 1-3/4oz payload.

Sub-gauge Turkey Loads

Within the past few years, there has been a significant increase in demand for sub-gauge turkey loads such as the 20ga and 410 bore. Especially popular for youth hunters, these sub-gauges are known for their reduced recoil, agile gun profile, and strong patterns with correct shell selection. Arguably, the best part of a sub gauge is the reduction of recoil compared to your trusty 12ga and 10ga. Many shots are missed because shooters come out of the gun in response to the abrupt recoil of the 12ga or 10ga. TSS loads give sub-gauges an added amount of pattern performance over range due to the material's density and the higher quantity of shot. The decision to pick up a sub gauge TSS load is simple to many hunters. The extended lethal ranges, great patterns, and the reduction of recoil are just a few examples of why this decision is an easy one. With sub-gauges, you can expect your payloads to come under 2oz. The largest payload for 20 gauge turkey loads is going to reside in Remington’s TSS turkey loads. The payload for that 20ga shell will be 1–1/2oz. The lightest payload, found in our Premier Magnum Turkey line, is going to be 1–1/8oz, still plenty of payload to take down a tough Tom.

How to Pattern your Turkey Shotgun for Maximum Accuracy

The ability to successfully harvest a turkey depends largely on how the performance of your pattern. The harvesting ability of your gun is directly related to your pattern. If you don’t have a good pattern, your odds of success fall. Any hunting excursion demands preparation. Being prepared correlates to your success. You don’t want to fire your turkey setup for the first time at a live bird. Patterning your turkey load allows you to see your effective range, shows if your pattern falls outside of your aiming point, make sight changes to better your pattern, and teaches you what recoil is to be expected. The trick to patterning turkey loads is maximizing your results with the fewest shells, it gets expensive quick! Here is the process I follow and I have had great results.

When patterning my setup I begin with target loads (#7.5 or #8). For this, I use a traditional bullseye target. I will shoot 20 yards and 30 yards until I’m comfortable since lead target load is inexpensive. At these ranges, you will be able to tell whether you need to make any sight adjustments. I observe whether my pattern is hanging, left, right, up, or down. Once I get the results I want, I switch to my turkey loads and a turkey head silhouette target. Try to find the splatter targets, the pattern analyzation is much easier. When it comes to shooting a turkey, always try to aim right where the feathers meet their head. With turkey loads, I explicitly shoot longer distances. 40 yards and 60 yards. I shoot longer ranges to confirm what my effective range is based on my pattern. I really focus on my form with these two shots. If I’m on my game, I can confirm my effective range with two shots.

Final Tips for Selecting the Best Turkey Ammo

Let’s recap 3 important things from this blog.

• It is important to shoot what you’re comfortable with.
  • When selecting a turkey gun, know the difference between gauges and what to expect. Bigger bore guns give more power and can be effective at longer ranges with the correct load. The tradeoff, the gun weight and recoil is increased. Smaller bore guns, 20ga – 410 bore, are lighter, more agile, and are great for beginners. The trade-off, compared to larger bores, the effectiveness at longer ranges is slightly reduced, but remains competitive if the right load is picked.
• Different shot materials give different results.
  • Remington offers three types of turkey load material. Lead, copper plated lead, and tungsten. Lead being the budget pick, copper plated lead being the intermediate pick, and tungsten being the elite pick. Lead can be found about anywhere you find yourself for an affordable price, and gives hunters consistent patterns 40 yards and in. Copper plated is still widely available but adds additional hardness to lead, making it less likely to deform, yielding truer flight at longer ranges. Tungsten is the highest performing material on the market, making it a higher price point, but you get consistent turkey killing patterns at long ranges.
• Patterning your setup is directly related to your success.
  • Preparation is key to meeting any goal. Your goal here is to kill a turkey. Knowing the capabilities of your turkey setup like the back of your hand helps you reach that goal. Having confidence in your pattern is crucial when a big tom steps out just a little further than expected.

Folks, enjoy the springtime. Springtime is when the woods come back alive. There aren’t many things better than sneaking in on a gobbling turkey on a warm spring morning. Turkey hunting isn’t easy, don’t underestimate the bird with a pea sized brain. Understand that turkeys aren’t the smartest critter in the woods, but their situational awareness and incredible eyesight make up for their brains. They know the turkey social hierarchy, how breeding scenarios work, and how to quickly spot something out of place, don’t forget that. Additionally, don’t measure the success of a turkey hunt off just the harvest. You should feel accomplished by just hearing a gobble. When the time comes, trust that your turkey load will deliver results. Good luck this season and don’t miss!