Selecting Turkey Hunting Loads
Pattern Density and Downrange Energy are Critical Factors
Sep 23, 2008
A short decade ago a turkey hunter had relatively few choices when it pertained to turkey loads. Today, the choices available are numerous and picking a particular load can be involved at best if not, downright confusing. While sifting through all the modern turkey load technology hunters must focus on two key factors, pattern density and downrange energy. These are the two most important factors when choosing a particular load for turkey hunting.
Pattern Density
Pattern density refers to how many shot pellets are placed into a 30 inch diameter circle at various ranges. Knowing the pattern density of a particular load is important for the turkey hunter because of the relatively small target that must be hit in order to cleanly kill a turkey. A turkey’s brain is less than an inch in diameter, and the spinal column is about a quarter inch around. Even though it only takes one pellet to the brain or spinal column to kill a turkey, the more pellets that can be placed in the head and neck the better. An excellent tool that a hunter can use to get an approximate pattern density is to use a density calculator such as the one developed by BJ Rollison in 2002. A big factor in pattern density is shot size. The larger the shot size the less dense the pattern will be simply because fewer large pellets can be loaded into a shell. This fact reveals the conundrum of turkey loads. Smaller pellets have greater pattern density, however, less downrange energy.
Downrange Energy
Downrange energy deals with how much kinetic energy in foot pounds a projectile has at a certain range. Simply, the heavier the projectile the more energy will be carried downrange. Therefore, larger shot pellets typically carry more downrange energy than smaller ones. This being the case, turkey hunters had to find a happy medium between pattern density and downrange energy when choosing turkey loads. This is no longer the case.
Modern Shotshell Technology
Recent developments in shotshells allow turkey hunters to have the best of both pattern density and downrange energy. Several years ago a company called Environ Metal Incorporated, developed a new shot pellet material which is basically a mixture of tungsten, nickel and iron. This new material offered hunters a non-toxic pellet which was denser that standard lead. The result was smaller pellets that would carry the same downrange energy as larger lead pellets. Since that breakthrough development several other manufacturers have developed heavier than lead shot. Companies like Hornady and Federal have even developed new shot cups that function in a way as to ensure denser patterns.
Applying the Technology
The best thing a turkey hunter can do is to test various loads in their turkey guns and find out which particular load offers the best pattern density and, using ballistic information available from the manufacturer, the best downrange energy. The down side to advanced turkey loads is the price. These particular shells average about $3.00 a shot, however, if a hunter does the research and preseason work it should only take one shot to bring home the turkey. Good hunting!
 |
