Need advice on a turkey gun

I couldn't be any happier with my SBE rig for turkey hunting. Been using it 10 seasons now, and couldn't ask any more of a shotgun. Except one thing - its a huge hassle to load and unload it every time I move when hunting on the WMA. Sometimes I'm only gonna move 1/4 mile on a dirt road and I know I'm the only person for miles, but the regs say the gun has to be completely unloaded when in the truck.

The only solution I can think of for this awful dilemma is to buy a double barrel. I'm pretty good at coming up with excuses to buy a gun.

Only problem is, a gun like a want is hard to find, and may not even exist. All my handloads are 3.5" and I'm not gonna change that, so a 3.5" chamber is a must. Even though I'm using the long hulls, the loads aren't that hot, so recoil won't be a big deal. I'd prefer a SxS, but I'm not sure anybody makes one with a 3.5" chamber. I also wonder if I could find one that would shoot both barrels to the same POI. And the gun needs to be a reasonable price; this is gonna mainly be a backup gun and I don't want a fancy gun anyway. So does anybody know of such a gun? Be nice if it was already camo too, but I can always have it dipped.

Since an appropriate SxS is probably unlikely, I guess I need to consider an O/U. There is one imported from Turkey by an outfit called Tristar, but I'm leery of a turkish shotgun. I know there were some Browning Citoris made in 3.5", and that's probably gonna be my best hope. I think n2deer uses one, no?

And here is another essential - I'm nearly blind, so I gotta be able to mount a Burris FF on it. Is there enough metal on the rib to drill it for a Marlin 336 mount? If not, I guess an Aimtech Ribrider would work, though I'm not sure how well.

You guys help me out; this place is dead and we need some good arguments going again.

Steve if a 12g 3.5 is a must then look at the browning citori or the beretta ( its a 686 I think, but cant remember for sure) I know they make 3.5. I wouldn't buy the tristar either.

Im shooting the 3 2oz loads in my 3.5s. Im sure they would be comparable to the loads your shooting, but they dont look as cool.

Im really unaware of a 3.5 SxS. But have read that they are better on the POA versus POI.
To be honest I havent experienced much problems out to 60 after that you better have your angle set right anyway.

At 40 my center of the pattern has moved around 4-6 inches at 40 yards with my citori and BC can guarantee that he hasn't experienced any problems with the impact.

I would suggest dipping a gun, it will not limit your options as much. If you want camo factory, the browning and the tristar are probably the only options



Did you see the rid mount that Spuriosity has, it might be a good option?

Thanks for the info! After looking around, it looks like there was a now bankrupt co called American Arms that imported a SxS Turkey Special with 3.5" chambers, but they got sued for something and went out of business. It seems that Tristar bought out what was left of them, but won't honor their warranty. I saw one that sold at an online auction back in Feb, but did't see any available anywhere now. I got the feeling that I would be real lucky to find a cheap SxS that would shoot both barrels to the same spot anyway.

I believe that is one of the Aimtech rib riders on the gun in the pic. I guess I need to go to OG and ask him.

So do both barrels on your gun shoot to the same point? I wasn't sure if you meant there is 4-6" difference in them at 40?

Preacher I can unload the mag on mine by pushing the tab on the inside of the mag. I do that and then jack the one out of the chamber and I am done. I have an old SBE 10+ years old.

Yes on the 4-6 drop at 40 yards with the bottom barrel. I think its really common. I also think that it dont matter much for turkey hunting, unless your expect a 75 yard shot then i would expect to be hitting feet and maybe dirt.
Ask me how i know??

At 10 yards they touch.
When you have a six inch difference at forty with a twenty inch pattern it shouldnt be a problem. I havent patterned the bottom barrel for drop st 60, but i have killed two birds with it at 60 with my bottom barrels.


These are just my thoughts, not impling the best route to go.

All that's too much trouble when you gotta do it 4 or 5 times in a morning. It's just an insurmountable difficulty.

