Mossberg International SA-28 - Tactical Turkey. Nevertheless, an ultimate turkey gun is a handy thing to have on your side. 2023 Outdoor Sportsman Group. If you can handle a 12 gauge shotgun with confidence, youre better off with a bigger gun. The buy-in is low. That said, the stock itself is too hollow and lightweight to offer much recoil absorption, and the hard butt pad makes sure you know it. The scope rail allows you to mount almost any optic to it (youll need one shooting a .410). If youre also looking for a budget gun that can take a licking and keep on ticking, look no further. My favorite SxS shotguns are simple, efficient in design, field useable, and ultimately a working man's shotgun. For several years I hunted with a BPS on which Id added a large orange front bead in front of a white middle bead. From a cost standpoint, it makes more sense to buy one tube and try several different loads until you find the right one, rather than accumulating choke tubes. The side by side (or double barrel shotgun) is a break action shotgun with two parallel barrels. J.G. However, the polymer stock is fairly lightweight for a Winchester, which gives it a little more kick than youd get on a heavier wood shotgun. That's fine. If you're in the market for a sub-gauge shotgun, this is the one. The walnut stock is exceptionally well-manufactured, with a hydraulic cheek rest and shock absorber that reduce felt recoil to the gentlest of pushes. Subscriber Services. The only downside of Savages turkey gun is that it did not run as smoothly as Id hoped. If just one gun, buy the dove gun (longer barrel that swings well for you) and toss a tight choke into it when hunting turkeys. This first single shot shotgun is based on the classic firearms American hunters have used for decades on end. The Beretta A400 XCEL is a 12 gauge shotgun that kicks as gently as a newborn baby. If budget is your middle name, and O/Us are your game, check out Mossbergs Maverick line. J.G. Featuring a 22-inch barrel topped with a fiber-optic sight, it also comes equipped with a . The only downfall is the lack of a selective mechanism; rather, the gun fires in a right-left-top sequence. The Double Barrel Ranch is eastern Washington's finest upland bird hunting preserve. Shotguns are aimed in a similar fashion to a deer hunting rifle and a shotgun barrel mounted on a rifle stock may not be a concern. However, sometimes the barrel will just read 3 1/2, however, it is always safe to shoot a shell shorter than what is listed never longer. Indeed, there are some very definite advantages to hunting toms with double (or triple) barrels, as seen in these three examples. Dont overlook peep sights and ghost rings, which get you on target fast. A 3-inch gun, the G2 includes a removable Picatinny rail, so you can use an optic, and a fiber-optic sight is mounted at the muzzle. This needs doing in a way that the shot-spread coming from each barrel will cover the same area. But more importantly, the Orion I is well made most certainly up to Weatherby standards, with a tight fit and excellent machining. You dont need tungsten to kill a turkey, but Ive shot most of mine with straight TSS or tungsten-iron shotshells in the last 10 years and they are absolute hammers. M3500 Waterfowl Special Shotgun. Mossberg & Sons Silver Reserve 12 GA 28"Satin Silver Rec Satin Black Walnut Fixed Stock. Bottom ejection port. The shotgun's magazine has a nice capacity, large enough to support the best turkey hunting shells (their dimension is usually about 3 inches). Here are a few ideas for a starting place for your ultimate turkey gun. It's not so much the extra few inches from the shooter's ears of the longer barrel than it is the lower blast and noise levels of the longer barrel that make a 24" barreled shotgun my minimum, and a 26" or longer being even better. The Cavalry has arrived! The most popular is the Maverick Hunter O/U with its 28 barrels in either fixed F/M or better yet, with interchangeable chokes. This double-barrel shotgun looks like the Mad Max Classic and was originally designed as an anti-carjacking tool to fend off highwaymen. The 12-gauge also comes with a Burris FastFire II red-dot so hunters can be more accurate with shot placement. The turkey-specific version of the Tuffy has a 26-inch barrel length with an extra-full choke. They are modeled after Berettas, and I would argue you get more for less money in the G2 Turkey than you would in the A350. The break-action single shot is a great choice for newer hunters, especially youngsters, because the stock is extremely ergonomic and easy to handle. Nobody needs battlefield reliability and 5-year battery life for turkey hunting, but thats what I went with. You can have guns matte blued and take the sheen off a glossy stock with OOOO steel wool if you know what youre doing. They're perfect for hunting upland birds, ducks over puddles or turkeys in the forest. But I never bothered to change it because theres nothing wrong with having a classy turkey killer. To that Id respond, need has nothing to do with it. 1.2 2. The five included Beretta-style choke tubes make this a ready killer on both short and long range toms. If you can handle a 12 gauge shotgun with confidence, youre better off with a bigger gun. What attracted us most to the BPS