Home Forums Birds & Dogs Turkey Hunting Single shot 12 gauge - glutton for pain?

I'm looking at a 12 gauge single shot for a short gun for rainy days in a blind or to carry it in the truck as back up to my autoloader.

This will also serve as my farm truck skunk & beaver gun when not turkey hunting.

Or should I just save my shoulder and go 20 gauge?

You can buy light 7/8oz loads of 6s for a 12 that take some of the ouch out for farm and truck duty. And a pullover "Limbsaver" recoil pad is a great investment.

I love 20s but a 12 is a MUCH more versatile shotgun--all kinds of loads for all kinds of situations ("kills from ducks to Dukes" as a Serbian guide I once had said.). And SOMETHING that goes bang is always available--even in an "ammo drought".

My experience of shooting deer and piggies with a light 12 (Ithaca M-37 "Deerslayer") is that the pain only comes when you are sighting in. Adrenaline takes the pain out of an actual kill shot. Doubt that turkeys are very different.

yep i got a 12 single shot loaded ready in my shed with a 7 1/2 trap load if i need something bigger i head for the garage for my 22 K-Hornet to kill critters. but not all 12 gauge single shot shotguns have a lot of recoil my Perazzi has very little recoil. i also have a 16 1/4 inch barrel 12 gauge single shot i painted white that i ported for nite time critter callin that is still a beast with 3 inch lead BB magnum with recoil. but the shotgun with the most recoil i own is a Savage 220 bolt / slug gun 20 gauge that will has just nasty recoil to shoot .

You looking for a used gun or a new one? If new, Henrys look really nice and they are heavy enough that the weight alone should help with felt recoil.

I see quite a few used single shots on the used rack at my LGS. Sunday at Green Top in Richmond Virginia, they had a variety of older single shots. Some old Savage Stevens that were in good shape, a Winchester that had a nice bore but was a was a bit rough on the exterior, and an old H&R Topper Model 48 in pretty damned good shape. All were under $200 except the Winchester.

12 ga with a 3" turkey load in a single shot does not sound like a lot of fun to me.

Looking at Stevens 301 in the turkey model. Do the choke tubes, red dot, and a flashlight mount for skunk duty.
You can't find cheap H&R or NEF single shots anymore and those 301's come set up well.
(Yes I know they are made in China)

Yes.. I was looking on line for lighter payload 12 gauge Non-toxic loads that would be down in 20 gauge range. I hunt federal land and have non-toxic requirements. Didn't really find anything.

The 301s are still nice guns.

https://www.hevishot.com/upland/hevi-hammer-dove/30-HS29137.html

Would these work? If not they build an Upland load, bigger shot sizes.

I had o e of those NEF single shot 12s, 3 1/2" chamber. Absolutely brutal with 1 1/4 Oz duck and pheasant loads.

What made it so bad was it was factory equipped with a high comb stock and was not drilled and tapped for a scope. Dumb move on their part.

Kept it in the shop for a bit but decided somebody else needed it worse than I did. Don't remember if I sold or traded it but good riddance for sure.

If I wanted a single shot it would be a 20 and even then you will know when it goes off with anything much more than a standard field load.

Tempting to look at them and try it.

I have some #7 federal non-toxic (can't remember the name) that I want to try. it was 15 g/cc load. I saw Kent sells a similar load with poor review.

I'm burning up hevishot 2 oz loads and they can be brutal in my franchi

I have a 3" 12 gauge barreled H&R. It's a 22 incher with sights and would make a rambo turkey setup. But I just can't see going ahead and doing it as well as my single 20 works.

Having owned some VERY stout recoilers.........if I did do it
..... a Limbsaver recoil pad on the hind end would be numero uno.

Been using a Winchester 37 12 ga for a couple years now after getting tired of carrying a Browning A5 around. Don't feel like I'm giving anything up as a turkey gun

That same quest had me buying a Henry .410, then a CZ 20ga O/U, then a Browning Gold Hunter 20, and somewhere in there I decided I needed a Citori 725, albeit mostly for clays. Meanwhile, an impulse purchase put a Mossberg 590 tacticool pump in my hands, and it’s close to as heavy as my A5 was, but is shorter, has a sight rail, swivels, and can be taped or painted. Actually it’s pretty handy if I don’t fill up the magazine, so it’ll get a turn anyway.

Meanwhile, the guy with one do-it-all shotgun now has five, not including the one he started with, which went down the road to help pay for the O/U.

Hard to beat a 12 for utility. Shells from 1 3/4” to 3”, payloads as light or heavy as you want.

My 725 would be my best turkey gun, but i don't want to mess it up. Both barrels shoot to the same point at 40 yards.

So guys...

I want a 12 gauge for skunk & beaver duty, but want a 20 gauge for turkey duty.

These steven's 301's are $199.....


Should I just buy one of each????

Go for it. They might be made in China, but they get good reviews.

You could if you want both. I don't think a skunk or beaver that is shot at a decent range would be able to tell the difference. I can tell you for a fact, the turkeys I have killed with a 12 ga are just as dead as the ones I have shot with a 20 ga.

That is the great part of being a gun nut and living in America, we can choose either or both.

I'm testing if you guys are enablers or not. ;-)


Side story: I use #2 lead 12 ga on beavers because it pattern much better than buck shot... and I get it free. I have a friend that works at a landfill and they get people bringing in old ammo and he brings it to the gun club to shoot up and saves tax payer dollars. I don't get as much 20 gauge heavy though.

Still debating. I probably have forgotten the pain from my last shoulder injury..

We're enablers.