Yea, 6" won't matter if its no worse than that. My idea is to put an ic or mod choke in one barrel for shots under 30 yards, and then a choke like I'm using now in the other barrel.

And its so easy to unload it and load it! Definitely reason enough to need another gun.

Thanks for the help. Guess I'll look around for a suitable gun for the project.

yikes, yer to dang old to be changing guns now.....

Its only to use on the WMA. I'm too old to have to load and unload the gun so much. Some day I'm gonna forget if I'm supposed to be loading or unloading.

Its a dang stupid rule anyway that I can't just leave shells in the magazine of the SBE. If I wanted to road hunt, I could throw a shell in the open chamber faster than I could cycle one out of the magazine. Who thinks up all these rules?

not me I promise ya....

I unloaded my chamber on my 870 once to move places(NOT WMA). Upon arrival I walked 50 yards from the truck and hooted...a bird gobbled just BEHIND the truck! I ran to the truck, wife handed me my vest and gun and I scooted maybe 25 yards from the truck and sat down. I yelped once and the bird cut me at maybe 50 yards. Couple of minutes and I was looking at him coming at 25 yards.

I pulled the trigger and..SNAP...no loadee the chamber. I yelped, jacked the action and shot him as he tried to figger out if he should gobble or run. Wife heard the gun click from the truck.

troy

I have looked at getting a new gun myself, a 20 ga. If one of those Browning made Model 12 20ga would shoot 3" shells I'd already have one.

Been thinking on redoing my old(45 years) double 20ga. It has 3" chambers, just would have to get the barrels fitted for screw in chokes. Already has a sling and a warthog ivory front bead.

troy

That sounded like fun.

I haven't ever snapped on one, but several times I've tried to unload the gun when getting back in the truck, only to discover the chamber was empty.

You could start loading tss and probably get a good pattern with the fixed chokes.

After reading a few hours, looks like this project may be too much trouble and expense. I might try something similar to what you are thinking - fix up my grandfather's old Stevens 311. Might do a little testing with it to see how to shoots first. I've shot doves and quail with it, but never tested turkey shells in it.

ten er so years ago I bought a Stevens double. Made in 1937, it read "Stevens Tool & Die Co".12 ga, 2 3/4 30" full and full, a very nice looking gun. I killed a bad old gobbler near Leeds with it and then gave it to a friend for Christmas. Damn near made him cry

troy

Its definately a costly adventure.

If you wanted a camo 3.5 that only is around 1700-2000. The citori I bought was about 1200 after I camoed it.


I plan to hunt with that little 20g stoeger o/u I have next year alot.

I have also had my eye on one of these to make into a turkey gun. Its a CZ Bobwhite 20g with 26 inch barrels, comes with removable choke set up. I would probably get a gunsmith to add some sights.

Steve, if you go 28 ga, you'll never go back to 12 ga 3.5".

Here's my next turkey gun purchase.

http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores...1139+4294963055

Preach, at some point one has to ask, "How much is the fine for carrying loaded?"

Hal what do you intend to do about a choke. Factory full?

My thoughts exactly, exactly how hard is it to unload that SBE preacher?

Hal, thats a fine looking gun for sure....

troy

That's an interesting gun; I personally don't like the straight stock, but that's just me. I could see it being a lot of fun to set up a 20 SxS, maybe this project will head that direction eventually. Every turkey hunter needs a good summer gun project.

>>>>Steve, if you go 28 ga, you'll never go back to 12 ga 3.5".

Here's my next turkey gun purchase.

http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores...1139+4294963055<<<

Those are nice looking guns, Hal, and seem to get better reviews than the Tristar. And Academy is easy to deal with and would probably stand behind it. I doubt I'm gonna drop all the way down to a .410 anytime soon, and probably not a 28 either. But a good SxS 20 is sounding more and more interesting. Problem is, nobody seems to make one like I want.

