I recognize that sometimes it's nice to use a different gun, but in large part the body is not well-equipped to absorb the excessive recoil forces. The recoil force of a 10ga is approximately 63ft lbs. Yep, you read that right - 63 foot pounds. For anyone that likes rifle shooting, you might quickly realize that the 60+ recoil force is roughly the equivalent of firing a .458 used to hunt African big game. My brother has a 10ga NEF single-shot and after shooting it, I told him it would do less damage to his 60yo shoulder if he turned it into an anchor for his canoe. Personally, I don't think the 10ga has much of a place in modern turkey hunting.
In addition to the excessive recoil forces, I'll also make the argument that with the modern non-lead loads (such as the newer TSS and Winchester Longbeard) there is no advantage for using a 10ga. A 12ga can reach out comfortably to 60 yards and a well-patterned 20ga is capable of humanely harvesting birds at 45 yards all day long with the right choke and the newer loads.
Last edited by Strut&Rut; 03-12-2019 at 06:49 AM.