Turkey gun for the Mrs.

[peterk123]

She is a little lady, 5'4" and goes about 115 pounds or so. What would you guys recommend we consider and would you go with 12 gauge or 20? Right now she is using an old bolt action 20g. Time for a dedicated turkey gun. Thx Pete

 

[Drix]

Not a 12 that's for sure, if she's happy with the 20 keep it there, if she wants a bit more oomph let her decide but maybe a 16?

There's nothing wrong with a 12, but it's a pretty big step in both weight and kick, and that may be counter intuitive to the sport for her.

 

[Sparkey]

If the gun she has works for her why change ? If going to change I would look at the savage 220 turkey gun

 

[bigben111435]

mossberg 500 20ga, they even make it with a pistol grip now. a 12 year old can easily shoot this gun and it kills turkeys

 

[Mark from ?]

Depends how much you want to spend....and if you prefer Turkish or American, or Italian. There are metric shit ton of semi autos out there.

There are some solid Turkish guns that will save you money if its just a turkey only gun and your not blasting off rounds. Steoger makes a nice Turkey gun in 12 or 20 in full camo all decked out with xtra full choke, sights and ready for red dot. They are an arm of Beretta and have very good quality. I had a 20 Semi Auto and I ran several thousand rounds thru it and it never hiccuped.

You can get into lower end Turkish gas guns as well that soak up recoil better. Tristar makes an NWTF gun. Many guys at the club have used Tri Stars without issue for lots of rounds.

If you go Beretta or Browning they have turkey guns as well....in gas which will soak up recoil, and inertia which won't

Pumps....even cheaper...but I'd just go with a Benelli Nova in Turkey flavor but its gonna kick.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

If she is killing them well with the 20. Stick with it.

If she isn’t recoil sensitive go up to the 12 auto for the increased pellet count and a little extra reach.

 

[peterk123]

How about a 410 with TSS loads? Seems like a bunch of folks use them. Good to 40 yards.

 

[whatluck]

Get her any shotgun that fits and is reliable.

 

[northny]

Turkey hunting is about fun, and recoil is not fun for petite individuals ( or youngsters)

A 20 gauge with 2 3/4 kills turkeys quite well. You just need to pattern with choke and ammo you will use to determine effective distance. A little heavier 20 gauge is better than a lightweight one for taming recoil

In my Turkey hunting career Ive gone thru

10 gauge ( overkill)
12 gauge 3 1/2 “ shells ( even more overkill on birds)
12 gauge 3” or high brass 2 3/4. ( prefer #5 shot). What I shoot now
20 gauge 3” or 2/3/4” ( grandkids). Again #5 shot. Seems to work fine

Ive gone to having decoys close 10-15 yards. If they hand up 10-15 yards out, still plenty close for the 20’s

My best friend ( who taught me calling) and his wife both shoot the TSS. He and his wife ( and guests he calls birds in for) have made some unintentional ridiculously long kills with TSS Expensive but it’s all he shoots for a couple of years now

 

[StevieP]

Does Montana have the same "two-shell max capacity while turkey hunting" ruiles?

would that affect bolt vs pump vs semi-auto choice? A semi-auto seems overkill if you only get two shots

what distances will you be shooting at? That may help determine gauge, length of barrel, choke selection, etc. Do you have a preferred ammo and would THAT affect decision-making?

edit I found this. no mention of magazine restrictions.

Hunt By Species: Turkey | Montana FWP

Hunting regulations and information for turkey in Montana.

fwp.mt.gov

"Wild turkey may be taken with: a shotgun not larger than a 10 gauge; a long, recurve or compound bow and arrow; a rifle, handgun or crossbow may be used during the fall season except in areas with weapons restrictions limiting their use; an air rifle: fall turkey may be taken with an .177 caliber air rifle shooting a performance ballistic alloy pellet at least 1250 feet per second as specified by the manufacturer or with an .22 caliber air rifle shooting a performance ballistic alloy pellet at least 950 feet per second as specified by the manufacturer. (MCA 87-6-401, CR) All other means of taking are prohibited."

 

[Sparkey]

How about a 410 with TSS loads? Seems like a bunch of folks use them. Good to 40 yards.

I would stick with 20 gauge with TSS shot
If she can handle it 410 will do the job but not much room for error.

 

[paul73]

She is a little lady, 5'4" and goes about 115 pounds or so. What would you guys recommend we consider and would you go with 12 gauge or 20? Right now she is using an old bolt action 20g. Time for a dedicated turkey gun. Thx Pete

this one comes in 26" 20ga.