My first hunting when I was 9 was done with a Winchester SxS .410. It belonged to a neighbor, and he was willing to sell it for $40. I begged and begged my dad to buy it for me, but he said a 20 would be more useful and he would buy me one when I was a little bigger, and then I'd have a gun that I could hunt deer and turkey with. That little .410 is probably worth $5k today; sure wish he had bought it for me. But I always thought that a shotgun ought to be a SxS double trigger like the .410. When I was 15, I bought a very cheap Spanish made 12 gauge SxS, and I really loved that gun. It fit me perfectly, and I killed lots of doves and quail with it before it completely fell apart and wouldn't shoot anymore. I never owned another SxS until I inherited Pop's old 311.

>>>Preach, at some point one has to ask, "How much is the fine for carrying loaded?"<<<<
>>>My thoughts exactly, exactly how hard is it to unload that SBE preacher?<<<

You guys are reasoning like wimmen. A gun oughta fit perfectly for whatever its intended task might be. When its not able to do the job perfectly, you need another gun. Unloading the auto so much is a hassle; the task requires a new gun. My logic is sound.

Fixing up the 311 would sure be the cheapest approach. I didn't want a 3.5" chamber for any reason other than the fact that I didn't want have to keep up with more than one type of turkey shell. I guess I could re-think that requirement and see if I can figure out some kind of load for the 2.75" chamber in the old Savage. Its got 26" barrels, with an IC and Mod fixed chokes. Hey Hal - you reckon I could find a recipe that would give me decent tss patterns with it? I remember shooting a few 3" loads with the mod choke in the SBE and they weren't all that impressive. But that was with your original load and I know a lot of progress has been made since then.

It might be possible to have it fitted for screw-in chokes. I asked a gunsmith about it once and he wasn't sure there was enough metal in the barrels to do it. The 311 would lend itself to a mount for a sight very well. The rib is solid and runs the length of the barrels. I already have a FF sight, so a mount is all I'd need.

Thanks for all the replies. At least the thread gave us something to talk about.

I've got a growing stable of loads, including a 2 oz 2-3/4" that is sweet. You'd be welcome to any of them you want. You might have to keep shots to within 50-55 yds with the mod choke though...

LOL, I think I could live with that. Thanks for the offer, Hal. I may give you a call about it. It would be nice to be able to use the old gun for something.

You know, I think for folks shooting TSS, they'll soon start to realize opening up the choke quite a bit is probably a good way to go - unless they are taking very long shots.

For example, taking a batch of TSS 9s which are running small, say 420/oz, you still get 15 to 20 yds additional effective range per pellet, over Hevi-13 #7s, and the same energy as lead #5s. But at that size, instead of 550 pellets with a 2 oz load of Hevi-13 7s or 340 pellets with lead #5s, you get a whopping 840 pellets with the TSS 9s in that 2 oz 2-3/4" load I was mentioning. So, you have a pellet with very good energy to 60 yds, but way overkill on the pellet count if you choke it tight. So, you can open up the pattern to significantly reduce the possibility of misses at normal ranges, while still having enough pattern and energy to kill every time at farther than normal ranges. Lots of fresh possibilities accompany a load like that, including things like mod and IC chokes.

Ya'll TSS guys are determined to make me swap over to the dark side aren't you? Ya'll make me feel like I can't kill a turkey with Nitro's sometimes That stuff sure is impressive.

Dumb question.

I know most of you guys crimp roll your TSS. Would a shotshell reloader not be the easiest and fastest way to load TSS or anything else?

Since loading for my rifles I am now a little intrigued with loading for my turkey gun.

The only thing you need a loader for is to crimp the shells. Everything else is done by hand. It is a little faster to fold crimp them with a loader.

Ned, with these high powered turkey loads its much more precise to weigh everything by hand.

