Hi folks,
I am completely green to chasing gobblers. but its something i would like to get into. so first step, is look into a turkey gun. i dont want to break the bank here, so a decent pump gun is what i'm looking at, most likely 3.5" 12ga.

any suggestions on guns, chokes, and shells?

thanks

You don't need a 3.5" shotshell for turkeys. It's simply overkill IMO....the 3.5" is a waterfowl gun for larger amounts of steel shot and large shot at that! The 3.5" guns are heavy too!

Get yourself a 3" Rem 870!.....

I took a friend turkey hunting with an old Winchester single shot with a modified choke in 3" chamber.....so far he has killed eight birds with three shots!.....

Use a minimum of 1.5 Oz of #5 or #6 shot....

Killed my last 10 Toms with a full choked 20ga.With 1 Oz of #5`s.If you want a challenge ,use a Bow!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by OLBIKER:
Killed my last 10 Toms with a full choked 20ga.With 1 Oz of #5`s.

I've killed them with a .410.....7 1/2 shot.....11/16 Oz

more proof that the 3.5" 12 is not required.

Vapodog +1. 3.5 12ga is not required. 3in is plenty. My 870 is capable of running 3.5's but I never use them.

Full choke btw and good luck. Where will you be hunting?

Do you have a 12 gauge shotgun already? I'm using my 870 that's 35 years old. It shoots 2 3/4" shells with a 30" full choke. Kills them just fine out to 40 yards. I've used 4's, 5's & 6's-------either 1 1/2 oz or 1 5/8 oz turkey loads. The trick to turkey hunting is getting to where the birds WANT to go & being able to call. I use a box call for 99% of my hunting. These Merriam seem to like it. CB

I agree that 3.5" are not necessary and can be quite painful with 1.75 or 2 ounce loads...however the price difference between many 3" and 3.5" chambered shotguns isn't really that much.

If you do not have a 12 gauge and need to do it economically the 870 SuperMag would be the way to go. After spending some time behind a friend's Browning Maxus...that would be my choice today if I had $1200.

I started with a bolt action 20ga. I am now using my 870 SuperMag with the Primos Tightwad choke with .660 constriction. I am using 3" Remington Duplex (4 & 6 shot mixed).

Of the shotguns I have patterened the 3" patterns better that any 3.5" I've shot; and with alot less recoil. I personally shoot several shotguns for Turkeys and like the 870 with WW Supreme 1 5/8 oz of 6's. Patterns are just as dense at 40 yds as 2 oz loads. Usually carry a Benelli Montefeltro but ocassionally tote a muzzleloading shotgun too. All 12 gauges. Buy several shells and see what your gun likes the best.

I like a .640 extended choke but this is pretty tight for close in shots. Any full or extra full extended choke will work fine. My 870 will usually put more than 125 pellets in a paper plate at 40 yds; the Benelli usually puts around 150 in the same.

I also like rifle sights or a red dot type scope on my turkey guns. And definitely a sling so I can use friction calls and hold my shotgun at the same time.

I hunt Va. too and there are plenty of Turkeys in the areas I hunt in Grayson County.

God Bless, Louis

Be prepared to be frustrated to no end and humility comes in heavy doses when hunting turkeys.

Hey JD, I agree that nearly any shotgun made has the potential to Kill a Turkey. However, I do like to give myself the benefit of current Designs in both Shotguns and Shells. If you do get a 3 1/2" 12ga, it is very important to remember that there is nothing to keep you from using 2 3/4" or 3" Shells in it. And if you decide to go with a 3 1/2" Shell, you may decide the Full and Extra Full Chokes create a bit more Recoil than the Modified Choke.

About 8-9 years ago, a good buddy of mine was all excited about a new Turkey Gun he had just bought. It was a fully Camo Covered 3 1/2" Mossberg and he had an Extra Full Turkey Choke for it. It surprised me at just how "light weight" the Mossberg was.

So, I asked him how well it Patterned and he said he was planning on doing it the next day. Even invited me along, but I was headed off on a Deer Hunt then. I mentioned he might want to start with the Modified Choke when he first shot it to check the Pattern and work his way up to the Extra Full.

