Turkey Hunting 12 or 20 Guage?

[Huntolive]

I’ve been turkey hunting for about eight years and have always used 12 gauge both in pump and semi autos and had great success that is at least when I can get a bird to come in front of me
I am partial to Benelli and I’ve taken Turkey with my supernova and super black eagle 2 and with 24 and 26 inch barrels

but I have also seen my son and daughter 10 year and 16 year olds slaughter turkeys with their 20 gauge pump youth model cheap as hell Mossberg
At distances from 20 to 35 yards with basic Remington nitro turkey 20 gauge ammo.

For some obsessive compulsive reason I find myself in the market for an additional turkey gunfor some obsessive compulsive reason I find myself in the market for an additional turkey gun

initially I was even thinking and still Am about a Bonelli super black eagle three not the crazy expensive $3000 turkey performance shop one but the one that is exactly like it for about 1800

also considering the Winchester SX4 cantilevered turkey gun

I had exclusively been thinking of 12 gauge and I usually use Winchester long beard either four or five shot which I find to be pretty awesome for the money but now I’m seriously considering 20 gauge instead however I do still have at least six boxes of 12 gauge long beard ammo.
So I’m considering the two semi autos above both 12 gauge and 20 gauge. What do you recommend 12 or 20?

At this point I am also considering just getting a basic 870 20 gauge Youth model or other pump
20 gauge some thing with a 21 inch barrel or 22 inch barrel and switching over to something like that for a dedicated turkey gun

So am I being stupid and if so more stupid to be getting another Benelli
order be thinking about switching to 20 gauge for wild turkey primarily hunting in Virginia?

and what about pump versus semi automatic?

 

[jmr40]

I picked up a 20 ga 870 youth with a 21" barrel 7 or 8 years ago to use for turkey hunting. But initially couldn't find a load that I felt confident in using even with an aftermarket turkey tube. I have a 24" Benelli M1 in 12 ga that is pretty light and compact, so I went back to it until 2 years ago. Ammo choice is far more critical with smaller gauges.

The youth gun had been sitting in the back of the safe until I decided to try some more loads. I finally stumbled onto something that shoots tight enough that I'd feel good with a 35 yard shot. If you're willing to spend the money I hear great things about the TSS shot. But some of that is $15 every time you pull the trigger. Not worth it to me.

I've carried that gun for the last 2 years and feel confident in it. I'm not sure why I bought it other than I ran across a great deal, but I also have a 24" Benelli Nova 20 ga. that I may hunt with this year. Weight is about the same, but it is a little longer.

Pump vs Semi comes down to personal preference and your budget. Even though I do turkey hunt with my Benelli semi auto it isn't a dedicated turkey gun. I use it for other things. I don't see where a semi offers any advantage for turkey and a pump is cheaper and generally lighter. For a dedicated turkey hunting gun I simply prefer a pump. But for an all around gun prefer a semi.

 

[FL-NC]

First off, I'm not that dedicated of a turkey hunter. I haven't even killed one in a couple of years. IMO, the most important thing is to find a gun/shell/choke combo that works. I have 2 that meet this description- a Rem 870 and a Mossberg 930, both firing 3" 12 gauge. I really only use the 930 any more. I'm happy I found a combo that works, and I saved the targets and have a generous supply of the required ammunition. Probably a lifetime supply, at the rate I'm not killing turkeys. The shells I have will only be used to actually fire at a live turkey, since I find patterning such a gun not very fun at all (ouch) and I have no desire to pattern a turkey gun again, ever.

 

[Laphroaig]

It's not rocket science, more shot extends the pattern a few more yards. But probably not that much more unless you use 3 1/2" loads (double ouch). It sounds like you are a pretty dedicated turkey hunter and might not mind, and even embrace, the challenge of calling him in a few yards closer.

 

[Armored farmer]

It's all up to the bird...
If he hangs up at 42yds you'll wish you had your 12ga.
...on the other hand, sometimes they just walk right up to you. Especially if you're patient.
My neighbor uses a benelli 3"mag 20ga.
This pic was opening morning of 2016.
He had is Benelli and I carried my 12ga sxs muzzleloader.

