Turkey Hunting Shotgun

Slug870

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Evening all,

So it looks like I'm moving to Ontario this summer and I'm looking to get some advice on a new shotgun purchase geared towards turkey hunting (which I've never done). I'd appreciate some insight on what folks use for turkey hunting in terms of barrel length, choke, semi or pump etc. I'm looking at Benelli or a Remington 870; no others.

Thanks for any assistance!
 
Both great choices. Lots of turkey chokes out there. I have an HS Strut undertaker on my 870. It gets the job done. I have a 28 inch barrel. Choosing the right setup is the easy part in Ontario. Getting permission on farm land and finding public spots will be the real
Challenge. PM me if you’re in the gta.

Good luck.
 
Any tightly choked shotgun will work well. After that it’s just personal preference. I have a buddy in Georgia who has been using a .410 for years. Another guy I know, signed to Quaker Boy, uses a 20 gauge. I’ve shot them with pumps, vintage doubles and semis. As the previous poster mentioned, the gun is the easy part.
 
Both great choices. Lots of turkey chokes out there. I have an HS Strut undertaker on my 870. It gets the job done. I have a 28 inch barrel. Choosing the right setup is the easy part in Ontario. Getting permission on farm land and finding public spots will be the real
Challenge. PM me if you’re in the gta.

Good luck.

Thank you for your reply.

I'll be just SW of Barrie in Borden, so I don't think that's GTA yet, hahaha. I haven't been there in over 15years, so you never know. Perhaps I'll drop you a message when I get there; if not for a hunt then maybe just for some advice.

Best regards.
 
Any tightly choked shotgun will work well. After that it’s just personal preference. I have a buddy in Georgia who has been using a .410 for years. Another guy I know, signed to Quaker Boy, uses a 20 gauge. I’ve shot them with pumps, vintage doubles and semis. As the previous poster mentioned, the gun is the easy part.

Thank you for your reply, much appreciated.
 
Evening all,

So it looks like I'm moving to Ontario this summer and I'm looking to get some advice on a new shotgun purchase geared towards turkey hunting (which I've never done). I'd appreciate some insight on what folks use for turkey hunting in terms of barrel length, choke, semi or pump etc. I'm looking at Benelli or a Remington 870; no others.

Thanks for any assistance!

Barrel length won’t matter much. A good tight patterning choke and ammo combination are the important part.
You aren’t swing shooting them, so shorter barrels are easier to maneuver than a long barrel.
Get a setup with either iron sights, or which you can mount a red dot on.
Either tap a rail on the receiver, install a saddle mount, or get something with a cantilever on it.
 
Any tightly choked shotgun will work well. After that it’s just personal preference. I have a buddy in Georgia who has been using a .410 for years. Another guy I know, signed to Quaker Boy, uses a 20 gauge. I’ve shot them with pumps, vintage doubles and semis. As the previous poster mentioned, the gun is the easy part.
So true...
 
why limit yourself to only two brands - I would take a Mossberg 500 or the Maverick 88 over any Remington 870. I had a few of the newer ones and the quality isn't there as it was with the original wingmaster of days gone by. I ended up doing things to it (polishing chamber/replacing extractor) just to get it to shoot somewhat reliable. I guess to each their own
 
Any shotgun can be an effective turkey gun. In Ontario, the regulations require you use a minimum 20ga. with only #4,5,6 or 7 shot sizes permitted. Typically, a full or extra full/turkey choke is used, with heavy 3" or 3 1/2" loads of lead or, increasingly, non-toxic shot (tungsten, Hevi-shot, etc.). But, that is not required - we've killed several turkeys with a modified choke 20ga. with 2 3/4" loads and I've shot more than a dozen with a straight cylinder bore 20ga. flintlock and 1 1/8oz. of #6's.

So, any 20ga or larger with a choke of about modified or tighter will serve just fine. Shorter barrels are generally handier and pattern just as well as longer barrels, so if you're buying a gun specifically for turkeys I'd look at a 12ga. or 20ga. with a barrel of 21"-26", threaded for choke tubes and with a 3" chamber (or 3 1/2" if you really want). Turkey hunting should be a one shot game, but I'd recommend a pump or semi for a new hunter. Rem 870, Benelli Nova, Browning BPS, Mossberg 500/835, Winchester SXP, etc. - me are certainly better quality than others, but it doesn't really matter much for a 2 shot hunting season. Camo guns are nice, but not necessary. If you're a waterfowl hunter, you likely already own a gun that would serve well for turkeys.

For chokes and ammo, don't get too crazy or overthink it. A full choke with a quality 3" lead #5 or 6 load (I'm not a fan of 4's) will typically be plenty of medicine out to 30-35 yards or a bit more (it's a very good idea to pattern a couple different loads and confirm your effective range). I've seen more people miss turkeys by being over choked - they buy super extra full, construction specific name brand fancy packaging turkey chokes and spend way too much time trying to find a choke/ammo that will kill a turkey at 50++ yards. Then they have a gobbler come in properly and they miss at 15 yards because they have a pattern the size of a softball and the adrenaline has made them half blind so they forgot to aim small (or in some cases, they did aim but never patterned their gun at close range so didn't know it shoots high or left/right really close). I could go on forever about chokes and patterns for turkeys.

You'll likely find the biggest problem of turkey hunting is securing a property to hunt that has turkeys, not having to share it with other hunters (or trespassers) and then figuring out how it's done. The details of your gun are fun to think about, but as long as you're in the general ballpark as described, you're set to hunt.
 