Even using a press, you still should hand weigh everything. IMO

Like I said, I am dumb on shotshell reloading. I figured everything was done by hand, but the crimping part is what I wondered about. I was thinking everyone crimped the shells manually by hand, which you may do. I saw a shotshell reloader by itself a while back and it was cheap, like $50 cheap used. I can see the needing to weigh it precisely vs. a automatic load drop.

hell has frozed over...3toe is checking on TSS loads!!!!!!!!

troy

Wait! Check my prior post. I said TSS "or anything else".

I roll crimp but would prefer to have the regular star crimp. The roll crimp sometimes causes problems with my length.

Mainly on my twenty gauges. Im shooting 3 inch for my 12g in a 3.5 inch gun. The 20g with the roll crimp will cycle in one of my pumps but not another.

>>>So, you can open up the pattern to significantly reduce the possibility of misses at normal ranges, while still having enough pattern and energy to kill every time at farther than normal ranges. Lots of fresh possibilities accompany a load like that, including things like mod and IC chokes.<<<

Exactly! And the beauty of the double is that you can set up one barrel for the 25 yd shot and the other with a turkey choke. All 4 of the turkeys I killed this year were inside of 30 yards and I didn't hit 2 of them very solidly. Fortunately, it doesn't take many hits from a tss #8 to kill one.

I spent a little time looking at the 311 today, and decided making it into a turkey gun is probably a bad idea. It just wasn't made for that.

So maybe the best project is a 20 gauge. It would sure be nice to carry a 5 lb gun up and down the mountains of the Coosa WMA. I think I'm gonna look into one of the Yildiz that Academy sells. They offer a 20 gauge SxS for under $500. 2 big questions on it - how likely will I be able to get both barrels to shoot to the same POI, and is there enough metal to mount a Burris FF on it? The O/U would probably come closer to meeting both requirement, but I really want a SxS. I don't suppose any of you guys have ever looked at one of these?

3-toe, I use an ancient Pacific loader to crimp my 3.5" shells. It was designed for 2.75" only, but a little modifying allows me to crimp the longer shells just fine. If I tackle the 20 gauge project, I'll have to roll crimp them.

Getting both barrels to shoot to the same POI is an interesting problem. There's a good chance of a negative. But if one barrel is for close in with a wide pattern, you probably would not ever notice in the turkey woods.

Thia is the way I see it.

Steve I looked at those also, but the major concern for me was having good choke options. I know everything shoots fairly good with tss but like to have that option with chokes.

Case in point.

In January I shot a bird with my CZ Woodcock O/U (28 ga). I had the top barrel with a Briley's XF choke, and the bottom barrel with the factory flush mount full choke. The top barrel shoots right on the money at 40 yds, while the bottom barrel is about 6" low at that distance.

The bird came in to about 30ish yds, and I elected to use the bottom barrel on him. I aimed (just using a single bead) dead at the middle of his neck, completely ignoring the 6" low POI at 40 yds, and pulled the trigger. The bird never flopped. I was shooting 9s, and there was only evidence of 3 or 4 pellets hitting breast meat. One was still in the bird. Of course, there could have been more that hit his breast, but those nines don't leave easily-seen holes when they pass through. But the point being, the barrel's 40 yd 6" low POI didn't matter at all at 29 yds.

Guess it would depend on how far apart they shot. And the only way to know is to buy the gun and test it. I've noticed that a lot of folks in parts of the country that don't have an Academy want to buy one of these; I could probably sell it at Gunbroker and get most of my money back if I wasn't satisfied.


>>>>Steve I looked at those also, but the major concern for me was having good choke options. I know everything shoots fairly good with tss but like to have that option with chokes.<<<

The gun I'm looking at has the Mobil choke system used for Benelli/Beretta:

http://www.yildizshotgun.com/31e.html

I'd think I could find most any brand of turkey choke that would fit it. Am I reading this wrong? That's the Yildiz site; I've noticed Academy doesn't mention the choke system in their adds.

That's a good story, Hal. I don't think up and down would be too big of an issue. Its R-L that could make the gun hard to hunt with, and I know that SxS guns often have R/L issues.

