turky load?

Have a chance to hunt turky in a few weeks. Trying to figure out a good load for my musket. With shot. Its a 1740 potzdam musket. .75 cal/11 gauge. Would 1 1/4 once of #4 shot with 70-80 grains of powder be enough to cleanly take one? Or should I step up the load?

I shoot 1 1/4 oz. of #5 in uncut or taped shot cups with 75 gr. of 2F in my SxS 12 ga. It's in an open bore .. no choke. My bore is .729".
You can probably up your shot to 1 3/8 oz. and use 80 gr. of 2F. I don't know how the smaller shot cups would work. If your pattern is too scattered, go to #6 to get more pellets in the bird.

rawhide said:

Trying to figure out a good load for my musket. With shot.

Would 1 1/4 once of #4 shot with 70-80 grains of powder be enough to cleanly take one?

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Its almost impossible for anyone else to answer that question when distances aren't even being mentioned.
Assuming you'll be using the conventional head/neck shot, you need to use a life size target like this, and experiment with loads for thickest patterns, then at different distances, to finalize a load at a distance that will consistently put a few killing pellets 'into' the skull and neck vertebrae every time.
The 'into' is also important because while smaller size 7.5's will fill in a pattern better, the effective range gets shorter because they're so much lighter they give up some penetration at distance.

You’re absolutely right Roundball.
1 ¼ oz of # 4 would be a great place to start your testing. The only thing I would add is to be sure to test penetration. I put my targets on a piece of plywood. The pellets should penetrate or imbed fully to be considered lethal. I have seen many loads merely bounce off of plywood.

not sure about 11 gauge, but here is something close.
12ga modified, 30 yards, 70grains ffg goex, 110 grains #4 & #6 equal mix, got 8 shots into neck and head area with nice round overall pattern.
12ga full, 30 yards, 70grains ffg goex, 110 grains #4 & #6 equal mix, got 18 shots into neck and head area with not as nice pattern as with modified.
(20ga cylinder, 30 yards, 70 grains fffg goex, got 4 shots into neck and head area. nice, large diameter pattern.)
1/4" thick plywood, with 12ga modified and full #4 goes through with loads above, #6 goes though the first ply and stops. not sure with 20ga, plywood was already messed up.

With head/neck shots on turkey; there is no reason to use shot larger than #6. Small shot will still penetrate the head and neck at 30 or more yards, easily. With most muzzleloading guns; you will never have a tight enough pattern past 30 yards, (20 in a musket), to reliably hit the brain or spine.

With smaller shot, you get more chances to hit the brain or spine. 1 #6 shot will kill a turkey if it connects with the brain or spine. 1 ounce of #4 shot will have 135 pellets. 1 ounce #6 shot has 225 pellets. That's 90 more chances with the #6. Where legal, #7 1/2 shot has 350 pellets per 1 oz. In a cylinder bore musket, #7 1/2 shot might be the best choice, as 20 yards may be the farthest you can get a good pattern, but #7 1/2 will still be lethal at that range.

PS: Allegedly there is this old saying:
"Load powder, more lead, shoots far, kills dead"
Meaning a greater ratio / proportion of lead shot than normal.

Here are three 3.5" tuna cans at 25 yards, from my 42" .54cal/28ga smoothbore, straight open cylinder barrel, testing 5s/6s/7.5s and getting penetration through the cans:

I do admire your testing :hatsoff:

A great part of hunting with our chosen gear is waiting to shoot until we see the "whites of their eyes".

No matter how much we tinker with a cylinder bored frontstuffer, we aren't much good past 20-some yards.

I love that fact as it makes me more a hunter than a shooter!

Best regards.

correction- 25 yards are the distances, not 30 yards.

laufer said:

not sure about 11 gauge, but here is something close.
12ga modified, 30 yards, 70grains ffg goex, 110 grains #4 & #6 equal mix, got 8 shots into neck and head area with nice round overall pattern.
12ga full, 30 yards, 70grains ffg goex, 110 grains #4 & #6 equal mix, got 18 shots into neck and head area with not as nice pattern as with modified.
(20ga cylinder, 30 yards, 70 grains fffg goex, got 4 shots into neck and head area. nice, large diameter pattern.)
1/4" thick plywood, with 12ga modified and full #4 goes through with loads above, #6 goes though the first ply and stops. not sure with 20ga, plywood was already messed up.

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There's no set rule/load for any gun. I've got a .28ga, two 20ga's, and a 12ga. They all have their favorite load. #5 shot is the heaviest I've used on turkeys.

My TC hawken .50 has done the job a bunch of times. Once at 125 yds. Never failed.

Only shotguns are legal for turkeys in my state with a max. shot size of #2. (except on private land)

I like #6 shot and have found them to kill clean out as far as anyone has any business shooting at them. I have even kill one with a 20 ga and #8 shot, but 7 1/2's are better for the small guns if you keep you shooting inside 30 yards.

take some pics when you go.