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26 year old Remington 870 20ga youth with Federal Heavyweight #6 and a Jebs choke!

Although last year in the middle of my move to TX I used a SBEII, modified choke and 3" #5 bc that was all I could get my hands on when i realized the opener was the next morning. Turkey was DOA at 7am.

I have a single shot 16ga that I bought with my grandpa that I will be taking around this year. I have some bismuth #5s and its a fixed MOD choke so 25yds and in it will be game on.

Spring turkey hunting doesn't require a special type of shotgun. I've killed a ton of them with a 20 gauge 870 but I use different shotguns as the mood strikes me. One shot is all you need so it doesn't much matter which action you use. The last bird I killed, I shot with a 20 gauge flintlock trade gun with a cylinder bore. Iv'e used my Red Label, a 12 gauge 870, and a side by side 12 gauge percussion muzzle loader. Any gauge or choke works as long as you know how far it holds a good pattern and call the bird into that range.

Texas turkeys are not like the birds most folks hunt... Sorry, that is the way it is..

I used a Pedersoli muzzleloading 10 gauge for years. Used it for everything, turkey, geese, pheasant, doves, coyotes... I really enjoyed it and was even published in the now defunct "Blackpowder Hunting" magazine. It added a little extra challenge and required carrying some extra stuff, but I liked it and did it work! I even used it for trap shooting once, until I was asked to stop because of all the powder smoke, people could no longer see the targets! Haha! Now I'm back to a pump, but you never know, might get the itch to start using the muzzleloader again.

How so?

I have shot maybe a dozen to two dozen Texas turkeys. they are not wild compare to the birds in other states.. I have missed a shot and they just stood there.. Once in Pa. I clicked off the safety of my rifle and the enitire flock ran like they had been shot at.. Plus turkeys in Tx are often shot over bait.. It is legal and nothing wrong but generally the turkey there are much less wary than others I have hunted..

I've only hunted turkey in Texas. Mostly rios and a few eastern. With the ability to hunt them with a rifle and over bait / feeders it can be stupid easy. But I and most hunters I know don't shoot turkey that way. It's much more enjoyable to call them into shotgun range.

I do know that the turkey being extremely wary is a reaction to pressure from hunters and predators. I have hunted large ranches with very limited hunter pressure and large flocks of birds where the birds were fairly predictable and relatively easy to call. Iv'e also hunted small farms and woodlots where the birds ranged across several different properties and received lots of hunter pressure. Those birds were very call shy and a challenge to bring in. Another property had such a large population of coyotes and bobcats that the birds never made a sound after flying down from their roost. You were more likely to have a coyote or bob cat come to your call than a turkey.

So aside from reaction to pressure, do you notice a general difference to the way birds respond to you calling in other locations? Are they more reluctant to coming in close to a call with a decoy?

Old School. I have hunted exclusively with older double bbls for the last 30 yrs. Old Fulton from Hunter arms to CE grade foxes. Bought a Batavia Spl 12 ga just because my son had moved to Batavia NY the year before. I was going to give it to him, but he moved to Fla and I killed 3 turkeys with the gun. Two were on the run. So, the gun fits me and that's what will be with me come April. Most of the old doubles have wonderfully tight patterns with full choke and some give you the option of more open chokes in case ole Tom gets in your business too quickly.

Charlie

Ummm, someone should tell the truckload of turkeys my dad and uncles have killed with 311's.....them buggers are going to be stoked to know they have a new lease on life!

This is true from a theoretical point of view only. You don't know where either bbl is hitting until you pattern it on a paper. I have seen High dollar O/U's that throwed shot left with one bbl and right with the other. SxS's may shoot higher with one bbl than the other. And this is the norm rather than a fluke. You want to get your turkey into 30 yds or under, and at that range your patterns cover 2 1/2 ft or more. The center bore of each bbl on a sxs is maybe an inch apart. So an error of one inch on a 30" pattern doesn't make a hill of beans difference. And what do you do with the O/U when the turkey sticks his head out horizonally?

Charlie

Charlie, you're way off on using shotguns for turkeys. I'm not going to write a book on here about it. I suggest you do your own research and work to see what's up.

I have killed turkeys with mutiple pump/auto 12ga shotguns from nearly every common brand and model except Beretta, also killed turkeys with bolt action .222 Rem and .223 Rem rifles, I have lately been considering trying a .22 Hornet as I have not hunted turkeys with rifle in many years and I think it might be fun to change it up a little......Hb

I will be using a Franchi 48 AL 28gauge with 1 5/8 oz. of #9 1/2 TSS

Several choices if I hunt this spring, 870 20, model 31 12, or my heavy duck model 12..

I have done my research. For 30 + years with more than a few sxs's. Its called regulation of the bbls. Not all sxs's shoot to point of aim, and neither do all auto's or pumps. Its pretty easy to find out where your shotgun is hitting, but most people don't take the time to do it. I have read and followed Tom Roster's (Ballistic Editor of Shooting Clays magazine) publication on buffered low pressure loads. I roll my own low pressure tight patterning shells designed by Tom Roster for older 12ga doubles. I've done my research, and I know whereof I speak.

Charlie

Have used a bunch of shotguns on turkeys, but for the last 15 years or so I've killed 'em all with a Sauer Model 60 side-by-side 12-gauge, which I like for several reasons:

1) Like many European shotguns it came with sling-swivel studs.
2) Like many older shotguns, it's choked tight and tighter.
3) It weighs 6-1/4 pounds, which is easy to carry, despite it's 28-inch barrels.
4) It's easier than a pump or semiauto to break open (or even unload) silently when need be, such as when crossing a fence.

Have mostly used standard 2-3/4" 1-1/4 ounce loads, mostly #5 shot, with no problems out to 45 yards, as far as I've ever shot at a turkey with the Sauer. Did kill one gobbler in Nebraska with 1-3/8 ounce Bismuth 5's, because non-toxic shot was required in that area, again no problems.

John, haven't you heard that a turkey's neck is straight up and down and your bbls are side by side !!!


Charlie

My lovely wife bought me an 870 in 3.5" with the 23" turkey barrel several years ago so that's what I use.


Mike

I have had the following over the last 30 years of turkey hunting:
1. Browning 3 inch A5 #1 wouldn't hit within 18 inches of POA
2. Browning 3 inch A5 #2 warranty of #1 wouldn't shoot a pattern good enough to kill one a 30 yards.
3. Remington SP 10 #1 no camo.
4. SP 10 #2 camo. Cracked receiver.
5. SP 10 #3 warranty of #4. Got so stinking heavy I couldn't stand carrying it any longer and it wouldn't kill em any better than a good 12 gauge.
6. H&K branded Benelli M1 Super 90 24 inch barrel. Great gun and still have it. Used it for probably 15 years.
7. Benelli M2 21 inch barrel equipped with a Leupold Delta Point Pro reflex sight set up to shoot #9 TSS shot. NOW THATS A TURKEY GUN!!!!!!!

Try a 40-45# recurve for something different. Southwest Archery 64” Spyder XL takedown for about $140. Excellent bow.