I think the bigger problem with Yildiz is likely to be not enough metal to mount my sight. I guess I could get a gunsmith to braze the mount to the barrel, but that would make it strictly a turkey gun forever.

Hey PCP, your not slipping on your calling or ya? Why would anyone want to carry one of those 3.5" "logs" around in the woods to shoot a turkey with, unless they feel the need to shoot at them at longer distances.

nice post autsix....

it's early but I think I'll have a beer and some popcorn and wait for an answer.....

troy

I am slipping on my calling, my shooting, my walking, my hearing, and a whole lot of other areas that I really don't want to talk about.

By the time my dad was my age, he could still kill a turkey, but he was starting to slip in his effectiveness. By the time he was 5 years older than me, he rarely killed one. The last years he hunted, he had almost no chance. I don't see any reason to think I'm likely to be any different, so yes, I will use whatever technology I can to remain an effective hunter. But here's my kill totals the last 4 years - 11,10,7,4. I think you might notice a trend here.

But I been toting the SBE for the past 10 years, so its not exactly a new thing. Its always been my philosophy to hit a turkey as hard as possible and make sure he doesn't get away; nothing worse than a wounded turkey in the woods. Shooting the tss is what makes a turkey gun really lethal; doesn't matter what kind of gun too much.

But this thread is headed toward switching to a smaller gun, so I don't quite understand why you ask about the big gun in it? Of course, the SBE is very light compared to most turkey guns, so I guess its "big" only in the sense of performance.

But thanks for the tone of your question!

I have been really interested in this thread and following it. I want to have dedicated 20ga turkey slayer myself but right now I want an auto. Finances are a factor. If it wasn't, a Benelli Montefeltro and a camo job would be my choice. Right now, I have to stay under $500 and most semi's I am finding are made in Turkey or some other forsaken place. I am not buying a hunk of junk. Looking like I will have to wait and save some more.

These O/U you guys are talking about do have me listening though.

I've always entertained the idea of using a Beretta 686 onyx 20 ga (I shoot one for quail hunting) and patterning it as well as trying varying chokes and dedicate it to turkey hunting. It shoots 3" and only weighs 6.5 lbs or so. I had a Biologist buddy of mine that used one for years and loved it. Howeve, I need to miss a few more with my Benelli before I switch over

Yildiz did a limited run of 12 ga SXS chambered in 3 1/2 but they are hard to find.


http://www.guntrader.co.uk/Guns-For-Sale/Yildiz_Shotgun_For-Sale_111015163254001

Here's a 10 ga 3.5 SxS

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=290297317

I wouldnt want to shoot it but thats a good buy and good looking gun.

Just funning ya PCP, I understand the tribulations, exactly. I try not to give them a chance either.

BC, I wonder if that 12 gauge was ever even sold in the USA? Yildiz makes a lot of other models besides the few that Academy imports, and apparently Academy is the sole importer right now. They make a 20 gauge SxS with double triggers that I would prefer over the single trigger, but its not sold here.

You guys are giving me great ideas on my next turkey gun. I can't find any kind of 20 gauge SxS that compares with the Yildiz in weight. At 5.3 lbs, that's gonna be hard to beat. The gun probably won't hold up well to skeet shooters that put 1000s of rounds thru it every year, but I probably wouldn't shoot the thing 100 times in my life.

So I'm thinking about buying one, getting my gunsmith to cut about 4" off the 28" barrels and getting overall length down to 40". then rethreading it for Remington chokes or some other common brand. Get him to do whatever is necessary to mount the FFIII; that might require some welding in addition to drilling and tapping. Smooth the trigger to break at about 3.5 lbs, then have it camo dipped. Get Hal to sell me some more #9 tss and that 1 and 7/8 oz recipe he has, and do a little testing to find the right chokes. Definitely want an open choke on one barrel and a turkey choke on the other. Install swivels and a sling.

Sounds like the ultimate turkey gun for an old man that's quickly getting older. Oughta be close to 5 lbs and 40" long.

