Im looking to get into some turkey hunting, but the only shotgun I own is an old H & R 20 ga. single-shot. Will I be able to make this work? Is it OK to carry a single shot? Thanks

If it is drilled for a choke then sure. If you dont have a turkey choke then you might as well throw rocks at him. Mt dad shot a jake @ 15 yards with a 12 gage with an improved cylider choke, the turkey just shook it off and ran away. I totaly got to say "I told you so!!!" It was pretty funny.

Yes a 20 ga is perfectly fine for hunting turkeys. But like qandilamont said, it depends on how it's choked and how it patterns on paper.

Find out what choke the barrel is and if it is full you may very well be ok. If it's modified or improved cylinder you might consider having screw in chokes installed so you can use a dedicated turkey choke. If I had to guess on how it;'s choked I would say it would be a full but double check to make sure.

Next get a few boxes of a few different loads and go shoot them on a patterning board. Choose the one that has the tightest pattern and is centered at point of aim.

Yeah you can make it work, do what bigbull said and you should be ok, no need to buy another gun if you can make what you have work, of course that can always be used as an excuse to get a new gun,

Goodness, got to put the hip waders on. It only takes one shot to the head or neck to put him down. Have you ever shot a shotgun with improved cylinder at 15yards? I have and I assure you it will kill a turkey at 20 yards easy. Shoot, I have shot onewith fullchoke at30 yards. Tore it up.

I killed my turkey last fall with a 3" 410 and 7 1/2 shot.....

The above quote is pure BS!!!!

I have to agree with the last two posts. Dedicated turkey guns are pretty new in the long scheme of things. There have been more turkeys taken with bird guns than any of us dare to count. Tighter chokes and higher velocities just extend your range is all.

Try different loads and make sure they pattern well, no large holes or gaps in the pattern. I suspet this is what happenned in the above post. A full choke would be nice though.

And the 20 is plenty, I actually think the 410 is a good gun for turkey because the patterns are usually pretty tight.

Paul

Sure it will! Get an idea of how well it patterns at 40, 30 and 20yds. Use your judgement of yardage at thosepatterns. You have tolearn how to call them in at those ranges.

I've often wondered that.

Vapodog said he used 7 1/2 shot, but is that your recommendation?

I would think 6 shot would be better.

ChuckS

Hey, Vapodog, that was not pure BS. He shot at the turkey at full strut. IT DID NOT KILL IT. An improved cy choke opens up real quick. He might have wounded it Idont know but thats what happened. I dont know why that is so hard to believe. Hell Iv'e shot ducks with that same gun at close range and just wounded them. Some times that stuff happens. Thats why I was telling the dude to use a turkey choke. Why the hell would ya use a 410 turkey hunting anyway?? You might as well be using a 12 ga w/ an improved cyl choke, lol.