Author Topic: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way  (Read 10346 times)

Rick

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Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« on: November 02, 2008, 01:24:08 AM »
Today was the opening day for the Pennsylvania fall turkey season.  I lured this gobbler, plus seven other longbeards, to within 20 yards before I introduced him to Maggie.  I was back home before the coffee in the pot was cold! 

The fowler is cherry-stocked with an octagon to round .62 caliber smoothbore that Longknife jug-choked for me earlier this year.  I used 80 grains of 3F Goex, 2 pre-lubed felt wads over the powder, 2 oz of #6 lead shot, and two os cards.  No need to speculate.  Yes, that load kicks like $#*!!  Rick

 
« Last Edit: November 02, 2008, 04:34:55 PM by Rick »

Offline mountainman

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Re: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« Reply #1 on: November 02, 2008, 01:46:09 AM »
Congratulations! Sure makes a nice looking picture. I'm going to have to remember your load information, once I get my buck and ball rifle finished. Thanks for sharing your picture. I'm located in Mifflinburg, Pa.

roundball

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Re: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« Reply #2 on: November 02, 2008, 03:57:45 AM »
".62 caliber smoothbore that Longknife jug-chocked for me earlier this year.  I used 80 grains of 3F Goex, 2 pre-lubed felt wads over the powder, 2 oz of #6 lead shot, and two os cards"
Congratulations...a turkey with a Flint smoothbore is special!
How many tags do you get there?


(Flint smoothbores opened up a whole new set of things for me the past 2-3 years...I use the same turkey load except only 1+5/8oz #6s in a jug chocked GM barrel).

George F.

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Re: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« Reply #3 on: November 02, 2008, 04:31:25 AM »
Nice job with the Gobbler! And that certainly is a real nice picture with all those fall colors in it...I say frame it!...Geo.

jim m

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Re: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« Reply #4 on: November 02, 2008, 05:35:27 AM »
way to go Rick.  8) 8)

Offline volatpluvia

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Re: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« Reply #5 on: November 02, 2008, 05:36:30 AM »
Congratulations on the turkey!
I don't mean to be critical.  I just want to add that a shot charge more in keeping with a twenty gauge seems better to me.  Maybe ounce and one eighth.  If you already have a jug choke and you eliminate one of those cushion wads over the powder.  You might get a good pattern.
Even so, enjoy your thanksgiving dinner.  You surely earned it.
volatpluvia
I believe, therefore I speak.  Apostle Paul.

omark

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Re: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« Reply #6 on: November 02, 2008, 06:43:52 AM »
i think its a great picture and so is everything in it. 8)   guess my only question is why 2 o/s wads? i shoot a 12 double perc and only find it necessary to use 1. think going to 1 may help your pattern. be interested in knowing for sure. anyway, congrats. i got 2 mulie does with my 40 flint poorboy, so that may be my dinner if i dont get out with my 12. ;D

Rick

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Re: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« Reply #7 on: November 02, 2008, 04:25:07 PM »
I use two over shot wads because I don't want that shot column to become unseated.  I think the extra wad helps to prevent this.  I used to have a double barrel percussion and I had trouble with that.  They are very thin so I don't believe they will effect my pattern at all. 

I use 2 oz of shot because Pennsylvania requires you to display flourescent orange at your set-up and sometimes the turkeys will hang up at the fringe of good shotgun range when they spot it.  While I won't take a marginal shot, I know this gun will kill one at 30 -35 yards with 2 oz, so that's why I use it.  I have a .32 rifle planned just for fall turkeys, but it isn't finished yet.  I know this is a stout load and need to spend some more time at the range to figure out a load that will knock the stuffin' out of a turkey but won't knock the stuffin' out of me!  I'll gladly take the advice and try one wad as well as a lighter shot/powder load when I get to the range. 