 

[Patocazador]

Turkeys are not hard to kill with head shots. Most people give them credit for being smart. IMO they are just extremely spooky .. not smart. I always thought I needed a 12 ga. 3 1/2" with Hevi-shot for one but now I use a 3" 20 ga. with 2 /3/4" shells that I loaded on my MEC.

35 yards is quite a long way off for turkeys but a 20 ga. is sufficient with #5 lead shot or a bit smaller.

 

[Huntolive]

I agree on her first day turkey hunting my daughter at age 11 killed two our youth day with one shot at 35 yards with a Remington two and three-quarter inch nitro turkey cheap as hell shell 20 G

 

[earlthegoat2]

If you dont want to overthink things, just use a 12 ga. 3 or 3 1/2 lead will do it.

If you want to obsess over every detail, get a 410.

My equipment choices generally favor a "one or two steps above what is considered standard" and not so much a "one or two steps above what is considered bare minimum" or "bare minmum" which is fashionable these days.

20 ga with No 9 TSS is basically like a 3" 12 ga. @ like $15 per shot though. Must make dialing in your pattern fun on the wallet.

 

[Seedy Character]

$85 for 5 rounds is out of my comfort zone.
2 1/4 oz of 9s is a cloud, though.

12 ga doesn't give you much more over a 3" 20 ga. You have the 12s. IF you want a new gun, 20 ga would be my choice.

I prefer semi-auto, but have several pumps, too.
I find myself shooting a SxS more and mote.

No bad choices, get what you like, what you want.

 

[mcb]

From our first set yesterday morning for the Tennessee opener.



I have always use the same shotgun for Turkey hunting. A Browning BPS Stalker, 3.5-in, 12 gauge . My favorite load is 2-1/4 oz of #5 shot and an extra-full choke. I have killed birds out to ~55 yards with that combination. When I run out of my current box of ammo I am going to switch to Federal Flight Control ammunition and that will likely require I run a more open choke for best pattern.

I think a 20 gauge would work just fine (especially with Flight Contorl Ammunition) and the recoil would certainly be more manageable if you don't mind giving up a few yards of range. The only time I have really stretch the range of my 3.5-inch 12ga has been fall hunting when its much harder to get close. In the spring if the Toms show up we have always been able to get them to come well within range. My dad just uses 2-3/4 pheasant loads for his turkey hunting. He does not want the recoil of even a 3-inch 12 gauge.

That said I am a huge 410 fan, hunted a heap of squirrel and rabbit and even whitetail deer with my lowly 410. The idea of setting up a 410 turkey rig using tungsten shot is very intriguing and tempting to me. But the price of the tungsten is harsh for sure.

PS: No Toms yesterday but we called several hens in really close. Had one walk between my brother and I sitting just 10 yards apart.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Pump or semi??? Three and a half million inch $15 bucks a pop shells??? Get you a flintlock musket, a hand full of powder, and a handful of shot. They been killing Turks since before our Great-Grand-daddies was born!!!

But seriously, a 20 will work just fine. Turks aren't hard to kill. A single shot would be light and easy to carry.

 

[Boattale]

My grandson is ate up with turkey hunting. Current hot set up is a .410 bolt gun with a red dot shooting #9 TSS. Supposedly a 60 yard jello head shot. He would know.

 

[jdsingleshot]

Shot one turkey. 30 yards?, 16 gauge Stevens single-shot, 1-1/8 oz., number 6 shot. Bird dropped like a rock. This season, I'll carry my 1893 Remington Model 3 single-shot 12 gauge. I plan to use 7-1/2 or 8 shot.

 

[Seedy Character]

My grandson is ate up with turkey hunting. Current hot set up is a .410 bolt gun with a red dot shooting #9 TSS. Supposedly a 60 yard jello head shot. He would know.

EXPENSIVE! But, my buddy swears by it. .410 is light and fast.

Seen some 12 ga TSS 2 oz #9s at Bass Pro. $84.99 for 5 rounds!
That would be a cloud.

 

[natman]

I am partial to Benelli and I’ve taken Turkey with my supernova and super black eagle 2 and with 24 and 26 inch barrels

but I have also seen my son and daughter 10 year and 16 year olds slaughter turkeys with their 20 gauge pump youth model cheap as hell Mossberg
At distances from 20 to 35 yards with basic Remington nitro turkey 20 gauge ammo.
.....
So am I being stupid and if so more stupid to be getting another Benelli
order be thinking about switching to 20 gauge for wild turkey primarily hunting in Virginia?

and what about pump versus semi automatic?

