Turkey shotgun recommendation

Benelli SBE II camo 12 gauge chambered for 3-1/2" shells, with a Trijicon RMR red dot sight mounted on it. So effective it should probably be illegal :). The only shotgun I've owned that was even better at this game was a Remington SP-10 with a 24" smoothbore barrel with iron sights on it. There's nothing quite like a 2-1/4 ounce load of #6 shot to ruin a gobbler's day.
 
I use a 20ga sometimes. Semi auto and sxs and ou. A 12 definitely provides an advantage over the 20 when shooting coyotes. However on turkeys they kill the same
 
I'd buy a Stevens 301 Turkey gun.

301-20ga-turkey-obession-rh-right-profile.png
Features:
  • Single-shot, break-action shotgun
  • Synthetic stock and fore-end with Mossy Oak Bottomland camo
  • 26-inch barrel optimized for Federal Premium® HEAVYWEIGHT TSS turkey loads
  • 3-inch chamber
  • Swivel studs on stock and fore-end
  • Removable one-piece rail for optional optic or red dot
  • Bead sight compatible with TruGlo® sight systems
  • Includes Extra-full choke tube (Win. choke pattern ½-32UN)
  • Manual hammer blocking safety
  • Recoil pad
 
SuperCub said:
I'd buy a Stevens 301 Turkey gun.

View attachment 1022911
Features:
  • Single-shot, break-action shotgun
  • Synthetic stock and fore-end with Mossy Oak Bottomland camo
  • 26-inch barrel optimized for Federal Premium® HEAVYWEIGHT TSS turkey loads
  • 3-inch chamber
  • Swivel studs on stock and fore-end
  • Removable one-piece rail for optional optic or red dot
  • Bead sight compatible with TruGlo® sight systems
  • Includes Extra-full choke tube (Win. choke pattern ½-32UN)
  • Manual hammer blocking safety
  • Recoil pad
Click to expand...
No one seems to have these in stock in Canada. I've had several dealers inquire about them with no luck
 
brybenn said:
No one seems to have these in stock in Canada. I've had several dealers inquire about them with no luck
Click to expand...
They were in stock at Cabela's Winnipeg a year or two back; dirt cheap too, I think under $300 on sale. I picked one up and use it in the backyard on House Sparrows and Starlings around the bird feeders and bluebird nestboxes. Mine's a 12-gauge; with the supplied turkey choke and #8 or #9 shot it produces stupidly dense, tight patterns at 20 - 30 yards. Works great without tearing huge holes in the foliage, easy to shoot close to feeders or branches without hitting them. I don't turkey hunt since moving to Manitoba, but did a lot of it in Ontario and this gun would be very effective with 4, 5 or 6 shot at longer distances.

The optics rail is screwed to a metal bar welded to the top of the barrel; take off the rail and you still have that big-ass bar in your field of vision, but as long as you use the rail and a red-dot you're golden. I wish the rail were a bit longer, but it works. If you're accustomed to the old H&R singles, the idiotic safety they have added to this gun can catch you off-guard once or twice until you get used to checking it, much like the cross-bolt safety on current Marlins.

I much prefer shorter barrels with actual iron sights for turkeys; I would usually be hunkered down into brush or tall grass and a big long barrel is tough to swing around without moving the greenery and attracting attention. The all-time greatest turkey gun I ever had was a 10-gauge H&R single-shot, a very heavy-barreled "goose gun" with I believe a 32-inch tube and fixed full choke. I had the barrel cut down to 20 or 22 inches and threaded for an ultra-tight turkey choke...Colonial, I think it was. It eventually had iron sights on it, as well as a short piece of pic rail screwed to the barrel in the forward "scout" position for either a scope or red dot. Absolutely loved that gun. Super compact and murder on turkeys.
 
jjohnwm said:
They were in stock at Cabela's Winnipeg a year or two back; dirt cheap too, I think under $300 on sale. I picked one up and use it in the backyard on House Sparrows and Starlings around the bird feeders and bluebird nestboxes. Mine's a 12-gauge; with the supplied turkey choke and #8 or #9 shot it produces stupidly dense, tight patterns at 20 - 30 yards. Works great without tearing huge holes in the foliage, easy to shoot close to feeders or branches without hitting them. I don't turkey hunt since moving to Manitoba, but did a lot of it in Ontario and this gun would be very effective with 4, 5 or 6 shot at longer distances.

The optics rail is screwed to a metal bar welded to the top of the barrel; take off the rail and you still have that big-ass bar in your field of vision, but as long as you use the rail and a red-dot you're golden. I wish the rail were a bit longer, but it works. If you're accustomed to the old H&R singles, the idiotic safety they have added to this gun can catch you off-guard once or twice until you get used to checking it, much like the cross-bolt safety on current Marlins.

I much prefer shorter barrels with actual iron sights for turkeys; I would usually be hunkered down into brush or tall grass and a big long barrel is tough to swing around without moving the greenery and attracting attention. The all-time greatest turkey gun I ever had was a 10-gauge H&R single-shot, a very heavy-barreled "goose gun" with I believe a 32-inch tube and fixed full choke. I had the barrel cut down to 20 or 22 inches and threaded for an ultra-tight turkey choke...Colonial, I think it was. It eventually had iron sights on it, as well as a short piece of pic rail screwed to the barrel in the forward "scout" position for either a scope or red dot. Absolutely loved that gun. Super compact and murder on turkeys.
Click to expand...

I don’t know why you don’t hunt turkey since moving to Manitoba. Great opportunities in the Pembina River valley. .
 
Know your shotgun, shoot some paper, skeet, sporting clays so you know your exact POINT OF IMPACT with your equipment and test it a various distances. Someone i know head shoots turkeys with 1oz #6 reloads, better than some I know that shoot 3” bombs with the accompanying flinch.
 
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