With my luck, I'd do all that and the barrels would shoot 2' apart at 40. Somebody talk me outa this.

Don't do it preacher, save the money and go out of state next year.

Did that change your mind? I tried

How come you like a side by side so much better than an O/U preacher? I guess the twin triggers would be better since you wouldn't have to think about flipping a swith to get the correct barrel to shoot. I'd get those triggers worked down to about 2 pounds of pull.....that's one of the best things I've ever had done to my turkey gun.

You could probably get the gunsmith to fix that while he's doing all the other stuff.

I just pulled the trigger on the Yildiz .410. Hopefully the thing will shoot tight enough with the full choke barrel to suit me.... because I don't want a gunsmith to do anthing to it but cut the stock to fit me better. I may end up getting the barrels threaded for Remington chokes, but we shall see....

No, but a nice try!

>>>How come you like a side by side so much better than an O/U preacher? I guess the twin triggers would be better since you wouldn't have to think about flipping a swith to get the correct barrel to shoot. I'd get those triggers worked down to about 2 pounds of pull.....that's one of the best things I've ever had done to my turkey gun.<<<

I don't know the answer to your question, I just do. Probably goes back to my first hunting with the SxS .410 and I'm trying to recreate my youth or something. Some egghead shrink could probably tell you what lurks within my head, but I can't.

Yea, the double triggers would make it much easier to make a quick selection on the barrel. If a turkey pops up 10 yards away, I'm gonna shoot him with whatever barrel its set on. But anytime I've got the gun on my knee, I've got the safety off and would have the barrel selected. In most cases I could keep it on the open barrel; for a longer shot there should be time to switch to the tighter choke. But Murphy's Law could certainly come into play here. There's just not a really light SxS made at anything resembling a reasonable price that has double triggers. And I can't see the point in fixing up a 7 lb 20 gauge; my SBE weighs 7 lbs.

My rifles all break around 3 to 3.5; I've always been afraid to set them much lower than that for safety reasons. And I spend a lot of time turkey hunting with the safety off. I sure would like to get the trigger reduced on the SBE, but haven't ever tried. Its probably 6 or so.

>>>I just pulled the trigger on the Yildiz .410. Hopefully the thing will shoot tight enough with the full choke barrel to suit me.... because I don't want a gunsmith to do anthing to it but cut the stock to fit me better. I may end up getting the barrels threaded for Remington chokes, but we shall see....<<<

You bought it? So how were the triggers? Tell me more!

I meant I just placed the order yesterday. I won't have it for a while, but I'll keep you posted...

Just got a call from Academy, saying they have discontinued shipping guns to FFL dealers for the time being. Unbelievable. They had no explanation as to why. I wonder what is going on....

There goes my new turkey gun down the drain...

I didnt know they did that anyway.

Sorry to hear that, Hal. Go to Shotgunworld and look in the Yildiz forum, and you will see some discussions on this issue. Somebody was talking about a way around it using Academy gift cards, but that made no sense to me and I have no idea how it works.

So how far is it to the nearest Academy for you? As much as you travel, can't you just buy one on a trip?

Went ahead and bought it. Here's what it looks like with the Burris FF3 on it. Note that its just sitting on there and the rib is gonna hafta be drilled and tapped to mount it. I'm planning to send it to William at SumToy to put on the mounting bracket for the sight, cut 4" off the barrels, and then install Remington choke threads. Then I'll buy a couple of his turkey chokes, getting one pretty tight and one pretty open. Hal, what kind of constriction do I need for tss #9 in a 20 gauge? I want the right barrel to be nice and wide and deadly at 30 yards, with enough density to still kill him at 40. Then the left barrel as tight as is reasonable.

If all of this gets done and I'm happy with how it shoots and think I'm gonna use it a lot, then I'll send it off to be camo dipped. If I'm not all that happy with it, I'll use camo paint on it myself.

Thanks for all the help from everyone!

Looks good preacher

Without going through it all again, what is the gun? And does it have double triggers. I cant tell.