The hard part of turkey hunting is calling the bird in. Shooting a turkey is probably the easiest shot in hunting. Range is less than 50 yards and you're shooting a more or less stationary target with a shotgun. Pump vs. Auto? I don't know why anyone would spend the extra money and put up with the extra weight of an auto for a dedicated turkey gun. I've never taken a second shot at a turkey, but if I did have to a pump is plenty fast enough.

If you already have a Benelli Supernova and an SBE2 you're well armed.

I used a Mossberg 500 3" 12 ga with a 20 inch barrel and internal Mossberg XFull choke for years. Killed a lot of turkeys with it, finally switched to a Mossberg 500 3" 12 ga factory camo turkey gun with Mossberg extended turkey choke.



Factory camo, fiber optic sights, good recoil pad, very light.

 

[Captcurt]

It depends on how the gun patterns and with what load. I have used a 3"12ga for many years and now use the Winchester LongBeard loads. It is awesome out to 60 yards. The rage now is to use a 410 with Tungsten shot like the Kent Matrix or Federal's TSS. I would like to try the tungsten in 12ga but spending $7-$8 a shot takes the desire away. My Longbeards work fine.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

I would like to try the tungsten in 12ga but spending $7-$8 a shot takes the desire away. My Longbeards work fine.

Considering a 2 and 3/4" pheasant or duck load works just fine from a full choke barrel, would take any desire I had, if I had it, to spend eight bucks on a single shell.

 

[mcb]

I am hunting with the remainder of this old box of shells. Notice the price.

 

[Highland Lofts]

At $85 for a box of shot shells To go turkey hunting ill stay home.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Wonder how that whole thing got started, the need for goose loads to kill a turkey at 25 or 30 yards. ?

 

[mcb]

Wonder how that whole thing got started, the need for goose loads to kill a turkey at 25 or 30 yards. ?

Cause someone wanted to kill that turkey at 50+ yards. The above box of shot shells in my previous post has a nearly 55 yard kill. I took a hen one fall with a snap shot before she disappeared over a roll in the fields. One pellet left the pattern and broke her wing the the rest stay in a cloud around her head. Clean kill.

 

[WestKentucky]

12 or 20? If your stuck on that then pick the middle and use a 16. It’s enough gun for anything but not painful with any loads and it’s generally pretty easy on game. Kind of the best of both sides of the fence when looking at 12 vs 20. Full choke with 6s does the trick. I personally like my loads a bit different. I shoot 48 shot. A mixture of 4s and 8s so it’s a dense pattern but the 4s really reach out. Seems the more tightly packed loads pattern better for me too, I suspect that as it goes through the choke that the small shot kinda cradles the big shot and let’s it fly a bit straighter.

BUT if you don’t load your own then buy a 20ga standard field grade gun in whatever flavor you prefer and shoot a bird with it at 32 yards instead of 34.

And let’s be realistic. If your satisfied with a dead right there every time line being X then X+3 is still close enough that 99% of the hunters are going to pull the trigger if that gobbler hangs up in clear sight. The discussion gets tricky when it’s a shot through brush, but if you can see head then lead shot can too.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

12 or 20? If your stuck on that then pick the middle and use a 16. It’s enough gun for anything but not painful with any loads and it’s generally pretty easy on game. Kind of the best of both sides of the fence when looking at 12 vs 20.

I used to know a guy, anytime anyone mentioned the 16, he'd say: "Hits like a 20, but kicks like a 12". !!! 16 is a nice gauge, it's too bad it faded away. It was quite popular, back in the day.

 

[WestKentucky]

I used to know a guy, anytime anyone mentioned the 16, he'd say: "Hits like a 20, but kicks like a 12". !!! 16 is a nice gauge, it's too bad it faded away. It was quite popular, back in the day.

I made an offer on one today. It was brought in to a body shop in lieu of payment for repairs. I doubt it works out but I was told I have first shot if they decide to let it go. Shooter grade A5 sweet sixteen. That would go well with my stevens 311 and my White Powder Wonder single.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

A 16 gauge A5, now that would really be something. I have a Remington 11, it's a 12, but couldn't be sweeter. What nice guns, and A5's and 11's.