A400 Xplor Action | Beretta

The A400 Xplor Action semiauto is today's fastest shooting, lowest recoil shotgun with a wood-blue finish. Find out what makes it the best choice for both hunting and sporting clays.

www.beretta.com

 

[RDG]

If the gun she has works for her why change ? If going to change I would look at the savage 220 turkey gun

I have one and it's awesome. Lights out with TSS. It's one of my favorite hunting shotguns, even though it only gets shot a few times a year.

How about a 410 with TSS loads? Seems like a bunch of folks use them. Good to 40 yards.

Stick with 20G and just run TSS. Plus some states still restrict the use of 410 for turkeys.

My son and I both run 20G shotguns for turkey and both of us run turkey chokes with Federal TSS #7. If you do your job, TSS knocks them out.

Another suggestion for a shotgun would be a 20G compact semi auto.
My 14YO son runs a compact Tristar Viper in 20G and it's been great.
He used it for most of his hunting until he got big enough for a 12G.. now he just opens my safe and says "I want to try that today" LOL

The Tri-Star has been great though.... can't say enough good things

Viper G2 Compact - TriStar Arms

3” gas operated, semi-automatic shotgun that allows you to shoot light target loads to heavy waterfowl loads interchangeably.

www.tristararms.com

 

[MisterHappy]

OP - is she turkey hunting, or turkey shooting?

Not being snarky, but if she's harvested birds with the bolt gun, ask her these questions:
Does she want an upgrade?
If she wants an upgrade, what is she looking for?
If she'd taken birds, and wants an upgrade, but is unsure what she wants, have her try a few.

IMO, shotties are very personal things, (I know that turkey hunting is different than wing or target shooting), and fit is very important, including for recoil management.

If she wants a 12, look into youth models, for shorter length of pull.

 

[Bodhisattva]

If I were to be buying a gun I would be using solely for hunting turkey, it be a .410 pump with a dot. .410 has plenty of pellets when using tungsten.

 

[peterk123]

OP - is she turkey hunting, or turkey shooting?

Not being snarky, but if she's harvested birds with the bolt gun, ask her these questions:
Does she want an upgrade?
If she wants an upgrade, what is she looking for?
If she'd taken birds, and wants an upgrade, but is unsure what she wants, have her try a few.

IMO, shotties are very personal things, (I know that turkey hunting is different than wing or target shooting), and fit is very important, including for recoil management.

If she wants a 12, look into youth models, for shorter length of pull.

She always wants to upgrade guns, god bless her.

The old bolt is not very forgiving, even though it's a 20 gauge. I could replace the solid plastic recoil pad, but we don't want to change anything on it out of respect for the gun. It was given to her by a very close friend who was almost like a father to her. We want to leave it as is.

Turkey loads just kick, so an auto load will go a long way toward reducing that recoil for her.

If I were to be buying a gun I would be using solely for hunting turkey, it be a .410 pump with a dot. .410 has plenty of pellets when using tungsten.

After a bunch of reading and some vids, she is sold on a .410 turkey gun. She is going with the Mossberg SA-410. I'm going to top it off with a red dot. I couldn't believe how popular the .410 is today for turkey. TSS loads seem to be the ticket. Expensive to shoot but who cares. It's not like your shooting 100 rounds at a time.

She is excited to use it. We are heading out in a month or so for our annual three day turkey camp. Hopefully she gets to take the shot.

 

[Bodhisattva]

@peterk123 Thats the exact gun I’d get. Don’t need to spend wildly on the dot. It’s not going to see constant cycling.

 

[whacko]

She is a little lady, 5'4" and goes about 115 pounds or so. What would you guys recommend we consider and would you go with 12 gauge or 20? Right now she is using an old bolt action 20g. Time for a dedicated turkey gun. Thx Pete

20 for sure. With the right choke and load a 20 can have a tighter pattern than a 12 anyway. Killed a few toms with a mossberg 500 20 gauge and a 3 inch turkey load.

 

[whacko]

I'm gonna catch hell i guess.....but here goes

What is this thing with "dedicated turkey guns"?

A turkey is just a very large galiform.....same genus as grouse and pheasant....just bigger......so bigger shot and tighter choke right? I have a shotgun for grouse and pheasant (same gun i use on bunnies and squirrel lol).....I use that one on turkey as well......I've never even splurged on a "turkey choke".......full choke and a 3 inch 20 gauge shell.......does the job just fine. I've used 20 gauge mossberg 500 and my browning a5 full choke barrel with #4 high brass 2 3/4 inch shell. Kills em out to 40 yards no problem.