Any shotgun can be an effective turkey gun. In Ontario, the regulations require you use a minimum 20ga. with only #4,5,6 or 7 shot sizes permitted. Typically, a full or extra full/turkey choke is used, with heavy 3" or 3 1/2" loads of lead or, increasingly, non-toxic shot (tungsten, Hevi-shot, etc.). But, that is not required - we've killed several turkeys with a modified choke 20ga. with 2 3/4" loads and I've shot more than a dozen with a straight cylinder bore 20ga. flintlock and 1 1/8oz. of #6's.

So, any 20ga or larger with a choke of about modified or tighter will serve just fine. Shorter barrels are generally handier and pattern just as well as longer barrels, so if you're buying a gun specifically for turkeys I'd look at a 12ga. or 20ga. with a barrel of 21"-26", threaded for choke tubes and with a 3" chamber (or 3 1/2" if you really want). Turkey hunting should be a one shot game, but I'd recommend a pump or semi for a new hunter. Rem 870, Benelli Nova, Browning BPS, Mossberg 500/835, Winchester SXP, etc. - me are certainly better quality than others, but it doesn't really matter much for a 2 shot hunting season. Camo guns are nice, but not necessary. If you're a waterfowl hunter, you likely already own a gun that would serve well for turkeys.

For chokes and ammo, don't get too crazy or overthink it. A full choke with a quality 3" lead #5 or 6 load (I'm not a fan of 4's) will typically be plenty of medicine out to 30-35 yards or a bit more (it's a very good idea to pattern a couple different loads and confirm your effective range). I've seen more people miss turkeys by being over choked - they buy super extra full, construction specific name brand fancy packaging turkey chokes and spend way too much time trying to find a choke/ammo that will kill a turkey at 50++ yards. Then they have a gobbler come in properly and they miss at 15 yards because they have a pattern the size of a softball and the adrenaline has made them half blind so they forgot to aim small (or in some cases, they did aim but never patterned their gun at close range so didn't know it shoots high or left/right really close). I could go on forever about chokes and patterns for turkeys.

You'll likely find the biggest problem of turkey hunting is securing a property to hunt that has turkeys, not having to share it with other hunters (or trespassers) and then figuring out how it's done. The details of your gun are fun to think about, but as long as you're in the general ballpark as described, you're set to hunt.

Excellent synopsis, thank you for that!
 
Spring turkey is awesome fun!
You will be hooked the moment you hear the massive gobbles come from the roost.

I still get that feeling everytime I see a field of birds in the off season...wife thinks im not hooked up because when we go anywhere I have fields I need to drive by to see birds lol

Get a good gun. Get a good turkey choke. Get a box of regular lead turkey loads and have fun.

Guy I hunt with use blinds.
I sit in the bush so i dont miss out on anything going on around me. I camo up and wait.

Get a variety of calls and practice. Lots of how to videos.

Learn how to use a mouth call!!!!!!

I will say semi's are a little more than you need plus their more money. Also for a new hunter theres the potential of a unwanted double shot. I mean under all the adrenaline pulling the trigger twice.
I prefer a pump.
Only once did I need a second shot to bring down a bird.
 
Pattern any gun you choose and hunt within its limits. Any legal gun is capable of killing a turkey. My last tom fell to a 3/4oz #6 loaded 2.5" shell from an old sxs hammergun. 95% of the fun of turkey hunting is getting out in the bush with a variety of guns
 
I Hunt from a small popup blind myself and like a short barrel semi 24" or less. Its easier to get out the window without bumping the blind.
 
21” 870 here. As mentioned, any shotgun with tight choke will take down Toms, but I like tinkering and customizing so I put a bit into my build.

It’s about that time of year I start talking myself into buying another turkey gun. Fighting the urge to build a 20ga 870 or Affinity with vintage bottomland or greenleaf camo.
 
The most important thing is to pattern your gun with different loads to see what works best with your choke. The mossberg i use with a primos titewad choke and winchester xx number 5s gives me an ideal pattern out to at least 40yrds. Of the three turkeys ive gotten in my 4 years of hunting them, i have never had to shoot further than 35yrds.

I have gotten 2 from a ground blind and 1 from next to a tree.

I use a primos box call as well as a simple push call (HS specialties i think). Both worked great.

I use avian x decoys but also used the primos gobblestopped combo, and just recently used the funky chicken. My dad uses the old flambeau foam cheapo decoys and they have worked as well.

Buy a bunch of those primos turkey targets (you can get them everywhere, i think they are 12packs) and pattern your gun at 20, 30, 40yrds to see what it does. Watch some youtube to see what a good pattern looks like. Each gun/choke combo will be different.

The most MOST important thing, is to hunt where there are turkeys.
 
It’s about that time of year I start talking myself into buying another turkey gun. Fighting the urge to build a 20ga 870 or Affinity with vintage bottomland or greenleaf camo.

We've "done up" a 21" 870 20ga as a dedicated turkey gun. Easy to carry, handy and kills 'em just as dead as the heavy canons. You need a 20ga turkey gun. Do. It. ;):cool:
 
Remington makes a 20” rifle sighted turkey barrel, I have one that came in a 3 barrel 870 combo. Is threaded for chokes and has fiber optic sights, the other two barrels just collect dust. I don’t hunt turkeys but I’ve shot a lot of grouse and rabbits with it and a mod choke, it’s hands down the most versatile and my favourite 870 barrel and I have a bunch ranging from 12.5” to 28”. The combo came with a x-full turkey choke but I’ve never used it, not much in my region for turkey hunting unfortunately.
 
Well I ended up getting a Remington 870 Express Shurshot Turkey 12 Gauge 3" 21" Barrel, comes with a Turkey Extra Full Rem™ Choke. A friend of mine has one and let me handle it and that made my decision.

I figure I'll slap a rail and a red dot on there, pick up some turkey shells and I should be ready to pattern.
 
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