was the bottom ejection port. This is significantly smaller than the average male shotgun hunter, whos 5 feet, 9 inches tall and has 33-inch arms. Though non-typical, O/Us make perfect sense in the turkey woods. You can build shot loads while strolling through woods or huddled within a turkey blind, precisely like a fastidious tobacco pipe smoker. The major benefit of hunting with a double barrel is the ability to have two different chokes in place, one for the 15-20 yard bird and another for the 35-50 yard gobbler. The almost-10-pound 10-gauge Gold Light is anything but light. The Mossberg 500 Super Bantam is designed for youth hunters, with a relatively short pull and relatively good recoil resistance. Pa-08 has a long barrel (28 inches). This shotgun has an MSRP around $250, but it can often be found on sale for sub $200. Turkey hunters will appreciate the 21-inch barrel of the 870 Turkey, which makes it easy to reposition for a better shot if a gobbler comes in from an unexpected direction. And there hasnt been a gobbler strut within 40 yards of this gun to change that yet.Adam Moore. A five-year warranty is included. Brand . Although it is a weapon manufactured all over the world, the English and the Italian double-barrels are the most famous ones when it comes to design and construction. Get Guns.com offers and news!! It fires long, 3-inch shells, delivering the largest possible load in its bore, and the chrome-lined chamber and receiver cycle as smoothly as an Eric Clapton guitar solo. 1.3 3. The new SA-28 is lightweight and nimble, perfect for women and kids, or the guy that's just plain tired of lugging around that 12-gauge. Even though its a single shot if you have a shell holder on the stock you can quickly reload thanks to the fast ejector that doesnt stick like the old Stevens model. Kevin Steele, Publisher of Petersen's HUNTING talks with JJ Reich of HEVI-Shot about the new offerings for 2023. Available in 20-gauge only and shoots 2- and 3-inch shells. I upgraded the springs, follower and extractor, too, just in case of the turkey zombie apocalypse. Buy Dp-12 12 Ga Double Barrel Pump - Shotgun 16 Rds Flat Dark Earth sold by Granite View Sports on Weapon Depot A Cold War era classic with smooth lines, a legendary back story, and an exotic-sounding name, Beretta's Model 71 was definitely a mouse that roared. If you can afford TSS, I would recommend buying it. Chiappa Triple Magnum, top, and Triple Tom, bottom. With the restoration of turkey populations across the U.S. and Canada (there were almost 7 million birds between both countries by the early 2000s), the dedicated turkey gun became popular. | However, the polymer stock is fairly lightweight for a Winchester, which gives it a little more kick than youd get on a heavier wood shotgun. | before you break out the rattle can or have it dipped or Cerakoted. Steel receivers are easy to drill and tap, alloy receivers, not so much. J.G. This gun is a good choice for young hunters, or for anyone with a small frame. This means that when your teenager grows up, all youll need to do is swap the stock for an adult size and theyll be able to use this shotgun for the rest of their life. Its designed with a 30-inch barrel, which gives you as much accuracy as youre going to get out of any shotgun. MSRP for the basic black model is $449 with a 3 inch chamber, and although the camo versions carry an MSRP of $569 you can probably find one for about $500 in gun stores. Twin ejectors make reloads quick and easy if a second round of follow-up shots are necessary. Lastly, new turkey huntersjust like a new handgun shooterwill benefit from a red-dot, because all they have to do is put that ball of fire on the turkeys neck and squeeze the trigger. The Stoeger P3500 is designed to be a simple, hard-working shotgun without any extra frills. Based on a John Browning design, the Ithaca Model 37 was originally set to debut in 1933 after the Browning patents expired. The Beretta A400 XCEL is a semi-automatic shotgun with a pinpoint-accurate 30-inch barrel. Released in 2017, the A350 was Berettas first dedicated 3-inch auto-loader for turkey hunters. It fires long, 3-inch shells, delivering the largest possible load in its bore, and the chrome-lined chamber and receiver cycle as smoothly as an Eric Clapton guitar solo. The Stevens 310 comes with a rail that you can easily remove with two screws or equip with an optic. You spend hours sitting and calling that first Tom on opening day and he won't come any closer than 50 yards. I think our fear of far-off gobblers has steered us too far off track. The story of an old humpback Browning that's Sign up for the Field & Stream newsletter and get the latest intelligence straight to your inbox. With the rise in popularity of TSS shotshells, many hardcore turkey hunters are opting for 28-gauge and even .410 shotguns because they are so light and manuverableand theyre lighter on recoil. Just $1 per month , Our editors made their picks for the best turkey shotguns. Full choke means that the muzzle diameter is reduced about .030 from bore diameter. A good rifle stock is not a good shotgun stock. Add a rail or iron sights on the rig, and you can instantly switch between your 50-plus yard barrel and your 20-yard barrel. This means that when your teenager grows up, all youll need to do is swap the stock for an adult size and theyll be able to use this shotgun for the rest of their life. All Petersen's Hunting subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. Beretta builds soft-shooting, reliable gas semi-autos, so the A350 is much more enjoyable to shoot when youre touching off heavy turkey rounds with a 2-ounce payload. Not only does this allow you to quickly change from one load to another, it lets you make your gun safe without dumping the entire magazine every time you want to change locations. Iron sights and peeps represent an upgrade over beads, and there are quite a few that attach with sticky tape, magnets, or set screws from HiViz, Truglo, and other makers. Lets get started! Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. The Turkey models also have a ventilated rib on the barrel and a 4+1 capacity. If you intend to mount a scope on this gun, like one of the trendy new LPVOs, mount it as far forward as the eye relief will allow. Or you can leave a gun shiny, hold still, and shoot turkeys anyway. Sometimes thinking outside the box in terms of guns or calibers creates the most memorable hunts. Guns. J.G. This shotgun holds up to weeks of running and gunning through stormy spring weather every turkey season, and functioned as expected when a longbeard strutted into range. 1. It was as ergonomically perfect for turkey hunting as it was hideously ugly. I solved this by adding a Leupold Freedom red-dot optic. You might be able to buy a shorter barrel for your project gun, or you can have the current barrel bobbed. A weapon made from a shotgun is also a firearm subject to the NFA if the weapon as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches or a barrel or barrels of less than 18 inches in length. This is more a matter of price than anything else. You can buy the BPS in a 3-inch chamber, but I like the 3-inch model for turkey hunting. Rob Roberts is a master at getting the most out of shotgun pattern performance. This rail is specifically mounted directly to the guns vented rib, just over the monobloc, so that optics can be mounted low to the barrel. Its 28-inch barrel is on the long side for a 20 gauge gun, which not only helps you put a grouping right on a turkeys neck, but also keeps recoil to a minimum despite the relatively light 7 pound, 4 ounce design. Like its predecessor, the . Truglo. Best Double-Barrel Shotguns. double-barreled shotguns can cost anywhere from $500 dollars, to over $10,000 dollars for some high-end auctioning guns. The major benefit of more barrels are the interchangeable chokes, which may allow for short and long range shots. If you want something more durable than stick-on or clamp-on sights, find a gunsmith to install something permanent. But what really makes it shine is the quick de-chambering button on the bottom of the chamber. This gun comes with Light Modified, Improved Modified, and Full chokes, which allows for a tight spread at any range, and the adjustable fiber-optic sight means that it aims as easily as any hunting rifle. It gets splashed with snow, rain, mud, and turkey blood every season and just keeps running (now that I think about it, Im not sure that Ive actually ever cleaned the gun). It works wonderfully, and really adds to the aesthetic of my beater gun. Originally from Missouri, she currently lives in northwest Arkansas with her bird dog, Hatchet. Sure, I could probably shoot tighter patterns with TSS loads or blends, but this budget gun loves budget ammo. Double Barrel Shotguns Are Safe. Its an Optima-Choke system, which is used by many of Berettas high-end guns, like the DT11 and DT10. The Remington 870 Classic Trap is technically a trap shooting gun, but the 30-inch barrel makes it exceptionally accurate for any application. There are 12 and 20 gauge models available in 3 inch chambers. The price, with Mavericks on the market for under $400. Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. CZ 1012 The 1012 went through a 5,000-round test to prove its durability. Nov 27, 2016 - Double Barrel Shotguns. This shotgun is no longer in production, but can still be found on the used market. Stoeger Pro Staff. My current model wasnt affordable, it was dirt cheap, at $175. The receivers of these guns are steel and easy to drill and tap if they didnt already come that way, as mine did. Just 40 inches longthe barrel is 20 inchesthe 500 is great for hunting tight cover. Oh, and your maximum effective range with bidshot and a turkey choke is around 50 yards. If you desire both those elements in a shotgun, the Scout is an ideal platform. Put a turkey choke in one barrel and IC in the other. The Mossberg 500 Super Bantam is designed for youth hunters, with a relatively short pull and relatively good recoil resistance. The only downside on this gun is the trigger, which is on the heavy side. There is a Micro Core recoil pad screwed into the buttstock to help absorb the recoil of heavy turkey loads. Petersen's HUNTING Publisher, Kevin Steele is in the CZ booth with Dylan Rice at SHOT Show to talk about CZ 600 Series Trail rifle. Truglo Strut Stopper turkey chokes start at about $40. The double-barrel shotgun is handy and fast until you've emptied both barrels. 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