Excellent choice. I've taken many turkey with my Wingmaster.
Best shotgun for turkey hunting, and why?
- Thread starter sschintz
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Excellent choice. I've taken many turkey with my Wingmaster.
Because most shotguns do not shoot to point of aim. And a pattern out of a turkey choke does not cover much at 40 or 50 meters. Once you have missed your shot and the dust cloud rises 3 feet beside or in front of the turkey you will understand ...
Went last spring first time hunting turkey. I used a Stevens mdl. 301 single shot with a red dot sight - .12 ga. with turkey choke and vintage Imperial 2 3/4" # 4 lead shot. about 35 yrds. bang flop. Great day.
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Just to give you an idea of how personal it is:
My turkey gun for years was a Mossberg M590A1 with a 18.5" barrel. I wrapped it in camo cloth and used a Blackout XX-full .660 choke on it. I do a lot of running and gunning and the 590A1 was able to take the beating like a tank.
It's really all about what land you're shooting on. Is it a field, thick woods, a lot of hills, creeks, rivers? Are you going to just use a blind with decoys, or run and gun? Do you like to 'snipe' them from 40-50 yards as soon as they show up, or do you like to get them nice and close and put on a show?
My turkey gun for years was a Mossberg M590A1 with a 18.5" barrel. I wrapped it in camo cloth and used a Blackout XX-full .660 choke on it. I do a lot of running and gunning and the 590A1 was able to take the beating like a tank.
It's really all about what land you're shooting on. Is it a field, thick woods, a lot of hills, creeks, rivers? Are you going to just use a blind with decoys, or run and gun? Do you like to 'snipe' them from 40-50 yards as soon as they show up, or do you like to get them nice and close and put on a show?
A dedicated turkey choke is certainly not required.
Some factory fulls throw great patterns with the right ammo.
As others have mentioned, the gun itself is only one part of the story. Knowing how your gun patterns and its limitations, is far more important. Many birds are taken every year, by ordinary 2 3/4" shot shells. 3" or 3.5" shells may offer more pellets. But...won't make any real difference, if the shooter can't do their part.
It is the hunter's ability to draw that tom within good shooting range...at least in my opinion, that really counts. If a hunter can't get a shot....or thinks they can't get a shot.... at a bird under 50 yards....they are doing something wrong.
Could be their setup or poor concealment. Too much movement. Poor calling technique. Or most likely.....haven't got the patience to let the bird close. Turkey are fairly easy to call within 20-30 yards. Even closer. So long as the hunter exercises a little patience. Patience....is the key, here. Most birds are lost....from my experience, because the shooter gets way too excited and takes the shot long before they need to.
Don't be that hunter.
ps: One of the most exciting turkey hunts I ever experienced, was taking a nice, 22 lb. gobbler(Nice, average bird for this area) at about 12 yards. With a full-choked (jug choke), 12-gauge flintlock. Load: 80 gr. Goex Ffg/ 1 1/8 oz. #6 shot.
Called him in right off the roost. A couple of soft clucks on the box call....that's all. The tom flew out into the open field, landing about 40 yards from the edge of the bush. Waited, while he strutted and puffed his way back and forth, toward my decoy(Set at 10 yards from my blind). That took about twenty minutes. Then harvested him. A good set up. Patience and a bit of luck, and turkey was on
the menu.
Buy the best gun and choke, sights, etc., you can afford, if you like. But a good set of hunting skills is more important.
Also: if new to the sport, follow Alon's advice, and get Tom Kelly's book. I wish I'd had that guidance when I started turkey hunting, over 50 years ago. Would have saved making a lot of dumb mistakes.
It is the hunter's ability to draw that tom within good shooting range...at least in my opinion, that really counts. If a hunter can't get a shot....or thinks they can't get a shot.... at a bird under 50 yards....they are doing something wrong.
