I have never hunted turkey before, but I'm thinking of trying it this fall. Can any one recomend what I should be using for a good clean kill? Should I use a 12ga. or 20ga. What is a good length of barrel and choke and should it be in camo? Thanks in advance for your help.
Fred
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I would use a 12 ga. I not really sure on a good length for the barrel. Mine is 24" on my mossberg. You need a full choke and it would be best if it was infull camo.
I would recommend a 12 gauge only because the more shot the more likely a clean kill. I've never found barrel length to be a big deal. I have an 870 Exp. with a shorter barrel, and a Nova with a barrel on the longer side and generally my mood determines which I take more than barrel length. That being said I believe most prefer a shorter barrel, cause it's easier to swing around for a quick running shot without getting snagged. Camo goes the same way. It doesn't really matter to me, but some find it easier to make small movements without being seen using camoed guns. Chokes will probably start a debate. I have a Buck Kicker Full 00 choke in the Nova. It shoots Winchester 00s, Winchester #4 buckshot, and Hevishot 2s and Bs so well I never bother to switch it out no matter what I'm hunting. The Remington is a little more finicky. It shoots Winchester 00s and Federal #4 buckshot great with the factory Mod. tube. With a remington Ex. Full tube it shoots Hevishot 2s and lead 3" 6s the best.
Chokes will be your biggest problem. You're either gonna have to pick the shot you wanna use, and buy chokes till you find one that will shoot it, or pick a particular tube, and buy shot till you find soemthing that will shoot well in it. The latter is generally MUCH cheaper, but you may end up with a shot size that's smaller than your intended game at the ranges you want to shoot them. I just got lucky that the first ones I bought for each gun did exactly what I wanted.
Fred,
First of all I'm glad you are deciding to give turkey hunting a try, it's a blast. As for the gun there are a lot of choices and options. As for gauge, either a 20 or 12 gauge will do. 90 percent of people probably use the 12 gauge but more and more people are switching to the 20. Although it doesn't pack quite the punch of a 12 gauge a 20 gauge with the right load can kill them cleanly out to 35 yards, and some of the new load and chokes claim you can stretch that even farther.
You should use loads that are made specifically for turkey hunting in shot size 4,5,or 6. I personally use winchester supremes in #6s. As for length of barrel I prefer a nice short barrel. It is easier to handle and carry around, I think my turkey gun has a nice short 21" barrel. As for a choke tube, a regular factory full choke will work just fine, but most people opt to use super full chokes and there are tons of good ones out there. My 870 has the Remington Turkey choke that came with it and it throws pretty nasty patterns. Camo is a nice, but expensive touch, and it isn't really necessary. many turkey have died to plain old blued steel and wood stocks, just make sure the metal isn't real shiney.
Turkey loads and chokes shoot such tight patterns now, most people have gone away from just using a bead to aim and have gone to rifled sights, red dot sights, and scopes. I personally like a low powered scope, mine is 1.5-4x with the turkey plex reticle. That way you can be really precise when you take aim on those 20 yard shots and your pattern isn't much bigger then a softball. The action of your shotgun is a personal preference, I shoot an 870 because they are fairly inexpensive and I love them, some people prefer a semi auto because turkey loads have notoriously hard recoil and the semi soaks some of it up. Anways thats a lengthy answer to your questions, I hope it helps. Feel free if you have any more, and check out the turkey hunting section if you have any hunting questions. good luck!
About any shotgun will be able to kill a turkey. You just have to get a head shot. A 12 gauge would give you more range but a 20 gauge would also work. I even shot one with low brass 2 3/4in no.8 shot. Its all on if you get a pelet to hit the brain or spine. I normally use a Mossberg 835 shooting 3.5in 2 1/4oz of no.4 or no.5 shot. Its a camo turkey gun with a 24in barrel but i used a regular Mossberg 835 with 1 7/8oz of no.6 shot for a few years. It had a 28in barrel and was blue with a wood stock. Any good working shotgun will work fine. I do alot of walking up and odwn mountains so i got the lighter turkey gun for that reason.
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Do you currently own a shotgun with screw in chokes??? If so, you may already have a good turkey gun...
I'm fortunate, I already had a Browning B-80 in 3 inch mag...This is a light weight gas operated semi from the mid 80s...I bought a .665 Hastings choke, tried a few boxes of turkey loads and I was good to go...The nicest thing about this gun is it is much lighter than my 1100...This is important for turkey hunting, because if seems that the gun is either slung over your shoulder while you are walking, or you are holding it at the ready position...
I use an old Rem 870 Mag with a Primos Jellyhead choke. I got lucky and bought 2 boxes of shells (Feds Shok and Remington) and the Remington Duplex 4 x 6's...meaning #4's and #6's interspersed in the same shell for anyone new. Those patterned extremely well. I'm itching to go to some Hevi Shot and pi$$ away my other shells because I only use 1per year and I'll be an old man by the time these are all used up.
I'm sure you'll enjoy the hunt this year....it's probably my second favorite type of hunting now behind running roosters with my pudelpointer, which is saying alot because I'm a huge whitetail hunter.
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I am using a Benelli Super Black Eagle I. With an Undertaker choke tube, Remington Hevi-shot#5(no longer made[&o]). It is a turkey killing machine, every year after I kill my bird, my brothers want to borrow it. I have aTruglo red dot on it. One thing also to consider is the stock, I put a steady grip pistol grip on mine and it made a big difference, a lot more comfortable to hold in the shooting position for extended amounts of time. I have shot birds over 50 yards with this combo and would tempted to take one at 75yards.
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Turkey Gun ?