Saw him again about a week later and he had a BIG , on his face. First thing he said was, "Have you shot one of the 3 1/2" Mossbergs?" Told him that I hadn't. Then he asked how I knew it was going to kick like a Mule? Well, I'd seen some guys shooting a lot of other 3 1/2" guns at the Range and none of them were as light as his Mossberg. One of them fired one shot with the Extra Full Turkey Choke and you could see in his eyes that he would never do it again. However, you might enjoy it.

My buddy loves his 3 1/2" Mossberg because it is very Light Weight, but he uses 3" Shells in it for Turkey Hunting. And he could use the 2 3/4" Shells if he wanted to.

For absolutely sure though, when you do buy a new Shotgun, make sure it has "External Knurled" Screw-In Choke Tubes. It sure is nice to be able to easily swap Chokes for the situation at hand.

And I can highly recommend the Multiple Size Shot "Special Purpose" Turkey Shells. Just excellent! (And use a Decoy!!!)

Good Hunting and clean 1-shot Kills.

I recommend the Mossberg 835 even if you don't want to use 3.5" shells. It is designed for this purpose. Mine has a 24" ported barrel choked "turkey extra full" with fiber optic sights and a sling. I use 3.5" shells with plated shot, but 3" premium loads work too. It is a very modestly priced gun that can really reach out and touch a turkey. It does double duty the rest of the year as a home defense shotgun in the closet loaded with 5 3" magnum buckshot rounds. Cheap and rugged. So ugly you don't mind taking it out in the rain. Spray paint it camo if you want.

Thanks for the help guys.
Yes i realize that i dont need 3.5" shells, but i'd just like to have the ability to use them if necessary. I've shot a friends 10ga turkey gun, and dindt' think the recoil was all that bad only shooting it a couple of times in a day.

I was thinking of something like the mossberg or the 870.

i have an old remington 1100 with a 28" modified choke barrel, but its a family heirloom type of shotgun and i dont want to beat it up in the wet spring. i also have a charles daly pump but only has an 18" barrel for home defense.

plus buying a "turkey" gun gives me an excuse to purchase another gun

I will try to hunt back home in TN, and with a buddy in CO (see my mule deer post), and if i can find a place in VA i'll hunt here too. I will try to bowhunt for them this year, as I hunt on Ft. Belvoir, and its the only legal means of hunting. I will be humbled no doubt by these birds, and it will be quite a learning experience.

Thanks for the input.
John

If you are buying a turkey shotgun, I would suggest a 12 ga, 3.5 inch with a super full choke. I am partial to the 870 pumps. There are lots of aftermarket turkey chokes out there.

Whatever gun you end up with the most important thing is to try several different shells (3 inch and 3.5 inch)with variuos shot sizes (4,5 and 6) and spend some time to pattern the gun. Determine the maximum distance that will give you a "killing pattern" and do not shoot at any turkey beyond that distance. I want to kill the turkey EVERY time I fire a shot. In my opinion you should not shoot at a turkey beyond 40 yards... sure you might kill one at 50-60 yards... BUT, you will not kill one at that distance EVERY time. Turkey hunting is a close range sport and most of the hunting shows show some very unethical long shots.

Also, be sure and shoot a target at about five yards to see where it will shoot up close. It is very easy to miss a turkey at point blank range with a super full choked shotgun. Some guns will shoot high/low/left/right and you need to know this. Nothing is more frustrating than missing the slam dunk shot after calling a bird in to your lap.

These are my opinions as a trukey hunter of 30 plus years. The other important part is to have fun... and be aware it is very addicting !!!
Andy

Very impressive pics. I'm over a little farther west in the Mid-South - Mississippi River area. You can kill lots of birds here too.

Since we're doing opinions, my two favorites are the Rem 11-87 using 3" and the Win Model 12 in a 3" heavy duck gun. Both 12 ga.

Anyway, what do y'all think of the 10 ga for turkeys? It's surprised me that no one's mentioned it so far.

And in the really fwiw dept, the other day I saw what must have in its day been a pretty fair turkey gun. A hundred year old Greener 8 bore SxS black powder muzzleloader. Wouldn't that be a hoot to take into the turkey woods?!

quote:

what do y'all think of the 10 ga for turkeys?

In all sincerity.....too much...unneeded....too costly.....

Anything more than a good 3" 20 Ga is more than needed.....the 3" 12 Ga is overkill already....

I know a few guys that use 20 ga with good results. With the good factory turkey shells out these days a 20 ga can indeed be the ticket.
I think a lot of it boils down to the specific gun/choke/shell combo... some combos will pattern good and some will not.