Could be their setup or poor concealment. Too much movement. Poor calling technique. Or most likely.....haven't got the patience to let the bird close. Turkey are fairly easy to call within 20-30 yards. Even closer. So long as the hunter exercises a little patience. Patience....is the key, here. Most birds are lost....from my experience, because the shooter gets way too excited and takes the shot long before they need to.
Don't be that hunter.
ps: One of the most exciting turkey hunts I ever experienced, was taking a nice, 22 lb. gobbler(Nice, average bird for this area) at about 12 yards. With a full-choked (jug choke), 12-gauge flintlock. Load: 80 gr. Goex Ffg/ 1 1/8 oz. #6 shot.
Called him in right off the roost. A couple of soft clucks on the box call....that's all. The tom flew out into the open field, landing about 40 yards from the edge of the bush. Waited, while he strutted and puffed his way back and forth, toward my decoy(Set at 10 yards from my blind). That took about twenty minutes. Then harvested him. A good set up. Patience and a bit of luck, and turkey was on
the menu.
Buy the best gun and choke, sights, etc., you can afford, if you like. But a good set of hunting skills is more important.
Also: if new to the sport, follow Alon's advice, and get Tom Kelly's book. I wish I'd had that guidance when I started turkey hunting, over 50 years ago. Would have saved making a lot of dumb mistakes.
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Having taken many with archery equipment really changed my opinions on turkey guns. I use light loads. Figure the average trap shooter hits clays about the average distance turkeys are shot. 25 to 40 yards and they do fine with 1oz of #7.5 on a flying target. An ounce of 6s at a standing head shouldn't be an issue to 35 yards with even a modified choke. The wings when folded against the body keep majority of the pellets out of the meat so that the neck and head are the only areas penetrated
I've used .650 choked 12ga all the way to 18.5" cylinder choked barrel on a dual pistol gripped Mossberg. Hunt within your limits set by your gear and your skill
I've seen alot of buddies get rattled shooting big heavy 3.5" loads so much that they flinch every shot and have completely missed big toms.
I've used .650 choked 12ga all the way to 18.5" cylinder choked barrel on a dual pistol gripped Mossberg. Hunt within your limits set by your gear and your skill
I've seen alot of buddies get rattled shooting big heavy 3.5" loads so much that they flinch every shot and have completely missed big toms.
brybenn: I've seen that, too. Shooters who develop a monster flinch, after shooting a handful of heavy, 3.5" loads from a bench rest. Then, when a shot presents itself at a gobbler....invariably, they tense up, close their eyes, jerk the trigger and away goes the bird.
I went to 3" loads briefly, during the late 1980's-early 1990's. More as an experiment...to see whether they performed any better/worse than my own 2 3/4" hand loads. 1 5/8-oz/#5 copper plated shot in the 3" hull(Remington), was found to be plenty, for gobblers. These were carefully tailored loads, using Ballistics Products wads, etc. This, after extensive testing up to 2-oz shot payloads and various hulls.
I abandoned that project after a couple of years...seeing no real benefit to absorbing the extra recoil, and went back to my previous loads. Which were at the time: 2 3/4"/1 1/4-oz loads of either #4 or #5. Pretty much the plain-Jane standard "duck" load, before the advent of steel shot. No brand preference, for hull. The gobblers didn't seem to notice the change and expired with the same enthusiasm.
By the mid- 90's, I cut back the loads even further, settling on 1 1/8-oz/#6 in the 2 3/4" hull, as being about ideal(at least for me). Especially at the ranges I normally took birds. Generally, 20 yards, or less. Gun of choice: a 1923 vintage, double-barrelled Flues-Model Ithaca shotgun. Which still sees action today. Exclusively, as a black powder cartridge gun. Originally choked full/modified(more like extra-full and full)...I had the left barrel opened up some years ago, to a passable improved cylinder. Right barrel is still as tight as ever. Punches a dense, fist-sized pattern into the paper, at 30 yards.
Or, a 12-gauge Remington 870 Express(purchased in the early 1980's). The gun....like its owner, showing some dents, scratches and wear, but still functional.
