I did much of this patterning several years ago, so some of these loads have been discontinued and there are several new loads are on the market that I haven't patterned. Anyway, you get the idea.
The 12-gauge 3-inch loads were shot through a Remington 870 Special Purpose shotgun and the 12-gauge 3 ½-inch loads were shot through a Remington 870 Super Magnum shotgun. A Remington Turkey Super Full Extended choke was used for all lead loads and a Remington Hevi-Shot Super Full Extended choke was used with all steel and tungsten-based loads.
Pattern testing was accomplished by using 48-inch x 48-inch pattern paper with a turkey head-and-neck target placed in the center of each pattern sheet prior to the patterning shot; yardages were measure with a tape from muzzle to target; and pattern counts, pattern percentages and Skull/Cervical Vertebrae (S/CV) hits were the average from five patterns.
In-shell pellet count averages were the result of cutting open and counting the pellets from five shells out of the same box/lot as the pattern loads. These in-shell pellet counts allowed for true pattern percentage calculations.
Remember, an effective turkey gun/load/choke combo needs to have enough pellets to provide sufficient pattern density and pellets with adequate penetrating energy to reliably penetrate a turkeys skull and/or cervical vertebra at the yardage used!
Here's my short take on this topic.
When using a 12-gauge for turkeys... out to 30 yards "most all" turkey loads with a full choke will be 100% effective, out to 40 yards "many" turkey loads with a full or tighter choke can be 100% effective, out to 50 yards "some" turkey loads with a tight full turkey choke may be 100% effective, and out to 60 yards "very few" turkey loads with a tight full turkey choke are 100% effective.
40-YARD PATTERNS
Win Super-X 3” 1 7/8 oz #6 lead (438 pellets) / 30” pattern 363 (83%) / S/CV hits 4.6
Rem Duplex 3" 1 7/8 oz #4 x #6 lead (385 pellets) / 30” pattern 305 (79%) / S/CV hits 4.2
Fed Hi-Velocity 3" 1 ¾ oz #5 lead (322 pellets) / 30” pattern 272 (85%) / S/CV hits 3.6
Rem Hi-Velocity3" 1 ¾ oz #5 lead (280 pellets) / 30” pattern 225 (80%) / S/CV hits 5.8
Win Hi-Velocity 3" 1 ¾ oz #5 lead (293 pellets) / 30” pattern 257 (88%) / S/CV hits 5.8
Win Long Beard 3" 1 ¾ oz #5 lead (305 pellets) / 30” pattern 295 (97%) / S/CV hits 11.0 / 10” pattern 118
Win Super-X 3" 1 7/8 oz #5 lead (317 pellets) / 30” pattern 276 (87%) / S/CV hits 3.4
Rem Premier 3" 2 oz #5 lead (328 pellets) / 30” pattern 258 (79%) / S/CV hits 3.4
Win XX Mag 3" 2 oz #5 lead (336 pellets) / 30” pattern 293 (87%) / S/CV hits 3.6
Hevi-13 3" 1 5/8 oz #6 Hevi-Shot (305 pellets) / 30” pattern 258 (85%) / S/CV hits 5.2
Rem Hevi-Shot 3" 1 5/8 oz #6 Hevi-Shot (381 pellets) / 30” pattern 341 (90%) / S/CV hits 6.6
Rem Wingmaster 3” 1 5/8 oz #6 Hvy Density (346 pellets) / 30” pattern 306 (88%) / S/CV hits 5.6
Win Hi-Density 3" 1 ¾ oz #6 Hi-Density (388 pellets) / 30” pattern 358 (92%) / S/CV hits 7.8
Fed Hvy Weight 3" 1 5/8 oz #5 Heavyweight (194 pellets) / 30” pattern 184 (95%) / S/CV hits 4.6
Hevi-13 3" 1 5/8 oz #5 Hevi-Shot (186 pellets) / 30” pattern 168 (90%) / S/CV hits 3.2
Rem Hevi-Shot 3" 1 5/8 oz #5 Hevi-Shot (280 pellets) / 30” pattern 240 (86%) / S/CV hits 5.2
Win Hi-Density 3" 1 ¾ oz #5 Hi-Density (284 pellets) / 30” pattern 262 (92%) / S/CV hits 4.8
Win Hi-Density 3 ½" 2 oz #5 Hi-Density (317 pellets) / 30” pattern 291 (92%) / S/CV hits 7.6
Fed Premium 3" 2 oz #4 lead (290 pellets) / 30” pattern 213 (73%) / S/CV hits 3.2
Rem Premier 3" 2 oz #4 lead (255 pellets) / 30” pattern 209 (82%) / S/CV hits 3.6
Win XX Mag 3" 2 oz #4 lead (258 pellets) / 30” pattern 243 (94%) / S/CV hits 4.6
Win Long Beard 3½" 2 oz #4 lead (255 pellets) / 30” pattern 247 (97%) / S/CV hits 11.6 / 10” pattern 126
Win XX Mag 3½" 2 ¼ oz #4 lead (300 pellets) / 30” pattern 242 (81%) / S/CV hits 4.2
Rem Nitro Steel 3” 1 3/8 oz #4 steel (256 pellets) / 30” pattern 209 (82%) / S/CV hits 3.4
Rem Nitro Steel 3" 1 3/8 oz #3 steel (220 pellets) / 30” pattern 167 (76%) / S/CV hits 2.6
50-YARD PATTERNS
Win Long Beard 3" 1 ¾ oz #5 lead (305 pellets) / 30” pattern 275 (90%) / S/CV hits 7.4 / 10” pattern 89
Fed Hvy Weight 3” 1 5/8 oz #5 Heavyweight (194 pellets) / 30” pattern 164 (85%) / S/CV hits 2.8
Rem Hevi- Shot 3" 1 5/8 oz #5 Hevi-Shot (280 pellets) / 30” pattern 212 (76%) / S/CV hits 3.8
Win Hi-Density 3" 1 ¾ oz #5 Hi-Density (284 pellets) / 30” pattern 218 (77%) / S/CV hits 4.0
Win Hi-Density 3 ½" 2 oz #5 Hi-Density (317 pellets) / 30” pattern 211 (67%) / S/CV hits 3.2
Fed Premium 3" 2 oz #4 lead (290 pellets) / 30” pattern 163 (56%) / S/CV hits 2.6
Rem Premier 3" 2 oz #4 lead (255 pellets) / 30” pattern 149 (58%) / S/CV hits 1.6
Win XX Mag 3" 2 oz #4 lead (258 pellets) / 30” pattern 170 (66%) / S/CV hits 2.2
Win Long Beard 3½" 2 oz #4 lead (255 pellets) / 30” pattern 234 (92%) / S/CV hits 7.2 / 10” pattern 86
Win XX Mag 3½" 2 ¼ oz #4 lead (300 pellets) / 30” pattern 162 (54%) / S/CV hits 3.2
Rem Nitro Steel 3” 1 3/8 oz #3 steel (220 pellets) / 30” pattern 117 (53%) / S/CV hits 1.4
60-YARD PATTERNS
Win Long Beard 3½" 2 oz #4 lead (255 pellets) / 30” pattern 206 (81%) / S/CV hits 5.4 / 10” pattern 54
Now you can be the judge, good luck!