Winchester's Long Beard XR. (Photo courtesy of Winchester)
April 17, 2024
By Lynn Burkhead
If there’s one part of the turkey-hunting world that has seen major upgrades in recent years, it just might be in the area of shotshell loads.
Truth be told, once upon a time, turkey loads might have been nothing more than beefed-up high brass shotshells that were a little heavier and more powerful than the loads used on waterfowl and upland birds hunts.
But not anymore, not in the modern era of the turkey shotshell load where, all kinds of gobbler-thumping ability can be packed into a three-inch load, especially if it’s got the word tungsten on the box.
In the old days—like when yours truly was cutting his turkey-hunting teeth and taking baby steps into the sport back in the early 1990s—most magazines, books and the earliest television shows repeated the idea that a turkey wasn’t even remotely in range until he had waltzed to within 40 yards or less of your hidden form.
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Well, that was then—when shotgun shell technology was a far cry from where it is today in 2024—and this is today, the zenith of the modern shotshell revolution that has turned specialty shotguns, turkey specific choke tubes and the sport’s all-time best shotshells into modern marvels.
That list of potent turkey-getting shotshells includes loads like Winchester's Long Beard XR and other shotshells that extends a hunter’s maximum shooting range far beyond the old 40 yards.
While we told you last year about some more budget friendly load options for these inflationary times we are all living through, this year we’re going to break the bank a little bit more in some cases and look throughout the wide-ranging shotshell world for new loads, old loads and just about anything that can help you bring home the turkey bacon in 2024:
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Winchester Long Beard XR Winchester’s Long Beard XR load certainly belongs at the top of the list, thanks to the company's Shot-Lok Technology, which delivers blistering patterns at extended ranges, distances that might have made a turkey hunter think twice a generation ago. But today, these Winchester loads put twice the number of pellets into a 10-inch circle out to 60 yards as compared to traditional loads.
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And with reasonable price tags guaranteed not to bring sticker shock, there’s little doubt that the Winchester Long Beard XR can put a wallop on the noggin' of Mr. Johnny Longbeard strutting his stuff at 50 yards or more. And with loads being available in 12- or 20-gauge options that propel a deadly swarm of pellets (sizes available include #4, #5, or #6) downrange, and put simply, these aren’t your grandpa’s turkey loads.
But that won’t matter, not when you’re notching a hard-won turkey tag this season. Because when you shoot straight at ethical distances, a downed gobbler seems almost guaranteed with today’s turkey loads.
Apex Smalltown Hunting Blend A staple in the Apex turkey shotshell lineup, the Apex Smalltown Hunting Blend makes a name for itself in the turkey woods thanks to the duplex nature of the load. Harnessing the knockdown power and mass of TSS #7 1/2 and #9 pellets, there's a walloping payload of 698 blended pellets in a three-inch 12-gauge load.
Better yet, Apex stacks the ratio of the #7 1/2's on top of the #9's below, giving the load a uniform and dense pattern if a bird sneaks into close, in-your-face range, or he's strutting about where an extra 10 yards of springtime dinner invitation seems necessary.
With each round built by hand and carefully reviewed for quality control measures by human eyes, the bottom line here is a superior shotshell that delivers shot-to-shot consistency and gobbler-getting efficiency box after box after box. As Apex says, this turkey load is small-town made, yes indeed, but it also offers big-time patterns on a puffed-up Mr. Longbeard strutting his way through the annual springtime dance.
Browning TSS Tungsten Turkey For spring hunters looking for a little bit of an edge in the turkey woods, look no further than the tried and true Browning TSS Tungsten Turkey load .
Offering TSS shot payloads leaving the barrel at 1,200 fps (1,100 fps for the .410 load), this payload of either #7 or a duplex mix of #7 and #9 TSS shot that is the perfect recipe of pellet numbers and energy transfer. Thanks to a buffered payload, this Browning shotshell offering brings improved shot pellet flow through choke tubes, leading to more consistent patterns that are nearly 60-percent denser than old traditional lead loads are.
That means hard knockdown power far downrange from a shell that might not be totally brand new, but still delivers plenty of punch and smiles during a turkey-hunting selfie after the trigger is pulled.
Federal Premium Heavyweight TSS The TSS turkey shotshell manufacturing scene has gotten crowded in recent years, with several companies promising that their product will deliver big gobbler-getting results.
Near the top of the TSS game is and has been Federal Premium Ammunition, which has been a leader in the TSS craze since day one, thanks to using tungsten-alloy shot pellets that check in with an 18 gm/cc density, almost 22-percent higher than regular tungsten and 56-percent denser than lead. Because of this, there's more energy transfer and deeper penetration downrange.
