Home Forums Birds & Dogs Turkey Hunting Which Shotgun Are You Using This Year???

Hey everyone- I decided to get back into turkey hunting this spring and was wondering which guns you were taking to the woods this year? I’ve got a few that will certainly work and I’ve killed birds with before- I’m still in the deciding stages for what I’ll be dragging through the woods with me, though!

Old Havoc... Benelli M1. Havoc has taken a whole bunch of gobblers, coyotes, fox and bobcats over the years.

Season opens here April 15. I'll bring my same old/same old.. 1955 870 Magnum with 30" barrel threaded to accept Carlson chokes. A Super Full extended choke usually goes out.
Recent past seasons I've used a 1950 870 20ga with fixed Full choke and 28" barrel, and a 1936 Rem M31 with 30" Full barrel in 16ga.
All of them work just fine.

Probably the usual, a 12 ga Browning Gold 3.5" Hunter model using the factory choke (likely Briley) it came with. I might take out a Mossberg 930 Turkey gun a time or two as it hasn't been blooded yet. Ammo will be whatever 4, 5, or 6 shot turkey loads I have on hand.

I'll use either a 20 gauge 870 compact, or an 11-87 compact in 20. Also, at some point, if I get real serious about killing a turkey, I'll carry my first real turkey gun, a Winchester 1300 12 gauge Turkey model, with a Hastings choke. Best patterning shotgun I've ever owned.

The funny thing is, about 10-12 years ago, I bought a Benelli SBE2, 3 1/2 inch, camo. thought I had the turkey killingest gun on the planet. Never mind that the darn thing kicked like a mule, as it would kill a turkey at 60 yards every time. Hunted with a few years, then went back to the 20's and a 3 inch 12. I haven't touched the Benelli in going on 5 years now, and probably won't again this year.

Remington 870 youth model 20 gauge with Federal Heavyweight 7's

Mossberg 500, and a Sterlingworth 12ga sxs

Benelli M2 20ga, hand load #9 TSS

I’ll be taking the 20 gauge 870, I picked up a like new 20 gauge bps upland with the straight stock for my sons to use this year, have to pattern in a couple months when it warms up.

BPS 10 gauge or a Browning Gold NWTF 3" gun. Both shooting lead.

My $215 used 870 Express Supermagnum 23" VR RC w Superfull Remchoke.
Backup rig is an 1100 SP 26" VR RC

Ripped a ligament in my foot and it's taken damn near 3 yrs to heal.
Finally able to run the hills down south again

I'll be using my old Remington Wingmaster 870 that I bought back in 1971 from money earned on a newspaper route. It's a 2 3/4" but it kills gobblers just fine. It will be whatever shells I grab--4, 5 or 6's

Same shotgun I have used for about 10 years now-
Mossberg 935 semiauto, with Jelly Head choke and Winchester Long Beard XR 3.5" no. 6's. Last year I mounted a JP red dot sight on it, really makes getting on target a lot easier.

Longarm

What loads did you use in your older Remington 870 20 gauge? I also have an older 20 gauge 870 with a full choke barrel. I've read Hevi-Shot or steel loads should not be used in the older full choke barrels
Thanks

930 Mossberg with a Kicks choke and Burris red dot, Beretta pintail for days its raining and this year a Winchester 20 gauge pump with Burris red dot

Beretta A300 Turkey, 12ga, 24" bbl.

If it rains and I cruise the fields; Ruger M77, Mark II, Boat Paddle, 22-250.

H&R 20 gauge single tricked out by William SumToy Customs.

Mossberg 835 12 ga pump... 3" shells... Kills the birds out to 50 yards with an extra full turkey choke, I can't remember the brand right now...

rfwind, I think it was just a lead pheasant load of #5s, nothing fancy. I use a lot of different stuff, sometimes the fancy/expensive stuff, sometimes just whatever is at hand and all of it seems to work fine. In the old 16 and this 20 I just get the birds in closer because I'm usually using pretty standard ammo.
I have 3 barrels for the 20, each with a different factory fixed choke. That gives me a lot of options for ammo when I use it for ducks.

Remington 870 SPS Turkey, Burris FastFire and a Carlson's .660, shooting either 3" #5 or #6 lead that I picked up on super clearance at WalMart a couple years back.