Home Forums Birds & Dogs Turkey Hunting 20ga. Turkey gun suggestions.

The H&R's and NEF's are still available on the used market EVERYWHERE, And for Stevens 301 money or less.

Stop. I don't endure gun buying temptation well.

So YoderbOy who's been paying you in the turkey hunting and choke tube industey for two decades ?

You know you want it....lol
It's just one more

Got the itch for a new one, not sure if I'll scratch that itch this year or not, but time will tell. Definitely, like all of this, it's a want, not a need. Boiled it down to 2. Both 20ga, a Benelli M2 (can't find a M1) with a 24" barrel or the Winchester SX4 (can't find a SX2) with the 24" barrel. With the Winchester, since I haven't found or handled one yet, it looks like you have to remove the cantilever mount to use the sights? Leaning more towards the M2, but wouldn't mind putting some fingerprints on a SX4. If I felt the need to really go over the top, I'd look at the M2 Turkey out of the Benelli Performance Shop! Haha! I'm finally to the point financially, that I can afford to get whatever I'd like. But, unfortunately, my body challenges my activities more and more! Lol!

I'd splurge and go for the Benelli

You don't have to "splurge" a whole lot more to get the M2 over the SX4. And I agree, the M2 is getting the nod more and more.

If you splurge and go for Benelli, don't be surprised if you get a gun that shoots 6"+ high with a 26"+ barrel, or too low with a short barrel. Been there, done that. My Benelli Super Nova sits in the safe unused. My other Benelli has a slug barrel on it and that's fine. But high POI seems to be a common complaint with Benellis across the net.



No. The rear sight is actually mounted on the cantilever. The canitlever is grooved like a Weaver base. You just remove the scope to use the sight. I'd recommend Warne QD rings with that gun. Super secure bases. I've used a lot of them on evertything from .30-30s to hard kicking .45-70s. Never had an issue. I use them on my Savage 212 slug gun.

Regarding the SX4, I have an Winchester SX4 24" gun and a Browning Maxus II 26" gun. Both 12g, 3 1/2". They are much softer shooting than my Browning A5, which is an inertia gun like the Benellis you mentioned. The SX4, Maxus and A5 are all built by Browning in the same factory.

Compared to the Maxus II, the SX4 gives up very little. They are both short stroke gas guns. The Browning is a little more refined. The Browning has a magazine cut off switch and a speed load feature the SX4 doesn't have. (Speed load is useless to me and a pain if you don't it right.) Both will cycle pretty much all manner of 12g rounds. My A5 won't cycle light loads reliably. That's an issue with intertia guns, too. The SX4 is drilled and tapped for a scope, the Maxus II is not.

If you are going to be shooting light loads, too, and if you want a soft shooting gun, go with a gas gun. I love my A5 but inertia guns are no more reliable than gas guns, and sometimes less so with light loads. And they only soak up a little recoild over a pump, and much less than a gas gun.

Very familiar with Benelli's, all of them. From Super Sports to the Nova, in both 12's and 20's. Messing with the stock shims, in conjunction with a laser bore sighter and a focal point, has always worked well for me. Having only looked at pictures of the SX4, I appreciate your insight, thank you. The 870 I put together works like a charm, but there's always that "want" factor!

Walk toward the light, Glocks !!!! Walk toward the light.................

Shimming on my Super Nova didn't help becasue it did nothing to fix the fundamental problem with the gun. The rib is just too high in the rear causing it to shoot high, and I think that's been a problem with Benellis for a long time. The only thing that helps is patterning it and knowing where it shoots. And that's fine. I know to hold low with my Benelli. The problem is is that if you shoot a lot of different guns that hit where they should, its easy to forget to hold low with the one gun you have that doesn't hit where it should. If all you shoot is high hitters, you can get used to it, I guess.

Benellis are fine guns. But many of them have this quirk.

May be more effort than you're wanting to go to........... But D&T the Nova's receiver (or is it already, from the factory ??) and install your choice of sighting system. Put your POI and POA in the same place and never have to think about which gun you're carrying and where you gotta aim, ever again.

Both my turkey guns are drilled and tapped with red dots installed. Sure makes thing simple in the heat of the battle.

Agreed, some type of aiming device will be used. That's not so much of a want anymore either...

If it's the M2, I wouldn't hesitate one second to have the receiver milled out, and tapped, for a reflex sight. Think MOS on a Glock...

Not ready to scope or reddot any of my shotguns yet. Other than shooting high, it's a fine gun. I was thinking of putting some rib-mounted adjustable TruGlos ights on it like I have on my SX4.

Why would you compare a Nova to M1....that just dumb

Because they've got the same barrel/rib configuration and same sight plain/bore axis intersection, dumb ass. That why they've got the same issues.

I don’t know what "axis" you're on but i've owned at least 8 or 10 M1s and SBEs Benellis over the years and never had an issue....I was smart enough to never own a Nova.

Bullshit-o-meter is going crazy.

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