When Winchester announced their new Long Beard XR turkey loads a couple of months back, they made a very specific claim about their latest galliform gouging shells. Thanks to their new Shot-Lok pellet packing idea, they claimed that their shot stays rounder coming out of a smoothbore than standard loose-packed loads. But they didn’t stop there. They also claimed that because of Shot-lok, Long Beard “offers the tightest patterns and longest shot capability of any lead turkey load in history—with twice the pellets in a 10” circle out to 60 yards compared to traditional lead loads.” I’m no ammo reviewer. I’ll leave blending batches of ballistic gelatin, examining shot deformation and measuring penetration distances to experts like Shooting the Bull. But when it comes to an easily verifiable claim like “twice the pellets in a 10″ circle,” I’m just the idiot to give it a try.
