The main thing is to pattern your gun/choke/shell combination so you know what it does. I have found my gun/choke likes lower velocity #6 loads. I test at 40 yds. and try to get them within 35 yds. Long Beard XRs run about 1200 fps. That's about as slow as factory loads get. Don't worry about shot size. Those #6 shot will absolutely penetrate at 40 yds. I knew people who used 7 1/2 shot for turkeys. Use the shot that gives the best pattern in _your_ gun.
Love the video. Have used field loads for years on turkeys. Kills em dead just get them a little closer which is what the hunt should be about anyway calling birds close. Absolutely don't need those tss loads and only a fool would pay for them anyway.
Thanks for the comment. It’s seems like turkey hunting talk these days is about how far away their shotgun can kill a bird…TSS shot is incredible but they are not necessary and the price is ridiculous!
Good test, change up your choke tubes and you’ll get some better patterns too. I bought some of that cheap nitro express 10 round boxes of 3 inch 12 gauge number five shot at Walmart for $5.99 a box a few years ago. Went bought a few more boxes the other day for $8.48. I still get over 32 to 37 pellets on average on the head targets at 40 yards with a pattern master code black turkey choke.
I took my first turkey with an NEF single shot 12GA at 35 yards with Remington Nitro 5 shot. It was down on the spot. Nowadays, because I'm shooting out to 50 yards, I'm on Winchester Long Beard XR's. They just make it happen reliably at that distance and I did compare it to my Nitro shells. The Long Beard is what you need at longer distances for sure, especially when possibly blowing through unseen brush. I'm shooting my Long Beards with a Carlson's Long Beard Choke XR in a Winchester SXP Turkey Hunter in 12GA. YES, the choke makes a noticeable difference in patterning and putting more on the bird and I compared the Carlson's to the OEM XX Turkey Choke that came with the SXP. While the OEM choke will undeniably get the job done, the Carlson's is putting a lot more pellets on the target where you want them and that's at 20, 25 & 45 yards. The results are consistent. Great comparison.
Go to different chokes with that ammo. Start with the cheap ones ($20-25 bucks) and see what you get. That would do more for the average tky hunter than all the TSS testing on Y-T.
Longbeard XR for me. #5 shot using Mossberg flex 500 turkey gun. It has the factory choke and it I won’t use a different combo. I feel confident it will reach past 55 yards. I’m tagged out this year on public land in south Florida. I tested 10-15 types of #5 ammo and these were by far the best. Good luck out there.
That sounds like a turkey slaying machine. For real, tagged out? Man that is awesome! Myself and a friend are working on obtaining a grand slam on turkeys and we just returned to VA from west KS where we hunted Rio Grandes on public/WIHAs and we botched 3 of 4 tags. South Florida is next on our list!
Good video. I’ve been shooting the Winchester long beards with a Carlson’s Long Beard choke for about 6 years now and they are deadly out to 50 yards. All depends what your gun/choke combo will pattern. I’m not against TSS, but I can’t really justify it for the price. But it’s whatever works for you, have to have confidence in your equipment.
@ClintRushing I’ve heard multiple good reviews of Carlson’s Long Beard choke! I’m glad it’s working great for you and thanks for the comment. I’d like to eventually do a short video of affordable turkey chokes. Had any luck so far this season?
No luck at all this season. I hunt in Southeast Louisiana and our turkey population has been in a decline for 8-9 years. I’ll keep at it for a few more weeks and see what happens. Best of luck to you!
I've had great luck with the Winchester super x (silver box). Very affordable and effective in 3" 4 or 5 shot when you can find it. Seems to work well with a standard full choke.
I use the brand of that i can find. I make sure i do the pattern before I go turkey hunting. My favorite is the Remington nitro 5 shot. I've recently tried a jeb headhunter choke tube. It does good in my 870 Remington.
You don’t have to go any further than the Long Beard XR. I have harvested a gobbler at 62 yards with the Carlson Long Beard choke, pushing 3” #5’s. Took one last year at 57 yards, rolled him over into a ditch. Don’t see many other lead turkey loads that come close to the Long Beard’s performance.
I agree, they perform fantastic and they’re reasonably priced for what you get. However, I did have to buy a box of ten before a recent trip to MS and I had a grimmace on my face when I paid $25 plus tax. Haha.
