Which 12ga 3.5" pump turkeyto buy
 

Greetings to all. Was a long time member here sometime ago just kind of fell away from this sight for a while so this is my first post in a long while.
Considering getting a 12ga 3.5" dedicated turkey gun as an backup to my Remington 870 ESM and I already have a Mossberg 835 Tactual but it is on long term lone at the moment and for the indefinite future to the guy who's land I take my sons turkey hunting on so I am looking at buying an affordable alternative option. I thought "once he shoots the 835 he will likely through it back at me" but to my surprise he really likes it. I currently own five made in America shotguns and dozens of made in USA firearms so I guess I can live with buying one made elsewhere just this one time. So I am now looking to possibly add another dedicated 12ga 3.5” pump turkey gun to my collection. Remington no longer makes the 870 ESM and I am EXTREMELY partial to pistol grip turkey shotguns.

Am looking at buying one of the three fallowing guns. They are all very close in specs and features and prices are close enough as to not matter. Was looking for anyone who's experiences would make them recommend one over the other two.

Retay GPS XL Pistol Grip Turkey Gun

Winchester SXP Long Beard Pistol Grip Turkey gun

Stoeger P3500 Pistol Grip Turkey gun

As far as specs and features go they are all very similar as well as all very close in price. I was just hoping there would be a few member's here with enough knowledge and or experience to be able to recommend one as being clearly better than the other two. I prefer a 12ga 3.5” shotgun so I have the option of using any 12ga turkey shell available. I am searching the internet for as much info I can find on these three guns as well.

I am leaning towards the Retay GPS XL as a lot of reviews absolutely rave about the patterns it gets with turkey shells, but I have read A LOT of good things about the Winchester SXP and almost nothing about the Stoeger, but I haven't made up my mind yet and was hoping to get some solid info here to help me on choosing which dedicated turkey gun to buy.

Welcome to the forum. What was your username before?

Of those listed I would buy the sxp.

- Jake

Hello friend and welcome back. Just out of curiosity, why do you want a 3.5" 12 gauge for turkey? Don't get me wrong I'm not against one and even have a 3.5" 12 gauge but that is strictly a waterfowl piece.
For turkey, even the big eastern toms, I use a little 870 youth model 20 ga with 3" chambers and Winchester Supreme #5 shot and have no trouble rolling them at 40 yds.
And you go with the TSS shot and it will make it even deadlier. With this shot I see and heard of kids killing toms with a .410 !
My 870 is topped with a Millett red dot and what I like about this set up is it is so light and with the shorter stock it is easier to shoulder from a seated position.
But if I were to get a 12 ga dedicated turkey slayer I wouldn't hesitate getting another 870 Super Magnum or even a Mossberg 500 style(I think they make a 3.5" version).
But out of your choices I'd probably agree with Jake and get the Winny

buy a Franchi affinity 3 20 ga and shoot TSS, its a no brainer. you are not giving up anything to the 3.5" 12 ga. with a smaller guage even a 410 for turkey hunting if you use TSS.
TSS is a 12 ga. is overkill, ask me how I know?
RR

Thank you for the replies and suggestions.
My old username was either DartonJager. DartonYager, DMTJager or ART338wm which were my most commonly used UNs a few years ago. I am picking a 12ga 3.5" because before TSS became mainstream and Winchester Long Beard XR's became very very scarce for a year two or three years ago I went and invested a crap ton of 12ga 3.5" #5 Winchester Long Beard XR shells. I also have seen first hand people have significant difficulty getting 20ga (out of a 20ga 555, 20ga 870 EX P and a 20ga 301)TSS pattern better than 35-40%% at 40 yards in a 10" circle without investing significant money in multiple aftermarket turkey chokes. In contrast none of my friends had any trouble getting their 12ga TSS loads to pattern very well at 40 yards and 12ga TSS is not that much more costly then 20 gauge depending on manufacturer so I'm inclined to go with the load with more pellets. Lastly recoil is not a factor for me and a <6.75lb 20ga gun with an 1-5/8oz load of TSS kicks almost much as a 12ga 3.5" 2oz of lead out of a 9.5lb 12ga 3.5" gun as my fully dressed 12ga 870 ESM with optics, mounts, sling and loaded with three shells weighs about 9.75lbs.

I have a Mossberg 20 ga auto turkey special with pistol grip that is VERY effective. I have run the gamut in 37 years of turkey hunting. They all work. Shoot what you like.

I have 2 20 gauge turkey guns, my newest is a Beretta A-300 Ultima turkey. I do own one of the original Mossberg 835 12 gauges that, when I was younger, I used the 3 1/2" turkey loads in. It was hot stuff back in the day, but those days are long gone. I now prefer to not take the beating that that gun and load delivers, only to get the same result from a lighter more enjoyable to shoot firearm. A 20 gauge turkey gun loaded with TSS 7's or 9's will dispatch ANY gobble at any range that a 3 1/2" 12 gauge will do. It is lighter to carry, more comfortable to shoot and you get the same results. For me, it's a " No Brainer".

I absolutely LOVE my Mossberg 835....
But as I am getting older i am sure looking more closely at a 20 ga

I switched from a 12 to a 20 this spring. I had been considering the move for several years and I finally took the plunge. I definitely don’t feel like I’m under gunned.

I have the Winchester SXP but in 20g and it throws a pretty mean pattern out to 60 yrds and actually pretty dang tight at 20 yrds, almost too tight.. I'm sure the 12 gauge would be good also. I also have the 835 that was my turkey gun before the Winchester and I still love that gun as well. I will say I no longer shoot 3.5s out of it though lol. It tends to throw a better pattern with the 3" longbeards in #5.