Pennsylvania allows one fall turkey and one bearded turkey in the spring.  Good luck to the rest of you!  Rick
« Last Edit: November 02, 2008, 04:33:14 PM by Rick »

roundball

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Re: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« Reply #8 on: November 02, 2008, 04:36:51 PM »
No reason in particular for the use of two wads instead of one.  I use 2 oz of shot because Pennsylvania requires you to display flourescent orange at your set-up and sometimes the turkeys will hang up at the fringe of good shotgun range when they spot it.  While I won't take a marginal shot, I know this gun will kill one at 30 -35 yards with 2 oz, so that's why I use it.  I have a .32 rifle planned just for fall turkeys, but it isn't finished yet.  I know this is a stout load and need to spend some more time at the range to figure out a load that will knock the stuffin' out of a turkey but won't knock the stuffin' out of me!  We get one fall tag and one spring tag.  I'll gladly take the advice and try one wad as well as a lighter shot/powder load when I get to the range.  Good luck to the rest of you!  Rick

Just an opinion...and its free ;D

I'd worry about velocity & penetration if you cut the powder charge back any with that heavy of a shot load;


Here's a link to an article I used as a reference when I got started with .62's.
Using his 1+5/8's oz load of magnum #6s in a jug-choked 'Full' barrel, it dropped one where he stood at 40 yards, another at 30 yards.

And copper plated #6s adds a few more pellets to the turkey head target.

http://members.aye.net/~bspen/SmoothboreLoads.html
« Last Edit: November 02, 2008, 04:56:33 PM by roundball »

Offline Pat_Cameron

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Re: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« Reply #9 on: November 02, 2008, 04:43:31 PM »
All I can say about this photo is WOW!
It sure captures the "essense of fall".
That would be a cool title for it.
Congradulations of the great turkey and hope you enjoy a great thanksgiving dinner with it.

AMERICAN LONGHUNTER
Seasoned woodsmen that depend on skill and knowledge to lead them to a successful hunt rather than the crutch of modern technology

http://www.americanlonghunter.com

Offline Tim Crosby

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Re: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« Reply #10 on: November 03, 2008, 01:31:09 AM »
 Very nice, great picture.

Thanks, Tim C.

Offline Scott Bumpus

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Re: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« Reply #11 on: November 03, 2008, 01:48:27 AM »
Turkey for supper means that your load choice is doing something right!! ;D
YOU CAN ONLY BE LOST IF YOU GIVE A @!*% WHERE THE $#*! YOU ARE!!

Offline mr. no gold

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Re: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« Reply #12 on: November 03, 2008, 03:34:06 AM »
What time is dinner served at your house? We all want to be on time. Nice bird and pretty fowler! Well displayed and the suggestion to frame it is right on the mark. Well done!
Dick

Candle Snuffer

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Re: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« Reply #13 on: November 03, 2008, 03:55:54 AM »
Nice job Rick! :)

Offline markwi

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Re: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« Reply #14 on: November 03, 2008, 04:41:11 AM »
Great job, and nice turkey. Mark

northmn

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Re: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« Reply #15 on: November 03, 2008, 02:47:04 PM »
Like a few of the others, I think you may be overloaded, however, I always find it darn hard to argue with success.  A double will recoil so that one barrel will lossen if the proper tightness in wads is not used, a single should not.  I really doubt if two wads would hurt the pattern anyway.  Great picture, hope the 32 works out, and enjoy the woods.  I sure do.

DP

Daryl

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Re: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« Reply #16 on: November 03, 2008, 06:59:12 PM »
Stop action photo's show the thin over-shot wad spinning off to the side well ahead of the shot charge, just a few feet out the muzzle, thus not distrubing it in the slightest. This is probably due to expanding gasses of the charge blwing past the shot charge impacting the wad and separating it from the shot cloud itself.

 The heavier the wad, the more likely the opportunity of the wad messing with the shot charge closer to the muzzle before spining off can take place. Stop-action photos also show this happening in un-choked bores, where the shot impacts the wad which presses back on the shot cloud and causes spreading just clear of the muzzle.  This is one reason how hollow shot patterns (the dreaded donut of shot patterns) come to exist.  I'd assume the distance between the jug choke and the muzzle would be important in this respect, whether the top wads 'thought' there was a choke or not. By this I mean that a short end-choke, would promote normal separation of the wads from the shot charge, while a long end-choke might act similarly to a non-choked gun as far as wad separation is concerned. Again, the heavier the weight out front of the shot shoarge, the more likely the wads will impinge on the pattern.  More shot in the cloud tends fill in any shot-cloud damage, but of course increases recoil.