Its a Yildiz, 20 gauge with single trigger. Yildiz makes a double trigger, but Academy doesn't import it.

The gun's future depends entirely on whether or not the gunsmith thinks he can securely mount the sight. If he can't, then its not a turkey gun. It would be good for shooting pen-raised quail. I do that about once a year with my uncle.

Nice! I like it!

With most 20s, the 9s like .570 to .585. If you're going to thread it for Remington, you should try the Rem Super Full with it. It's about .570+. If you want it real tight, an Indian Creek .555 will do the job nicely.

I put two carlsons 575 in my O/U. It will put the 8s around 200 and i never counted the 9s. They kill to 60 yards.

I did shoot one to pattern amd it was easily over 300. I just really didnt see a point in counting them. I have shot enough birds with them to know.

Im sure i will count one one day. Cause i will check my sights again next year. I think the carlsons were 15-16 bucks apiece.

Brandon, is that the flush mount .575? I put a Carlson flush mount .575 on one of my son's Benelli Novas, and he gets mid 200s with the 1-7/16 oz load, while my other son put an Undertaker on his and gets high 200s with that same load. Out of my Rem 870, I get 260ish with that load and 320+ with the 1-5/8 oz load, and 375ish with the 1-7/8 oz load. The Benelli/Undertaker gives 300+ with the 1-5/8 oz load. Those all have 26" barrels, which is what I like for the 20 gauge.

Its the extended turkey tube i have.

I could be wrong but i seen enough patterns, im thinking it should around that 300+. Which should be good, i feel it almost gets to ridiculous trying for better than that.

Im thinking my batrels were 20 inches.

I havent tried the mossberg 500, i have a 570 in it. These are all invector chokes.


Steve does that gun have a barrel selector?

>>>Im thinking my batrels were 20 inches.<<<

Man, that's short! Have you checked the velocity on those short barrels? Maybe 24" is too long for mine, especially with extended chokes.

>>>Steve does that gun have a barrel selector?<<<

Yes, you have to select the barrel before you take the safety off. If you change your mind, you gotta take it off safe, move it over to re-select the barrel, then take it off safe again.

Anybody ever used Trulock chokes? They are one of the very few that offer Yildiz chokes.

http://www.trulockchokes.com/get-chokes....okes=See+Chokes

I could get a .581 for the left barrel and a .591 for the right. The Yildiz bore is supposed to run .626, so that would be 92.8% for the tight barrel and 94.4% for the open. Those number are in line with what most are getting good tss results.

Haven't heard back from William; installing the FF may not work. I've spent some time looking at it, and I think it would be somewhat usable for me if I just put a tru-glo front bead on it. I never could get a clear view of the front bead with the bi-focals that I used for years, but I can with the progressives that I have now. I can't line up 2 beads; if the front is clear, I see about 3 beads on the rear. But if I have just a highly visible front bead, getting the up-down picture should be easy. You've either got a fine bead that hits the target or you can't see it. Right-left could still be a challenge.

Steve, I can't recall details, but there are guys getting some good patterns with Tru-locks in the 20 gauge.

I havent, I know im good to 60. Field tested turkey approved.

But your right, I do need to get me another chono.

To be honest, I wouldnt worry about the choke.

581 should be fine with those loads.

Dont over complicate things.

Just had a good conversation with William at SumToy. He likes to do off-the-wall projects, so he finds this one interesting. I'm gonna send him the gun and see what he can do with mounting a sight and cutting the barrels and building chokes. He's thinking of a .560 choke in one barrel and a .590 in the other. Said if there wasn't a big difference in them, I wouldn't be able to tell much difference in the patterns, and I suspect he's right. I told him I just wanta be sure the open barrel will still kill to 40, or Murphy's Law is gonna hit home someday.

I would think he should be able to do a mount. Usually those ribs are thick.

I wohld think you could kill to 40 with a cylinder choke and number nines.

Very eager to see the process and how it goes.