Man I still don't know how to feel about tss. I shoot a model 12 3 inch with 30 inch full choke. It will kill turkeys all day at 40 yards with remington or winchester long beards. Two years ago I bout a box of tss and they work great they will kill at 70 yards for sure but honestly that's not the kind of turkey hunting I like. Don't get me wrong I'm not a hater and if it's legal by all means do what you like but me personally I like 35-40 yard old fashion turkey hunting.
@Jerrod Ladner - I’m right there with you. I’ve only ever bought one box and the price almost made me sick. I like the adrenaline of a Tom in close. My dad harvested a gobbler at 32 yards this morning with a single shot 20 gauge, full choke & shooting a high brass 2 3/4” #6 shot. TSS is nice, but certainly not necessary.
So far this year I have killed two my youngest daughter killed one my oldest son killed one and my oldest daughter missed one. Farthest of all them was about 42 steps prob 36-38 yards
With a decent turkey choke you would have a lot more holes in your turkey. I have a Hastings choke and, I don't know if they make them anymore, but with XR's I would have many more pellets in that turkey.
@Joe Hitchings. Are you using 4, 5 or 6 size shot? And you might be right, I am only using the factory extra full choke, which is about ask basic as you can get. As for right now I’m satisfied with its patterns for my style of hunting.
@Reed Mitchell. Thanks for the comment and I’m glad it was positive. I truly feel that too many people think you need TSS ammo to harvest a turkey, which you don’t.
I knew those Remington Express XLR loads would be a pleasant surprise on the pattern target. The Federal High Brass and High Bird, and Winchester Super X versions are good loads too. Individual guns and chokes will show a preference for one of them. 1 1/4 ounce loads at 1330 FPS will show themselves to be considerably better that people tend to think they are.
The main thing is to pattern your gun/choke/shell combination so you know what it does. I have found my gun/choke likes lower velocity #6 loads. I test at 40 yds. and try to get them within 35 yds. Long Beard XRs run about 1200 fps. That's about as slow as factory loads get. Don't worry about shot size. Those #6 shot will absolutely penetrate at 40 yds. I knew people who used 7 1/2 shot for turkeys. Use the shot that gives the best pattern in _your_ gun.
Love the video. Have used field loads for years on turkeys. Kills em dead just get them a little closer which is what the hunt should be about anyway calling birds close. Absolutely don't need those tss loads and only a fool would pay for them anyway.
Thanks for the comment. It’s seems like turkey hunting talk these days is about how far away their shotgun can kill a bird…TSS shot is incredible but they are not necessary and the price is ridiculous!
@@blueridgehunters amen brother
Could not agree more. My daughter absolutely smoked a tom with a 20 gauge, 2 3/4 #6 copper plated pheasant load.
@Adam Turnbull that the very load I'm gonna be using in the morning on opening day in Tennessee copper plated #6 field loads 20 ga
Good test, change up your choke tubes and you’ll get some better patterns too. I bought some of that cheap nitro express 10 round boxes of 3 inch 12 gauge number five shot at Walmart for $5.99 a box a few years ago. Went bought a few more boxes the other day for $8.48. I still get over 32 to 37 pellets on average on the head targets at 40 yards with a pattern master code black turkey choke.
The Rem express 5 shot is devastating for turkey very effective. You don't need a million pellets in head neck .
I took my first turkey with an NEF single shot 12GA at 35 yards with Remington Nitro 5 shot. It was down on the spot. Nowadays, because I'm shooting out to 50 yards, I'm on Winchester Long Beard XR's. They just make it happen reliably at that distance and I did compare it to my Nitro shells. The Long Beard is what you need at longer distances for sure, especially when possibly blowing through unseen brush.
I'm shooting my Long Beards with a Carlson's Long Beard Choke XR in a Winchester SXP Turkey Hunter in 12GA. YES, the choke makes a noticeable difference in patterning and putting more on the bird and I compared the Carlson's to the OEM XX Turkey Choke that came with the SXP. While the OEM choke will undeniably get the job done, the Carlson's is putting a lot more pellets on the target where you want them and that's at 20, 25 & 45 yards. The results are consistent.
Great comparison.
Go to different chokes with that ammo. Start with the cheap ones ($20-25 bucks) and see what you get. That would do more for the average tky hunter than all the TSS testing on Y-T.
Thanks for the input. That’s a great idea!