Before the 3.5 inch 12 ga, I used a Browning 10 ga BPS for a while, but went back to a 3 inch 12 ga... because the 10 ga BPS was so dang heavy and we do quite a bit of mountain hunting.

I personally like the "overkill" of the larger bores even though I limit 95% of my shots to 30 yards or less... most of my shots at turkeys are at 20-25 yards. The hunt to me is all about calling a gobbler in close.

Did I mention I like close shots and "overkill" ?
Andy

I'm with Ghostbird. Get the biggest gun you can shoot and pattern a bunch of different cartridges. Nothing bums me out like losing a turkey. I know I've got the gun now that can kill them every time I get a clear shot at 40 yards.

quote:

Originally posted by cooperjd:
Thanks for the help guys.
Yes i realize that i dont need 3.5" shells, but i'd just like to have the ability to use them if necessary. I've shot a friends 10ga turkey gun, and dindt' think the recoil was all that bad only shooting it a couple of times in a day.

I was thinking of something like the mossberg or the 870. ...

Hey JD, Looks like you have thought it out well. And having shot the 10ga without a problem indicates the 3 1/2" should not be a huge problem.

The Mossberg my budy has is a good bit lighter than my Remington M870 SPS. But, I've used 870s for a very long time and really like this one. It has a Black Oxide finish(basically a Black Parkerizing) and a Synthetic Stock. I had an 870 SP(wooden stock), swapped it on a different shotgun and then went and bought the 870 SPS. Only thing negative about the SPS models is that they will not accept a regular M870 barrel, it must be one made for the SPS.

I recently saw an ad(had to be in the NRA American Hunter) that showed an SPS with a ThumbHole Stock. I have one rifle with a ThumbHole Stock and it is pretty nice. I can see where it would be real nice for Turkey Hunting.

On the other hand, if you ever intend to use the Shotgun on Deer, while doing a Man Drive, then I'd recommend the regular stock configuration.

Best of luck with whatever you choose.

I didn't read all of this. I apologize if I repeat what others have said.

It is true that one can kill a gobbler with something less than a 12 gauge. Heck, when I was a kid, I killed one with a 22 with rat shot! Who cares? Personally I believe you owe it to your bird to kill him cleanly. It is a lot easier to do with a 12 gauge. IMHO there is a lot less change of a wounded bird. You can't kill them too dead.

I always shoot the 3.5 inch with 6's. Head shots only. If you are going to shoot, why wouldn't you want to throw as much lead at that head as possible?

I had one of the Mossberg's for many years. I bought it for $100 in a going out of business. I wasn't worried about messing it up. It shot well. I killed a lot of turkeys with it. Personally, I thought the kick was not bad. Now I had a Winchester NWTF pump in 12 gauge. That gun would hurt you. Regardless, it isn't like you are going to shoot it more than 1 or 2 times in a day. Recoil should not be a concern.

My advice would be to go with a 12 gauge, 3.5 inch. Shoot the shells with the largest pellet load you can get. Pick the gun like. IMHO, the Mossberg is a damn good value for the money if you are hunting turkeys only. If you are using it for other hunting, I may pick something different.

I have used an 870 with 3" 12 ga shells to kill at least fifteen turkeys since I started hunting them in 1993. (We didn't even HAVE turkeys here 30 years ago!) I put a super-tight turkey choke on it. I have used a variety of types of shells over the years, in #5 or #6, but all have to be able to put at least a dozen pellets in a sillouette of a turkey's head and neck at 40 yds. (Frankly, I rarely have to take shots much further out than 20 yds, but sometimes they just won't come any closer!)

You'll love hunting them. A friend of mine describes spring turkey hunting as trying to kill a 25 pound elk. I would heartily agree (except for the high-altitude part!)

The idea of a "turkey shotgun" cracks me up......I've used every single one of my shotguns AND my bow to kill turkeys. Just put in a full or extra full choke and have at it. I killed my first bird (21.5lbs) with my "duck shotgun" #4 steel and IC choke........now I shoot 3 or 3.5" #5 turkey loads.....and the 2 boxes I have will probably last me 15 years since I only fire once a year(or twice if I hunt 2 states).

If I had a 10 ga for geese, I'd try it also on turkeys. So far however, I've killed both geese and turkeys without any problem with 12 ga in 3" magnum and the real need's just not there. I suppose probably the only "need" is that I simply like guns and would deep down like to own a 10...or an 8 if they were legal.

