Gun Preferences

bhwaugh1

Six Pointer
I know we had a similar form a month or so ago but this is a little different. I’m waiting for a gun to come in stock now and then buying it. Curious what everyone’s preferences are for their turkey guns

12 vs 20 vs 410
Semi Automatic vs Pump
22” or less vs 24” vs 26” vs 28” or greater barrel
Regular bead on gun vs red dot/scope
 

kilerhamilton

Old Mossy Horns
Needs to be threaded for chokes.
this would be sweet.
My preference would be a 24” barreled semi auto 20ga with fiber optic irons.
But I shoot what I have. Mossy 500 20ga 24” barrel. .575 choke is tight enough at 40yds and forgiving up close.
after seeing some longbeard/TSS/flight control wad patterns from a 20ga.
I think of no good reason to carry a 12ga into the turkey woods. Unless you just want to. I have a half box of Remington express long range #6s for a 12ga. And one day if I need them. I will take my shorty 870 back to the woods.
I have my great grandfathers 16ga Ithaca SxS I would like to kill one with.
#5 high brass pheasant loads. Patterns good enough to 30yds
 

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hot_rod_eddie

Six Pointer
I'm a pump fan myself. I've crawled through creeks and mud trying to get close. I'd rather not subject a semi to those environments. have a nicer semi, but I still hunt with the same Mossberg 500 I've had for 25 years. Use the same choke I've had for 20 years. Killed one at 40 yards this year. I like 12ga because that is all I ever had. Carry what you shoot well.
 

Wv67

Ten Pointer
I use a 870 with the 21” barrel I’ve had it forever 20 plus years it shoots awesome , and I just use the factory beads may add a scope for next year due to my eyes , but right now I see no reason to switch weapons
 

appmtnhntr

Twelve Pointer
I know we had a similar form a month or so ago but this is a little different. I’m waiting for a gun to come in stock now and then buying it. Curious what everyone’s preferences are for their turkey guns

12 vs 20 vs 410
Semi Automatic vs Pump
22” or less vs 24” vs 26” vs 28” or greater barrel
Regular bead on gun vs red dot/scope
20 gauge
Semi
24”
2x pistol or scout scope will be my next add.

I really like a 20 now. I never really intend to shoot another bird farther than 35 yards cause I haven’t called him close enough. I usually load my 3rd shell as a #5 high brass to break his hollow bones if he happens to flop a shot and get in the air.
those 5’s carry out to 50ish.

it’s not that a 12 is easier. A 20 is much easier for me. Shorter, lighter, faster, etc. if I hunt right, a 20 is all I’ll ever need.

twice this year I was laying prone with toms within 25 yards. And able to wield and use my gun.
I can’t do that with my super black eagle. Too long and too heavy.
 

appmtnhntr

Twelve Pointer
I have an 870 super mag with a truglo, will probably change the optic but overall very happy
A million birds have died under an 870.
If I were you I’d shim the stock with about 10 layers of duct tape shaved to zero at the hinge. You won’t need an optic. If you call good the cant of the tape makes you deadly at 30 steps even if you’re off the comb.
more birds live from high shooters than anything else.
 

bertienchunter

Twelve Pointer
I went to a 20 gauge this year and like it pretty good. I went with an autoloading shotgun as I wanted to have a multipurpose gun. I purchased a Stoeger M3020 with a 26" barrell in bottomland camo. Its 5.6 lbs and boy is it deadly at 40 yds with Federal #9 TSS. I have used it for pheasant and quail and killed 2 turkeys with it this year. The only thing I dislike is it didn't have a mid bead on the vent rib. I changed the front site out with a smaller bead (same as Benelli M2/SBE2). I bought a red dot for it but I just don't like the thing sticking up on top of my gun. I stay on the move turkey hunting and I'm afraid it will get hit and hung up in something and not be as accurate. I stuck to the trusty bead.
 

CBD21

Eight Pointer
Got a few to choose from but one I tote the most is a 870 compact 20ga with a shurshot stock and a vortex venom. With Tss it’s a 60yd gun but the furthest I’ve shot one with it is 35. It’s light and the short barrel is easy to maneuver and swing.
 

Thutty-thutty

Eight Pointer
20 870 youth with bead pump
20 500 full size with dbl beads pump
10 single shot with bead regular full
I keep it simple. I do try to keep quality ammo but that doesn’t mean it’s alway tss.
 

shotgunner

Ten Pointer
I hunted the last few hunts this year with a Browning BPS 20 gauge. It was like and killed my gobbler dead at 34 yards. Shooting a Kicks Gobblin Thunder (not sure constriction) and either Federal TSS or Winchester Long Beard. Plan on this being my go to turkey gun in the future.
 

Dayooper

Button Buck
10yrs ago i had a 12 shooting 3.5”. 5yrs ago I switched to a 20 shooting 3”. This year I toted a 410. They all make em flop if you do the pattern work. I love that little $120 single shot.
Pump over semi
Longest barrel you can carry
Red dot for those days when they come in on the opposite side
Just my pref.
 

Brad_Colvin

Eight Pointer
I've been toting a single shot .410 for the last couple of years and love it. That said I'm in the market for a 20 guage as my travel gun for those states with shot size restrictions. A friend of mine has a tri star with a pistol grip and that little gun handles like a dream. All of my turkey guns will have a red dot on top of them and as short a barrel as possible.
 

SnowMaker

Eight Pointer
Maybe it's just me and is a combination of the 2 guns..... I'd rather shoot 3.5s out of my 12 than 3's out of the 20 gauge Wren was using. Maybe it was that gun but I thought the recoil on the 20 was heinous
 

Helium

Old Mossy Horns
Still use what I started with many years ago… 12 Ga Mossberg 500 with a 1.5-4x scope.
Only throng that’s changed is I went from a Hastings choke to Indian Creek and went from Double X #4s to shooting TSS #7s and now TSS #9s

I did kill one with my daughters .410 this year and must admit the lightweight is nice! However, I will stick to the 12 ga for now until I’m not so mad at them anymore🤪
 

Firedog

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
When I switched to TSS I switched to a dedicated Turkey only 20. Semi, 24" pistol grip with a reflex sight. Can't see ever carrying a 12 after turkeys again. Again it is a dedicated gun so all it does is hunt turkeys or paper. Going to pull the trigger assembly and have a smith work on it between now and next year.. not as smooth as I want yet but gets it done.
 

hawglips

Old Mossy Horns
Just curious what's the thinking behind that?

If you shoot a gas operated auto, the gun sometimes won't handle heavy loads of TSS due to the way the ports are designed for steel shot loads. Dirt, mud, twigs, and other foreign matter is handled by a manual ejection better than an auto. Pumps and single shots are a blue-collar, get your hands dirty gun. I tend to get my hands dirty and get scratched up when I turkey hunt, so I like a gun that goes along with my style.
 

woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
Curious what everyone’s preferences are for their turkey guns


I use semi-autos,,,
i use pumps,,,
I use single shots,,,
I use bows,,,
I will use flintlocks next year or two (have a hole in my pattern still),,,
heck, I killed one with the truck once (accident),,,

my preference? Whatever gun I have to hand, in the gauge I plan to hunt with,,, that suits what I want to do,,,

no weapon is any better than the other with a fellow that knows how to use weapons,,,
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
i understand that youth model 20 guage 870s really suck. :)
Now that yall know that PM me when you unload yours at distress prices.
Same on all ,410 youth guns. Dangerous to carry. unethical, etc.
 
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