Longbeard XR for me. #5 shot using Mossberg flex 500 turkey gun. It has the factory choke and it I won’t use a different combo. I feel confident it will reach past 55 yards. I’m tagged out this year on public land in south Florida. I tested 10-15 types of #5 ammo and these were by far the best. Good luck out there.
That sounds like a turkey slaying machine.
For real, tagged out? Man that is awesome! Myself and a friend are working on obtaining a grand slam on turkeys and we just returned to VA from west KS where we hunted Rio Grandes on public/WIHAs and we botched 3 of 4 tags. South Florida is next on our list!
Good video. I’ve been shooting the Winchester long beards with a Carlson’s Long Beard choke for about 6 years now and they are deadly out to 50 yards. All depends what your gun/choke combo will pattern. I’m not against TSS, but I can’t really justify it for the price. But it’s whatever works for you, have to have confidence in your equipment.
@ClintRushing I’ve heard multiple good reviews of Carlson’s Long Beard choke! I’m glad it’s working great for you and thanks for the comment. I’d like to eventually do a short video of affordable turkey chokes.
Had any luck so far this season?
No luck at all this season. I hunt in Southeast Louisiana and our turkey population has been in a decline for 8-9 years. I’ll keep at it for a few more weeks and see what happens. Best of luck to you!
I've had great luck with the Winchester super x (silver box). Very affordable and effective in 3" 4 or 5 shot when you can find it. Seems to work well with a standard full choke.
I agree, it’s great ammo and for the price it’s hard to beat.
I use the brand of that i can find. I make sure i do the pattern before I go turkey hunting. My favorite is the Remington nitro 5 shot. I've recently tried a jeb headhunter choke tube. It does good in my 870 Remington.
You don’t have to go any further than the Long Beard XR. I have harvested a gobbler at 62 yards with the Carlson Long Beard choke, pushing 3” #5’s. Took one last year at 57 yards, rolled him over into a ditch. Don’t see many other lead turkey loads that come close to the Long Beard’s performance.
I agree, they perform fantastic and they’re reasonably priced for what you get. However, I did have to buy a box of ten before a recent trip to MS and I had a grimmace on my face when I paid $25 plus tax. Haha.
You better have a long stick to finish off the turkey and tennis shoes if you are using wrongbeards
Man I still don't know how to feel about tss. I shoot a model 12 3 inch with 30 inch full choke. It will kill turkeys all day at 40 yards with remington or winchester long beards. Two years ago I bout a box of tss and they work great they will kill at 70 yards for sure but honestly that's not the kind of turkey hunting I like. Don't get me wrong I'm not a hater and if it's legal by all means do what you like but me personally I like 35-40 yard old fashion turkey hunting.
@Jerrod Ladner - I’m right there with you. I’ve only ever bought one box and the price almost made me sick. I like the adrenaline of a Tom in close. My dad harvested a gobbler at 32 yards this morning with a single shot 20 gauge, full choke & shooting a high brass 2 3/4” #6 shot. TSS is nice, but certainly not necessary.
So far this year I have killed two my youngest daughter killed one my oldest son killed one and my oldest daughter missed one. Farthest of all them was about 42 steps prob 36-38 yards
That’s awesome! You all are off to a great season!
With a decent turkey choke you would have a lot more holes in your turkey. I have a Hastings choke and, I don't know if they make them anymore, but with XR's I would have many more pellets in that turkey.
@Joe Hitchings. Are you using 4, 5 or 6 size shot? And you might be right, I am only using the factory extra full choke, which is about ask basic as you can get. As for right now I’m satisfied with its patterns for my style of hunting.
@@blueridgehunters I mostly use 6 but I have also used 5's with the same results.
10-4. I’ll probably do most of my hunting this year with XRs #5 & Remington XLRs in #5
Great review on affordable ammo. 35 yards all dead Turkey. Like all we had years ago.
@Reed Mitchell. Thanks for the comment and I’m glad it was positive. I truly feel that too many people think you need TSS ammo to harvest a turkey, which you don’t.
I knew those Remington Express XLR loads would be a pleasant surprise on the pattern target. The Federal High Brass and High Bird, and Winchester Super X versions are good loads too. Individual guns and chokes will show a preference for one of them. 1 1/4 ounce loads at 1330 FPS will show themselves to be considerably better that people tend to think they are.