Nebraskaland

54 Nebraskaland • May 2023 MIXED BAG .410 TURKEYS By Ryan Sparks Three years ago, I started taking my nephews turkey hunting on our family farm during Nebraska's youth season. The fi rst year, they showed up excited and ready for opening day the following morning. My brother-in-law had bought a new 20-gauge shotgun and we set up a target so they could get some practice. Eleven-year-old Cole shot fi rst. When he pulled the trigger he was thumped backwards. With tears in his eyes, he told us the recoil was too much. Excitement quickly turned to fear as he, and his nine-year-old brother Abe, didn't know if they wanted to hunt anymore. Trying to fi nd a solution, we drove to Cabela's and purchased a heavy tripod that would help reduce the recoil. Shooting was still not a fun experience for the boys, but it made it manageable, especially since we switched to target loads during practice, saving the higher- recoiling shells for the moment of truth. Abe was able to shoot his fi rst turkey from the tripod, although he was nervous to shoot when the time came. The next year, I did some research and bought a .410 shotgun specifi cally made for turkey hunting. I could tell my nephews were skeptical, but with the fi rst shot, Cole center-punched the pop can he was aiming at. Better yet, he smiled and said it barely kicked more than the .22 rifl e he hunted squirrels with. Abe quickly had a try and agreed. Even their younger brother Luke, age seven at the time, thought it was a piece of cake. Cole shot a pair of turkeys with it the following week. The experience taught me that .410 shotguns are a great option for getting kids into the turkey woods before they can handle the kick of a larger shotgun. And now with the introduction of Tungsten Super Shot (TSS), ethical shots with a .410 extend out to 40-yards. TSS is over 50% denser than lead, doubling the downrange energy and allowing hunters to drop three shot sizes with equal lethality. Dropping shot sizes means more pellets in each shell, 28% more to be exact. The eff ectiveness of TSS played a large part in changing Nebraska's minimum shot size for turkeys several years back. In fact, a three- inch .410 shell loaded with #9 TSS shot will outperform many lead turkey loads of a larger shot size. These days, you could shoot your fi rst turkey with a .410 and never have any reason to switch to a larger bore shotgun. It's the reason many gun manufacturers are now making turkey- specifi c shotguns chambered in .410. These shotguns are also generally inexpensive, with several models selling for around $300. Also, don't let the focus on turkeys fool you; they work great on squirrels, rabbits, quail, and pop cans. Expense has been the main objection leveled at TSS, with some manufacturers selling boxes containing fi ve shells for over $40. I agree that shells costing over $5 a piece are expensive, but how many times is a youth hunter going to shoot during a turkey season? If you practice with considerably less expensive target loads, and save TSS shells for hunting, an extra $5-10 a season is well worth it to get kids in the turkey woods without any fear or apprehension of pulling the trigger. Abe Lovewell of Maquoketa, Iowa, is all smiles after shooting his fi rst longbeard. RYAN SPARKS

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