Where the Federal Premium Heavyweight TSS load may stand out the most is in the patterning possibilities offered by the shotshell's buffered loads (which help keep pellets concentric and maintaining maximum retained velocity through flight) and Flight Control Flex wads (bringing rear-opening capabilities that produce a fully controlled release of the shot pellets as they surge downrange). That means top-shelf performance, whether your scattergun is sporting standard choke tubes or ported turkey load specialty tubes.
In addition to delivering some of the industry's best gobbler-getting potential with offerings in .410, 20 gauge, and 12 gauge, Federal Premium takes its Heavyweight TSS loads a step further by donating a portion of the proceeds from the sale of these shotshells to the National Wild Turkey Federation , helping to ensure that wild turkeys keep strutting about for generations to come.
Fiocchi Golden Turkey TSS Make no mistake about it, there are plenty of technical reasons to include the Fiocchi Golden Turkey TSS loads in this round-up, not the least of which is the dense patterns and penetration of this load.
Using the finest 18 gm/cc tungsten shot, the Fiocchi product development team has hit the usual targets of superior patterning, lethal energy downrange and extended ranges common in TSS shells. Using either #7 or #9 pellets, these three-inch loads are traveling at blistering speeds of up to 1,350 fps depending upon the load in your vest.
But in addition to all of Fiocchi's power-packed possibilities with this shotshell, there's another really good thing to consider. New for this year is a Fiocchi Golden Turkey TSS load in the wildly popular 28 gauge, with Fiocchi being one of the few companies to offer TSS possibilities for this popular sub-gauge scattergun.
HEVI-18 There’s little doubt that since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service outlawed lead shot for migratory waterfowl hunting back in 1991, HEVI-Shot has taken on the challenge of producing non-toxic shotshell loads that match the flight characteristics and knock-down performance of lead loads many years ago.
In fact, the company has gone on to make an industry-leading name for itself down through the years , thanks to a group of passionate hunters who wanted products that proved to be synonymous with the industry’s best performances a generation ago, giving rise to the company’s popular slogan, "I didn't come this far to miss!"
That includes turkey hunting, where the company’s HEVI-18 will put a gobbler down, even if that longbeard doesn’t want to play by all of the rules, thanks to this load’s 18 gram/cubic centimeter (g/cc) heavyweight Tungsten Super Shot (TSS). Effectively ending the nightmare of a hung-up gobbler strutting about, these loads come in 12, 28 and .410 gauges, all delivering a dense load of #9 pellets that produce wicked patterns and lethal results as they encounter a turkey’s vitals.
And instead of explaining a swing and a miss in the turkey woods, all a hunter is left to do after unleashing these HEVI-18 loads downrange is to pose for a smiling selfie and think of a text to send to hunting friends back home.
Kent Ultimate Turkey Not every turkey load requires a cash-filled armored truck to buy a couple of boxes. Kent's Ultimate Turkey Loads maintain easy to digest price points that won't break the bank, even if the Diamond Shot heavy payloads will clobber a wise old bird downrange.
Coming in a variety of 12-gauge offerings and one 20-gauge shotshell, these loads use clean-burning powder and precision lead shot that uses a proprietary process to grade it further than standard lead shot, polish it for high consistency and uniform shot delivery, and unmatched lead pattern densities. And with shot velocities ranging from 1,175 fps to more than 1,300 fps depending on the load—not to mention costing less than $20—and these turkey loads are a great option for the budget minded hunter.
Remington Premier Magnum Turkey High Velocity Down through the years, one staple in the arsenal of springtime turkey hunters has been products marked by the familiar green and white hues of the iconic Remington logo.
That stands true again in 2024 as the iconic ammo maker offers a bit of old school turkey getting know-how thanks to its Remington Magnum Turkey High Velocity loads in 12 and 20 gauge offerings, in either #4, #5, or #6 variations.
These magnum turkey loads use a combination of Remington's specially blended powder recipe, hardened copper-plated shot, and the company's Power Piston one-piece wad, all of which helps to deliver dense swarms of pellets traveling from the trigger pull downrange towards a longbeard's vitals at up to 1,300 fps.
When a hunter mixes together the combination of a scattergun, a turkey choke tube, and these Remington loads, the result is a turkey killing machine that quickly turns out the lights of a wily old longbeard. And whether you’re sending that shotshell load towards a turkey’s boiler room with a weathered Remington 870 pump shotgun or a brand new semi-auto off the showroom floor, the end result is rifle-like accuracy that you can depend on at the patterning board and in the springtime woods.
