# Turkey shotgun shells



## Bazzin05

What 20ga shot shells should I use on Turkey's? I want to get something that the wife can shoot without blowing her arm off. I have an 870 express that will chamber up to 3" shells and I have a turkey choke for it. 


Thanks in advanced.


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## Carpn

Hevi 13 , Winchester extended range , or the federal high density stuff .


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## Carpn

Have her take practice shots with light loads to work on her aim., then slip one of the heavy turkey loads in when u hunt......If you think she's gonna have issues with recoil.


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## firstflight111

Bazzin05 said:


> What 20ga shot shells should I use on Turkey's? I want to get something that the wife can shoot without blowing her arm off. I have an 870 express that will chamber up to 3" shells and I have a turkey choke for it.
> 
> 
> Thanks in advanced.


both my boy's have 870 20 ga and one shoots federal mag shock 4's with a super full carlson's choke .the other like winchester supreme high velocity 5's with an extr full choke from carlson's 

there great to 45 yards


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## buckeyebowman

Lots of loads will kill a turkey if you have a clean shot. Last year my buddy whacked his with 16Ga, 2 3/4" high brass #5's. He has an older Rem 870 Wingmaster in modified choke (no tubes) and chambered for 2 3/4! Worked just fine!


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## n-strut

Federal Heavyweight 7's, with the right choke these are deadly little shells,they have the flight control wads so no chokes with wad stippers ot lots of porting.My 870 puts 180 pellets in a 10 inch circle at 40 yards with a Hastings .562 choke,other chokes that work well are Remington SuperFull and Tru-Glo Strut Stopper Extreme.


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## Darron

n-strut said:


> Federal Heavyweight 7's, with the right choke these are deadly little shells,they have the flight control wads so no chokes with wad stippers ot lots of porting.My 870 puts 180 pellets in a 10 inch circle at 40 yards with a Hastings .562 choke,other chokes that work well are Remington SuperFull and Tru-Glo Strut Stopper Extreme.


What he said....although the 7's are getting hard to find. Below are some pics at 40 yards.


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## Snook

I agree with getting the Hevi Shot or Heavyweight loads. It's more expensive but it hit's like a ton of bricks. Definitely worth the money IMOP. Stay with the 6's or 7's to get a higher pellet count in 20ga(its like using 4 or 5's lead) I started using Hevi Shot years ago and never looked back....this stuff is downright nasty on turkey's! Good luck hunting!


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## turkeyt

Snook said:


> I agree with getting the Hevi Shot or Heavyweight loads. It's more expensive but it hit's like a ton of bricks. Definitely worth the money IMOP. Stay with the 6's or 7's to get a higher pellet count in 20ga(its like using 4 or 5's lead) I started using Hevi Shot years ago and never looked back....this stuff is downright nasty on turkey's! Good luck hunting!


I don't use Hevi Shot, but am i right in saying he will need to get a choke tube that will handle Hevi Shot?


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## kernal83

Hevi something for sure. I shoot hevi 7s out of an Indian creek it hits HARD. Called a bird in for a friend with Remington nitros and reg full choke just over 30 yards and he got the bird but just not the same as the hevi shot. If your using 20 ga i would take every advantage you can. If I'm going to hunt them I am going to use the best stuff I can to make a clean kill. 


Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


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## Bazzin05

turkeyt said:


> I don't use Hevi Shot, but am i right in saying he will need to get a choke tube that will handle Hevi Shot?


Do they make choke tubes that do not handle Hevi Shot? 


Thanks for all the input fellas.


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## turkeyt

Bazzin05 said:


> Do they make choke tubes that do not handle Hevi Shot?
> 
> 
> Thanks for all the input fellas.


I was hoping someone would chime in on this. When Hevi Shot first came on the market it was made to use with the Heavy Shot choke tubes. With the developement of all of the new tubes, some of them will handle Hevi Shot. I would not use any factory tube for Heavy Shot. Check out the companies online to get the info on their choke tubes. Then pick one that is tough enough to use. If you are going to use a factory tube get some of the 3" Federal copper plated 5 or 6's or another brand with the same type of shot and pattern them. They are cheaper than the above mentioned ammo. Hope any of this helps.


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## firstflight111

Bazzin05 said:


> Do they make choke tubes that do not handle Hevi Shot?
> 
> 
> Thanks for all the input fellas.


Yes they do and the chokes say on it what you can shoot out of it .and the say hevi shot right on them ..


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## turkeyt

firstflight111 said:


> Yes they do and the chokes say on it what you can shoot out of it .and the say hevi shot right on them ..[/QUOT\
> 
> Thanks 111 for getting this posted because i knew there was some info out there pertaining to the Heavy Shot Loads. Isn't that stuff made out of tungsten?


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## Bazzin05

firstflight111 said:


> Yes they do and the chokes say on it what you can shoot out of it .and the say hevi shot right on them ..


Now that you say that I do remember seeing that when I bought my choke. But I don't think I knew at the time what I was looking for and I might have gotten the regular one. I'm not positive. I will look when I get home and maybe return it since I haven't opened it yet.


Thanks again fellas as always you guys are very helpful!


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## firstflight111

turkeyt said:


> firstflight111 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Yes they do and the chokes say on it what you can shoot out of it .and the say hevi shot right on them ..[/QUOT\
> 
> Thanks 111 for getting this posted because i knew there was some info out there pertaining to the Heavy Shot Loads. Isn't that stuff made out of tungsten?
> 
> 
> 
> THIS IS WHAT I FIND ON THEM
> Heavy Shot Magnum Blend, non-toxic turkey loads offer deep penetration and clean kills, even at extended ranges. Hevi-13 is used exclusively at the NWTF World Still Target Championships. Loaded with buffered and moly coated pellets, Hevi-13 creates denser patterns than lead pellets which in turn increases overall performance.
Click to expand...


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## Snook

When purchasing a choke tube it will state whether it's Hevi shot compatible. Now I'm not sure if it's a marketing tactic or not. Some tubes may be specifically made to get the best pattern for a Hevishot load and thus call them Hevishot choke tubes? I'm thinking you can shoot it out of most tubes it's just that it may not pattern like it should. I use a MAD Supermax(Indian Creek) tube out of my 935 Mossberg. Was at NWTF convention in Columbus a while back when I bought mine. They had targets there with Hevishot patterns that were just ridiculous....sold me! I stockpiled about 15 boxes of Remington Hevishot before Enviromental Hevi-13 parted way's with them and manufactured their own ammo. Back in the day you could get the Remington Hevishot for about $15 box of 10. To give you an idea on the energy/penetration difference.....Cabelas had 4 different metal plates(not sure of thickness) shot at 35yds with four different loads #5 shot. Federal Heavyweight,Remington Hevishot,Winchester Extended Range , and Winchester HV lead loads. Federal Heavyweight... approx. 80% pellets passed through the plate. Remington Heavishot....approx. 60% pellets passed through. Winchester Extended...approx. 40% pellets passed through. Winchester HV.... 0% passed through with just dents. Lead will kill turkey's!!! Don't get me wrong....but the heavy loads are just that much better to get out there and hurt em' especially at longer ranges. If you ever roll a bird and lose it with lead.... you will wish you had hevishot[email protected][email protected][email protected][email protected]


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## Bazzin05

Thanks guys. I looked at my choke and it is not a hevi choke I got the H.S. Strut Undertaker Turkey Choke Tubes extra full. It says it will handle lead and copper coated lead shot 4,5,6. I need to return it and get the hevi choke.

Thanks again for all the advise.


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