New turkey gun

Question. If you was going to buy a new shotgun for turkey season what would it be? Brand, semi auto, pump, 3in or 3 1/2 thanks.

Provided that I could find one I would go with a 20 semi. Set up to shoot TSS

I bought a new browning a5 wicked wing and i love it

Id rather stay with a 12ga. Ive been looking at the stoger m3000 and m3500 but i can only find them in duck camo patterns.

Id be torn between these 2 pumps
Remington 870 12 or 20
Winchester 1300

Most importantly hold the gun and see how it feels to you.

If I didn't have a gun suitable for turkey I'd go with an 870 super mag and use the money I saved to buy a choke and a few boxes of shells.

And i have shotguns for other things so this will be dedicated for turkeys. Probably gonna be hard finding a Remington since they went down.

CZ Bobwhite or Stevens 555E

Probably 28 ga

Browning Sweet 16

A dedicated turkey gun and you want semi-auto, hmmm: Beretta A400 camo mossy oak; Benelli M2; Franchi Affinity. You could save some money and get a Remington 1100 with a 28” barrel or an 11-87 or even a Browning Gold Hunter. The 1100 may not shoot the new shells, TSS, but it shoots the old copper stuff so well you wont miss it.

Beretta a400 lite compact 20 gauge

Yep, been looking, but not looking too hard

Go 870. 20 or 12. Built like a tank

Been looking at the Weatherby in a 20. I’ve toted my SBE 2 w/28” barrel long enough. Think I’m ready to go to a dedicated 20 gauge, wouldn’t mind getting something me and my son can use

If you’re looking for a cheap semi auto 20 gauge, I just bought my son a Weatherby SA-08. They are all phased out except for the youth models, which you can find online at Buds for under $500. It functions just fine and has stock adjustment shims that can be used to fit the drop/etc better for an adult. It is not drilled for optics, however, but I bet you can get a set of Truglow front and rear fiber sights to fit that rail width. My son shot it with 3” heavy duck loads with no issue (he’s 11)

You’ll have to pry my 24” Winchester 1300 from my cold dead hands. I actually got a Stoeger 3020 that was going to be my primary gun and shoot TSS through it, but I just can’t bring myself to swap. The Stoeger has been relegated to wing shooting gun and backup/loaner Turkey gun for buddies.

In fact I’m probably about to have the Winchester dipped in either old bottomland or Greenleaf.

If you have any heart you will sell that 3020. I will be glad to take it off your hands. I'll also take a discount for it going to my sons.

Thanks

Orion understands. 2 barrels, 2 chokes, 2 choices. 5 lbs 6 oz. No worries about your gun loading the second shell. Much easier to load and unload, and you can do it quietly. If you use TSS, a 28 gauge is plenty, though mine is a 20 gauge. I can see using a pump or auto loader if that is what you already have, but as a dream gun? Nawww. Aim higher.

I bid CZ reduce length 20ga OU.

Winchester super x3

As usual, PCP speaks the truth.

H and r single shot 10 gauge youth model with a leupold fixed 4x heavy duplex slinging tss #4s. Because I don’t like the way they look at me.

Nice Pic poorcountrypreacher

I shot the Mossburg 835 for 30 years and it whipped my butt - the SBE 2 was huge upgrade - I will use that mostly

I did my the stevens 20 gauge this year I will try some - got to go pattern

I don't know why anybody would shoot a 12 gauge anymore honestly now that TSS is commercially available. Other than duck hunting (thanks to the Feds) I have no use for a 12 gauge anymore

Agreed. Heavier gun, more kick. My daughter has a 870 compact and I use a compact auto in 20 ga. She got to put her own custom paint job on it to make it her own.

If you like the Stoger I wouldn’t let the duck hunting patterns make you not like one. In the woods I don’t think it matters

a bunch of rookies on here that don't mind toting a heavy 12 ga up and down hills.

a 12 is unnecessary in this age of TSS, I don't know why anyone would tote one today.

THIS

^^^this^^^

and if it really bothered you, buy the black version which will be around $100 less than the camo, and have it dipped in the pattern of your choosing for $150ish...