 The 'end choke' is the length of cylindrical bore between the choke and the muzzle.  In the 'best' modern chokes, this end choke is the same length as the shot column.  The most cheaply made chokes are simply swaged constrictions of the muzzle, which then had no end choke. They can be made to shoot exceptionally well through tuning and load development.  By tuning, I am referring to opening up the swaged full choke  slightly with brake cylinder hones while developing loads. In concert, it's amazing how well you can make a pelter shoot.

Jeff Peters

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Re: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« Reply #17 on: November 04, 2008, 01:11:12 AM »
Great job with the Turkey
Shooting with your beautiful flint makes it all the more special
Something else to be thankful for

My next build will mostly be a 20 gage smooth bore for Penns Woods Birds

Jeff

roundballshooter

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Re: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« Reply #18 on: November 04, 2008, 03:51:55 AM »
looks to me like that load worked well  ;D  great picture

Rick

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Re: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« Reply #19 on: November 04, 2008, 04:02:13 AM »
My friend just sent me this photo of his bird.  I built the rifle for him and delivered it only last Sunday.  He took it hunting for the first time today.  It's a .54 caliber rifle that he loaded with 50 grains of 3F.  That load hits dead on at 50 yards and about 3" low at 80.  While I built it for him to hunt deer with, he told me he wanted to try it on turkeys.  I tried to discourage him for fear of wasting too much meat.  I guess he didn't listen.  He reports that very little meat was actually wasted.  He shot this hen through the leg joints and she was dead before she knew what happened. 

I don't really want to debate the ethics of turkey hunting with a rifle.  It's legal for use in the fall in PA and quite effective when trying to overcome the flourescent orange mandate.  I post this photo because I find turkey hunting with a flintlock, rifle or smoothbore, brings me a lot of enjoyment.  I guess I'm braggin' a little, too!   ;)

The rifle is stained with LMF cherry stain and is iron-mounted.  I used a 42" long Rice barrel with round bottom rifling.  This gun is one heck of a shooter and cleans up like a dream.   Rick


« Last Edit: November 04, 2008, 04:06:01 AM by Rick »

Steve-In

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Re: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« Reply #20 on: November 04, 2008, 07:37:45 AM »
Good job!!  That is a great picture.  It sure is a rush when all goes as planned.  Try the premium hard shot if you are not already using it. 

Daryl

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Re: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« Reply #21 on: November 04, 2008, 09:35:41 AM »
I'm hoping to tag a turkey next spring with my .40. 

I'm not sure what is meant by the 'ethics' of shooting a tukey with a rifle. What gives?  I would think it more ethical to shoot one with a rifle than with a shotgun.

Rick

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Re: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« Reply #22 on: November 04, 2008, 03:03:53 PM »
Some folks feel it's 'unsporting' to shoot one with a rifle.  The school of thought is to call the turkey up close before shooting it with a shotgun rather than snipe it at a distance with a rifle.  Some of those same people tend to feel the same about shooting a deer in its bed.   When I hunt turkeys with a rifle, I do call them as close as they'll come before I put flint to frizzen.  Seven times out of 10 they will be within good shotgun range when that happens.  As far as shooting a deer in its bed, if you are stealthy enough to sneak up on one and pull it off, my hat is off to you!

I hope all have a safe and enjoyable hunting season!   Rick

GANGGREEN

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Re: Thanksgiving dinner the traditional way
« Reply #23 on: November 04, 2008, 10:41:24 PM »
Hi everyone.  I'm the guy in the second set of pictures with the .54 and the hen.  As for Rick's explanation regarding rifles in the fall, I'd have to admit that I'm not a big fan of modern centerfire rifles in the fall turkey woods.  I feel that they're probably slightly less safe than shotguns and I also feel that it's an easy way for people to snipe birds at longer ranges without having to do their homework and get the birds close.

All that said, Rick and I have called and killed more than a few turkeys together and he knows that I'm capable of getting them close.  This bird was taken at 54 yards but I shot her at the first good opportunity.  I feel sure that I probably could have gotten her and the others in the flock into sure shotgun range had I needed to.  The hunt was a blast and I was thrilled with how the rifle handled it. 

One other point that should be clarified.  Pennsylvania actually allows two bearded birds in the spring season but you have to apply for and receive a second spring gobbler tag.