Which Turkey Shells Should I Buy?

Buckman18 · Feb 10, 2017

Walmart has grey box Winchester for about $7, Black Box Double X Winchesters for about $12, and Black Box Winchester Long Beard's for about $18. All either #4's or #5's, 3 inch 12 gauge...

Which one would you buy? Why? Is one really that much better than the other? Are the long beards really worth 2.5x the $ as the grey box?

sea trout · Feb 10, 2017

I killed my 1st bird with winchester black box #5!
I asked a hundred questions and 50 people argued #4 was the best and 50 people argued #6 was the best......so logically i bought #5!!!!!!!!!!!!! And they worked!!!!!!!!

Now all i buy is heavy magnum blend. They're the best for me.

Good luck man!!!!!!!

kmckinnie · Feb 10, 2017

At 30ty yards, they will all work.

Buckman18 · Feb 10, 2017

kmckinnie said:
At 30ty yards, they will all work.

What about 50 yards? Can you REALLY tell a difference or is it a marketing gimmick? It's always fun to hear everyone's input.

kmckinnie · Feb 10, 2017

Buckman18 said:
What about 50 yards? Can you REALLY tell a difference?

50yds is a stretch for any shell and gun. Yea they do it sometimes. Some times it flys off.
I guess if I had to only call to 50ty I would use a tss 7s they about 30ty a box.
I prefer a 3oty yard shot.

kmckinnie · Feb 10, 2017

Out of that group long beards 5s

fountain · Feb 10, 2017

Longbeard. Nobody here can answer whether they will shoot good in your gun though. The Longbeard technology sets them apart from the rest by a stretch. I would get #5 or #6 in each and try them.

I would buy the longbeard shell and at least one box of the others and try them out of your gun at a lasered 40 yards. Shoot a really big piece of cardboard or something similar so you can see where you hit in reference to where you aimed and you can also see the whole pattern. A choke change may be in order as well, depending upon pattern density. A count of 100 pellets in a 10" circle will determine you max yardage, roughly speaking

This is a key step to turkey hunting that most people overlook. To me, this is just as important as checking the scope on your rifle you deer hunt with. You don't buy a gun and scope and never sight in do you? Nope. People should not skip out or skimp on patterning their turkey guns either

one hogman · Feb 10, 2017

Buckman18 said:
Walmart has grey box Winchester for about $7, Black Box Double X Winchesters for about $12, and Black Box Winchester Long Beard's for about $18. All either #4's or #5's, 3 inch 12 gauge...

Which one would you buy? Why? Is one really that much better than the other? Are the long beards really worth 2.5x the $ as the grey box?

Longbeards are rated really good WAY out there, I found a bunch at Walmart after last Turkey Season for $9.00 a box, I bought all they had

phillip270 · Feb 10, 2017

All are great.

The Winchester supremes were a favorite lead shell before the thugs and longbeards.

I shoot the xx 3.5 #5 in an 870
Grey box 2.75 #4s in an old 1100

DRBugman85 · Feb 10, 2017

For my 870,Kicks GT 660, Long Beard Xr # 6. 3 1/2 inch 21/8 oz it's a BAD BAD combo.

DRBugman85 · Feb 10, 2017

In my Browning A5,Jeb's head hunter 660 with Long beard Xr 3 1/2 inch 2 1/8 # 6 .Is my other BAD BAD Combo. Try what you can afford and see for yourself LONG BEARD XR.imo are the best.

mattech · Feb 10, 2017

Fountain nailed it.

antharper · Feb 10, 2017

I shoot a Winchester 1300 and have used same gun for 25yrs and I tried the longbeard 5's and will never try anything else as long as they continue to make them ! And yes they are deadly at 50 yds but almost to tight at 20

Gator89 · Feb 11, 2017

I probably have enough Federal Mag Shok #4 Flite Control Wad ammo to last the rest of my hunting career. But I will likely buy a new box just in case.

Gamblinman · Feb 11, 2017

Gator89 said:
I probably have enough Federal Mag Shok #4 Flite Control Wad ammo to last the rest of my hunting career. But I will likely buy a new box just in case.

Curious...why buy #4 shot with HTL shot?

Why not take advantage of a denser pattern with #6 or #7 shot?

KentuckyHeadhunter · Feb 11, 2017

Longbeard #6 shot . :shoot:

Hooty Hoot · Feb 11, 2017

I purchased a box of Longbeard #5s last year and had to change my setup. I shoot a Win. 1300 and it has always shot high and to the right with the densest pattern. Shooting the Longbeards really showed how off my point of aim was. I decided to put iron sights on the gun. When purchasing the sights I noticed a Carlsons Longbeard choke for my gun and bought that too.

It took about three sessions to get the gun dialed in. Those 1300's are awesome killers from one end but they wound on the other. You won't shoot one much. Anyway, those Longbeards are really to tight from the Longbeard choke at 30 yards...............at least for my liking but seem to be just right with my stock XXfull. The Winchester Supremes are just right with the Longbeard choke.

The point here is that the Winchester Longbeard shell is a pretty radical change from a standard shell. If you buy some, you better shoot a few.

Flaustin1 · Feb 11, 2017

With the longbeards, you almost need an optic of some sort inside of 30yds. They pattern that tight.

Buckman18 · Feb 11, 2017

What size choke works in y'all's shotgun with the long beards? Are they ok to try out of a full choke or should I back off to a modified considering the wad?

fountain · Feb 11, 2017

What gun do you have?
To maximize effectiveness, you will need a true "turkey" choke. This is where doing your homework on setting up a turkey gun comes into play. Screwing a full choke in and buying "turkey" shells doesn't cut it for me most of the time.

Which Turkey Shells Should I Buy?

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