I have read a lot of people using 12 and 20 ga. turkey guns but nothing about a 16 ga.Has anyone ever heard of people using a 16 ga.?I would think they would have enough power to take a turkey down at say 40 yards.I think it would make a great gun for turkey but I have not even seen shells or chokes for a 16.Does anyone know of some good turkey guns for people that can't quite handle a 12 but don't want to use a 20 because of the shorter range.I have read a lot of post that ask for advise on a good 20 ga. and just wondered why people don't say anything about a 16ga.If some of you turkey hunter's would reply with some good advise for a 16 ga. maybe it would help for those people that ask about a good 20 ga.

My turkey hunting mentor has used the sweet 16 for longer then I have known him. He has taken more longbeards then I ever care to count. He uses an old Winchester pump and uses Winchester Super X for his load. It's a good load but I'm more fond of the Kent Impact load. It has 1 1/16 ounce of #5 shot and is throwing them at 1315 feet per second. Your not going to find a "turkey" load for the 16 but there are several loads that could qualify as such, the above two I mentioned are two of them. The only major problem is trying to find them, it's usally easier to order them from the net.

Here's the Kent load I mentioned.... Kent Impact

Chokes.... Well again, your not going to find a "turkey" choke for the 16. Though the factory choke might work. You will just have to try it at the range. If not try giving this guy a call..... Custom Shotguns He has a 100% money back guarntee.

Guns.... Luckily you have several good choices. Remington is now making the 870 and the 1100 in 16 guage and Ithaca is making the model 37 in 16 guage. All three good guns and all three can be had with interchangable chokes.

Good luck to ya'

I've been interested in the use of 16 gauge for turkeys as well. I have an old 16 gauge Browning Auto-5 which belonged to my father that I would love to take a turkey with some day. I notice that ammo manufacturers do not make 16 gauge turkey loads so what do you do? Use 16 gauge game loads? Can someone who has taken turkeys with a Sweet 16 offer some tips?

Like I said in my above post, your not going to find a 16 guage "turkey" load. But you will find Xpress loads and other high brass offerings in #5 & #6 that are pushing 1200 - 1300+ fps. These loads are capable of taking turkeys. The pellets are traveling just as fast as a 12 guage "turkey load". You just need to pattern them to see what your effective ranges and limitations are. Good luck!

Shawnee Hunter, you may want to try getting a re-loader and experiment with your own loads. You can pick up a re-loader pretty cheap (depending on how serious you want to be) and its a great hobby during the off season.






Gun control? My gun. My control.

Generally speaking the 16ga was popular when there was a need for more than a 20 but less than a 12. With the new powders & propellants, the 20 has filled the place that was formerly occupied by the 16.

Good shots can drop geese & ducks with a 3" 20ga shells. If you're just starting out, I'd recommend a 12 over the 16. Hard to find shells = more $$ per box than for common sizes. I'd venture to guess that most 16 shells fired today are on sporting clay ranges.

The shorter range for a 20 gauge is more fiction than fact. A lot depends on your pattern. You are dealing with less shot but actually firing it at a higher velocity than the 12 gauge magnums. My daughter's 20 gauge will kill any turkey out to 35+yards dead in it's tracks. At 35 yards it's still putting 10-15 #6 shot in the kill zone. She's shooting a Remington 870 youth with a Hasting turkey tube and federal 3" 20 gauge #6 shot turkey mags.

If you still want a 16 gauge check out any premium mag lead. Many of these are offered with buffered loads and function very much like turkey loads.

Federal Cartridge has 16 guage; 2 3/4"; 1 1/4 oz; 4,6 shot; 1260 ft/sec, buffered premium magnums.