20 Gauge tungsten turkey load

[bluetick78]

Thinking ahead to next spring, I'd like to hear from some of you that have experience with tungsten loads in short-barreld 20 gauge. My 9 year old son shoots a youth model 870 in 20 gauge. The barrel is 18 or 20 inches with a Carlsons vented turkey choke. Currently he's using 3" Winchester Longbeard #5's. That load patterns well out to about 30 yards, but falls apart after that. We hunt fairly open country, and it can be tough to get birds in closer than 40-45 yds.
Question is, how many of you guys have used tungsten loads in a short-barreled 20 gauge, and which loads worked best? I've looked at offerings from Fiocchi, Federal, Remington and several others but can't decide where to start. I really just need to add another 10 yards or so to the guns effective range so my little man can tag some birds.

 

[Hills]

I would look at Apex shells. They have a 20ga 1-3/8 oz load that should be good for him. TSS is pretty forgiving of choke constriction so whatever he is using now is worth trying before buying anything else. Even factory full chokes can throw patterns that are plenty good to shoot 45 yds

 

[bradb]

Just try a few kinds of tss 9s. Most shoot plenty good, some great. But unique to your combo.. a pretty fair number of birds have fell to my youth 20

 

[N2TRKYS]

I shoot a Rem 870 youth with a 21” barrel. With my 15/8 oz #9 handloads and an IC 555 choke, I get a consistent 300 pellets in a 10” circle at 40 yards.

My 21” barreled 1187 setup the same way gets 350 pellets.

 

[Ondavirg]

You’ll have better luck with the smaller tss shell makers than bigger manufacturers like federal, but any of them will blow your mind compared to patterns you are seeing with lead. It’s hard to trust those tiny 9s (or smaller) but they will kill turkeys farther than we should shoot at them. Apex is my favorite currently as well.

 

[Scottf270]

Follow the advice from above. Buy some lighter loads of #9 tss, go with a more open choke and go hunt.

 

[Dryfly1]

Foxtrot Ammo or Make your own.

2Gbl

 

[mullet dredge]

I own two 21" barreled compact Rems, an 870 and 11-87. Prefer a more forgiving pattern so shoot a .570 Sumtoy in the 870 and a .575 Carlsons in the 11-87. I handload Hal's 1 5/8oz 3" Big20XL #9s. That being said, the recoil from that heavy payload and small light gun can be a little "snappy" especially for a 9 year old. The gas operated 11-87 makes it somewhat more tolerable over the 870.

 

[Gman12]

I use a Franchi 20 gauge and the TSS 9 shot is pretty nasty out to about 50 yards.

 

[Kurts86]

Apex 9’s are typically the first place to start on TSS loads.

 

[JBrew]

Apex is tried and true. Federal MagBlends have also shot well for me, if you're looking at a little lower cost option.

 

[Oddfellow]

Apex Ammo or Foxtrot Ammo. The owner of Foxtrot Ammo is a standup guy. An active member over on Gobblernation, and always available to answer any questions. He used to be able to get some good prices on Indian Creek chokes, but I do not know if that is still the case.

 

[bluetick78]

Thanks for all the great replies guys. We've used #9 Federal TSS in 410 when my son was 8. I figured it'd be smart to start with 9's in 20 ga as well. I'll get some Apex and Foxtrot ordered and see which ones the gun likes best. My older son shoots a Benelli SBE in 20 ga as well, so it'll be a great help to them both.

 

[Bowtie747]

Oh buddy! Love seeing this talk already

I use a 20 gauge 870 youth. 21” barrel I believe. Indian creek choke more open constriction. I shot this load to 60 yards. I can see if I still have the patterns for you. Patterns at 60 would kill but if you ran a tighter choke you could definitely kill out to 60. I don’t shoot past 40 so that’s why I like a more open choke. Apex #9’s is the load I use

 

[Bowtie747]

Hey not sure if you have seen the magic of TSS but this is a .410 at 50 yards with a pretty open choke comparatively

Again I don’t shoot past 40 on birds

 

[jeremy.b]

We started my middle boy out using my wife's cut down 20ga with 1-1/4oz of #9 tss hand loads. They shoot really well out way further than he or my wife would consider shooting.

A sleeper choke we found is the primos tight wad. Super cheap and readily available.

We then picked up a cva scout 410 that came with a JEBS choke. Way more handy for the smaller shooter and also shoots well with #10 TSS hand loads, perfect for 35 and closer (with enough penetration out past 40 if a distance miss-estimation happens).

Also we put a red dot on both guns, really helped my son make confident shots.

 

[dtrkyman]

Don’t sleep on the Herters TSS, 1.5oz loads so maybe a tick less recoil and priced right.

I load my own but if I were just starting out shooting it I probably wouldn’t, there was none commercially available when I started shooting it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dbecker6415]

Thinking ahead to next spring, I'd like to hear from some of you that have experience with tungsten loads in short-barreld 20 gauge. My 9 year old son shoots a youth model 870 in 20 gauge. The barrel is 18 or 20 inches with a Carlsons vented turkey choke. Currently he's using 3" Winchester Longbeard #5's. That load patterns well out to about 30 yards, but falls apart after that. We hunt fairly open country, and it can be tough to get birds in closer than 40-45 yds.
Question is, how many of you guys have used tungsten loads in a short-barreled 20 gauge, and which loads worked best? I've looked at offerings from Fiocchi, Federal, Remington and several others but can't decide where to start. I really just need to add another 10 yards or so to the guns effective range so my little man can tag some birds.

Any of the smaller manufacturers make great choices #9 is perfect. Check out blue collar outdoors on YouTube has awesome pattern series to give you options.

 

[Kernal1985]

I have had good results with federal and apex 9’s out of a youth mossberg, I think the barrel is 20” long? Killed a bird at 62yds with the apex last year but it would be easy to miss up close so the suggestion for a more open choke would be a good one. Pizza box was 30 yds, top was apex and bottom was federal I think.

 

[TimberRunner]

Apex or Boss