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Not knowing a whole lot about turkey loads I thought I'd ask the pros. I have been trying to kill my first turkey and got a shot at one a few days ago. Was to far bug tried it anyway. I need some new shells and stopped to get some the other day and the guy talked me into #6. What's the main difference from 5 to 6. My old shells were 5. I just don't know enough to decide whether to keep the 6 or go get the 5. I shoot a bennelli nova w a jelly head choke. Thanks in advance.

The only way to truly find out is to buy different shells and shoot to see what patterns best in your gun. I shoot #6 out of all three of my turkey guns....but I have taken the time to find out that they do indeed shoot out of the set up i got. Remember what set up works in one gun (your buddies gun) may not work in yours....even if yall have the same gun and choke. Guns are like women you got to find what they like to make them work

Get some of your Dad's shells! He doesn't shoot them now days!! The advice of trying different ones is good. I found that 5's pattern better in my regular turkey gun than the 6's. After this last back surgery, I carry a lighter gun (Luke's youth model 870) and the 6's work better in it. Tell your Dad hello.

Break down and spend the money on some Hevi shot magnum blends.

spend a little money and pattern your gun with several different loads to see what it likes best... I used to have a Winchester 1300 turkey gun in the early 90's when specialty "turkey guns" were coming on the scene....to tell you the truth, I tried several different shells( all were 2 oz. loads of 4's and 6's ) that produced adequate patterns at best....picked up a box of 3" Winchester XX magnums with 2oz. of #5 shot.... the pattern was unreal.....I was shooting some Primos targets of a gobbler head and neck that were popular then....with that particular shell AND ONLY THAT PARTICULAR SHELL I was putting an average of 47 pellets in the neck and head at 45 measured yards..... sometimes one particular shell make all the difference

Every gun is different and there isn't a one size fits all. That being said I would start as suggested and try a hevi-shot magnum blend or nitro. That jellyhead choke should work just fine, you just need to pick up a few shells and try them out.

i like winchester extended number 6's if you can find them. i also like the hevi13 number 6's. but best thing i can tell you is buy several boxes set up some targets at 20,30,40, and 50 and shoot each at those distances, see which one does best. and that's what u need to go with

mshunter77 wrote:Break down and spend the money on some Hevi shot magnum blends.

+1

They are $$$, but worth every penny. The Magnum Blends (which have #5,#6, #7 in each shell) are as close as you can get to Nitros without paying Nitro prices. I just bought two more boxes at $28 per, because they say the cost of ammo is going up due to Obama shutting down some lead plants in the US. My LGS contact had to reorder and the price is now $38 per box. Stock up if you can find it at the lower prices!

I shoot the same gun with the same choke and have had good luck with the hevi shot magnum blend shells which is 5,6,7 all together

I shot the magnum blend for a few years and loved it. This year I made a switch to winchester long beard xr's for the simple reason, Rob Roberts recommended it. I couldn't be happier. Im shooting the 6's and they out perform the Hevi shot hands down out to 50 yards ( Thats as far as i patterned it)

I'm putting them through a SBE with an indian creek choke.

Try em out. They are very cheap compared to several others on the market.

I wish winchester would make extended range longbeards. That would be the ULTIMATE turkey load (IMO)

I have yet to see any shell outperform the longbeards.
300+ pellets in a 10" circle at 40 yards is very common.
The magnum blend is a close second (pattern wise)

Bottom line, get a tom within 30 yards and any turkey load will kill him.