Anyway, how do you guys feel about the "duplex" loads of mixed shot sizes for turkeys? I haven't had any need of those either, but I know they sell them..

And do you think a gun in camo really accomplishes anything?

I would try the duplex loads if you want. No telling what will pattern best until you try. And I like camo. I also like the top tang safety. No visible movement, quick and quiet.

I wonder, has a turkey ever been killed because the gun was painted in camo? Do you think what it is they're looking at matters as much as movement?

quote:

has a turkey ever been killed because the gun was painted in camo?

I think it's good to understand that almost everything we buy is made to be sold to humans.

Same with fishing lures.....does anyone think the little eyes painted on the lead head jigs actually catch more fish?.....it's designed to catch fishermen!....it seems to work as intended!

quote:

Originally posted by Shack:
I wonder, has a turkey ever been killed because the gun was painted in camo? Do you think what it is they're looking at matters as much as movement?

I hunt turkey every spring....wild, public land turkey.

They are sharp and see things that don't move. I am camo, head to toe and so is my shotgun.

Oh by the way my gun is a Mossberg 500 3" 12 full choke

Me too on the camo. It may help and can't hurt.

cooperjd, Take a look at www.oldgobbler.com

You'll find out more than you ever wanted to know about turkey guns and equip.

Have a good one,

Reloader

Its been about twenty years now since the 3.5" 12ga. was introduced by Mossberg and Federal. As a dedicated goose hunter (back then) I immediately went to the gun store and placed an order for a Mossberg 835 before they were actually on the shelves. Took several months for it to arrive, a NWTF gun complete with medalion and the original camo paint job. Over the ensuing years a doubt if I've shot two boxes of 3 1/2" shells!
Simply put I can do just as well with three inchers. In my opinion I think the extra long shot string is detrimental to patterns. That is you put as many ON TARGET with the three inchers so the added shot along with the extra cost and recoil is wasted. It can shine where very large shot is used but neither do I use larger than BB for geese. I've just never got decent patterns from larger shot... and I mean ON PAPER. Steel shot is not a long distence projectile in any size!
With smaller lead shot for turkeys I'm of the opinion the long string / blown pattern theory holds.

That said, as mentioned by someone else the extra chamber length is no more expensive so you're as well off to BUY IT even if you only shoot shorter shells. One caution however is that many short-stroke 3.5" pumps in the heat of battle. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another 3.5" 12ga. I would however pattern it (as I do any shotgun) to find out exactly what it's doing with what ammo.

Shot string being the name of the game in shotshells, I really would go the whole hog and get a 10 ga. magnum rather than make the jump from 3" to 3 1/2" in 12 ga.

That would be for either turkeys or geese.

But this is all strictly academic in my case. I've never seen a turkey or goose (be it Canada, snow or speck) that can't be cleanly killed with a 12 ga in 3" magnum. It's been the "gold standard" for that now for about four decades.

Fooling around with turkey guns is my hobby. I'll shoot as many shotshells from the bench in a year as I will rifle rounds.

For many years, my turkey slayer was a BPS 10 ga. with much $$ invested in custom barrel and choke work. To this day, it will put more lead #6 shot in a 3 inch circle at 40 yards than any other gun I've ever fired or seen fired. But not enough more than my Winchester Super X2 to warrant lugging that nasty recoiling S.O.B. up and down the hills. The SX2 is a good deal lighter, patterns within a few pellets at 40 yards and is a puddy-tat on the butt end...even with 3 1/2 inchers.

On a budget, I woud suggest you pick up a good used Reington 870 or Winchester 1300. Get yourself a box of Winchester Supreme #6's and a Comp-N-Choke XXX-Full tube. Not saying this shell/choke combo will be the ultimate one for your new gun. But it is the combo that has never failed to produce solid, 40 yard turkey-killin' patterns in any gun I ever tested it in.

Where recoil's an issue in 10, why not a gas op? Either the Rem or the original Mag 10 Ithaca?

Andy, I see Tom Kelly's "Tenth Legion" on your credenza. Good form.

quote:

Originally posted by Shack:
Where recoil's an issue in 10, why not a gas op? Either the Rem or the original Mag 10 Ithaca?

The gravity factor if you hunt hills, I would say. 10 ga. gas guns are HEAVY.