Honestly, get a gun that fits your style and budget. If you want to save up and get a specified "turkey gun," by all means get that Benelli M2. If you want to save money and get a gun that can do the job, get a Remington 870. I shot one for years and still do from time to time. And remember, it is still ok to be a man and tote a 12 gauge in the turkey woods.

Maybe not with the availability of commercial loads, but if you roll your own there are a few reasons to still to grab a 12 ga out of the gun safe, especially if you load them with light payloads (<1.75 oz). You can push them at higher speeds, have them pattern more easily and consistently with a wider variety of chokes, and have less recoil than a sub-gauge shooting an equal payload (assuming the 12 weighs more).

I grab a 20 ga most days, but reach for an old friend and feed it 1.5 oz shells almost as often.

It's a personal preference. I dont shoot TSS and I carry a 12ga. If anybody that has sworn off the 12ga has 3" turkey shells I will happily take them.

I still tote me 870 12 gauge and shoot tss. The 870 12 gauge doesn’t weigh hardly anything already. I’m too cheap to buy a secondary shotgun just for turkeys.

. Too many old guns that I still carry for nostalgia sake. The fit of those new guns is just not the same as the old stuff, I have a Browning Gold Hunter I bought in 05-06, it just sits on the shelf compared to the ones from a different time.

And that's a dang good reason to carry a 12 gauge. The only advantage that a 20 gauge has is that it's lighter to carry. That makes the 20 a good choice for women, children, and old men. I fall into one of those categories so I carry a 20.

You can tune a 12 to kill turkeys further than any 20 can if that's what you wanna do, or you can tune it to have a wider kill pattern at closer range, giving more room for error. I think that most turkey hunters would benefit far more from the wider pattern than the tightest choke possible, but that ain't cool so few do it.

i’m one of the few — learned my lesson w/tight chokes & LB XR’s when I missed a bird 3 times right in front of me ... i need all the margin of error i can get ...

I agree with this. I've shot way more birds under 10 yards than I ever have over 40. Probably more under 10 than over 30. I don't want a really tight pattern.

It makes sense that as a person ages a lighter gun would be better. But, that hasn't happened with the older hunters I know. Most don't even have slings for their guns and are still using the same guns they have since the 60s or 70s.

They have turkeys in Ireland?

. I get hammered when I talk about carrying an old model 12, 12 gauge with a full choke. Nope, it doesn't have a sling, and my uncle started using it in the 40's, I started carrying it in 1974.

GomerPyle & I used to work with a guy that turkey hunted with his grandfather's old Browning shotgun; modified or improved cylinder & he shot heavy dove loads ... he had success in the woods -- but he had to wait for the birds to get right on top of him before he'd shoot ... he told me he saw many birds walk away -- but he just enjoyed his times in the woods; killing one was just a bonus ...

i'm not saying i subscribe to his method -- just sharing -- different strokes for different folks ...

That is the same gun I hunted with for many years. My grandfather got it from montgomery ward (if think) in the 1920's. The choke is not too tight anymore probably from all the slugs shot out of it. It fed a family from the 30's until the early 60's and then killed a lot of game after that too. It was even used to guard RR Bridges in WW2.

Guess I should man up and kill a couple with it this year, but that sling is easy to get used to.

I am a 12 toter - spent enough on SbE2 and it light to me - I will try the stevens 20 but 12 will b my main

And if u still carry a heavy 10 I don’t care 😀

I remember last year seeing a box of 3.5" 10ga TSS on a store shelf (Apex, maybe?)....my shoulder hurt just looking at it on the shelf...

Yea that would be awful Gomer

The 835 ultra mag mossburg wore me out - shucks that way too long

I've had 2 10 gauges. A bps stalker and an Sp10 remington. They both kicked less than an 870 or other light 12 gauge 3.5 inch gun.

Well hell, they weighed 20 pounds apiece

yep

I had browning 10 for short while - shot great and killed birds with it. I had to hold u on gobbler long time shortly after I got it - felt like it bout broke my wrist - wounded Turkey at 20 steps and I stopped hunting w that gun - sold it - very heavy