The rest of the time, I like to wander the woods with a Caywood, 12 gauge flinter. Which for the last decade and a half, has pretty much put turkey on the table, every year. Or, a Pedersoli side by side, 12 gauge front stuffer. Except for those odd times when I take one or another of the other guns out, when they start complaining too loudly about being neglected.
My take on turkey hunting is this: If a shooter prefers to go with a dedicated 'turkey' gun, chambered for either a 3" or 3.5" shot shell, ...that is entirely their choice. Best of success in their hunting adventures. Just be prepared for the recoil. A hunter can also do very well with a simple single shot, double barrel, pump or autoloading shotgun and regular, 2 3/4" shot shells. I do recommend adding optics, where possible. A 1-4, 2-7 power or similar scope sight is a good choice. This makes it easier to identify birds, especially at a distance, or in heavy cover. Also aids in precise pattern placement, with tightly choked guns.
I went to 3" loads briefly, during the late 1980's-early 1990's. More as an experiment...to see whether they performed any better/worse than my own 2 3/4" hand loads. 1 5/8-oz/#5 copper plated shot in the 3" hull(Remington), was found to be plenty, for gobblers. These were carefully tailored loads, using Ballistics Products wads, etc. This, after extensive testing up to 2-oz shot payloads and various hulls.
I abandoned that project after a couple of years...seeing no real benefit to absorbing the extra recoil, and went back to my previous loads. Which were at the time: 2 3/4"/1 1/4-oz loads of either #4 or #5. Pretty much the plain-Jane standard "duck" load, before the advent of steel shot. No brand preference, for hull. The gobblers didn't seem to notice the change and expired with the same enthusiasm.
By the mid- 90's, I cut back the loads even further, settling on 1 1/8-oz/#6 in the 2 3/4" hull, as being about ideal(at least for me). Especially at the ranges I normally took birds. Generally, 20 yards, or less. Gun of choice: a 1923 vintage, double-barrelled Flues-Model Ithaca shotgun. Which still sees action today. Exclusively, as a black powder cartridge gun. Originally choked full/modified(more like extra-full and full)...I had the left barrel opened up some years ago, to a passable improved cylinder. Right barrel is still as tight as ever. Punches a dense, fist-sized pattern into the paper, at 30 yards.
Or, a 12-gauge Remington 870 Express(purchased in the early 1980's). The gun....like its owner, showing some dents, scratches and wear, but still functional.
The rest of the time, I like to wander the woods with a Caywood, 12 gauge flinter. Which for the last decade and a half, has pretty much put turkey on the table, every year. Or, a Pedersoli side by side, 12 gauge front stuffer. Except for those odd times when I take one or another of the other guns out, when they start complaining too loudly about being neglected.
My take on turkey hunting is this: If a shooter prefers to go with a dedicated 'turkey' gun, chambered for either a 3" or 3.5" shot shell, ...that is entirely their choice. Best of success in their hunting adventures. Just be prepared for the recoil. A hunter can also do very well with a simple single shot, double barrel, pump or autoloading shotgun and regular, 2 3/4" shot shells. I do recommend adding optics, where possible. A 1-4, 2-7 power or similar scope sight is a good choice. This makes it easier to identify birds, especially at a distance, or in heavy cover. Also aids in precise pattern placement, with tightly choked guns.
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Exactly. I have a Mossberg 535 ATS all done up for turkey with a custom made choke and it's an amazing turkey gun but I rarely use it. Mostly I take a sxs with 7/8oz of copper plated #6 and I haven't lost a bird because of it. I thought about taking my Ithaca flues 4e trap gun turkey hunting if I can get the ejector fixed before the season starts. I'll likely be carrying a vintage aya 16 ga sxs or a 20ga sxs mostly this year. If it's a really nice day I may take my j.d. Dougal sidelever with the Damascus barrels. That's the best part about turkey hunting. Anything that meets the legal requirements can be used. Sometimes it's nice to just take a nice gun for a walk in the woods
