which shotgun to go with?

[HighKnob]

The less fatal was for a hunting accident not for the turkey.

 

[prbirish1]

Live in Michigan and we're seeing a lot of birds. I bought an 870 express and put on a cheap stardot choke a friend recommended. Took my first gobbler at 50 yds shooting 3"Win Super X loads. Not advertising cheap.. but that choke patterned better than any other and so did the SuperX round. Win stopped making them when they came out with the Supreme but I found some recently.

Good Luck hope you enjoy chasing gobblers as much as I do!

Pete

 

[cowboy]

For cost. the 870 is one of the best and most dependable.

For an all round Semi Auto the Beretta extrema will do it all.

I am an over and under fan but the Xtrema will shoot every thing you throw at it from 2 3/4" 1 oz light Trap/dove loads to the 3 1/2" 2 1/4 oz #2 turkey loads with out any cycling problems and
changing springs or gas ports.

Just my opinion

J E CUSTOM

Good advice from above. Have an 870 that has over 200,000 trap rounds through it. Can't go wrong with the old 870.

I see you're from Texas so what we refer to as an auto jammer up here in the cold would not apply to your location. My experience with auto's is too much maintenance.

If not a 870 - I'm with J E Custom - go over and under.

 

[birddog67]

Benelli SBE II X 2 you will be glad you did !! all around do it all gun , just comes with a price tag .

 

[saj]

I agree with birddog67. I have tried many different types of
shotguns for turkey hunting,singles,doules,pumps and autos and I can not say enough good about the benelli SBEII, easy to clean low recoil and a great shooter

 

[SoTxHunter]

Any decent .12 gauge and then get a good Turkey choke tube. I use my Browning Gold Hunter 3" that I use for other general purpose bird hunting . Does a great job.

 

[oldfamily]

Look on gunbroker for an old style 870 express without the j lock safety. Extra super full rem choke and find a gun shop that sells turkey shells by the round. That way you can find what shoots best out of your gun and save yourself the headache of missing birds. My turkey gun is a remington 870 spt 12 guage with 21 in barrel that I had angle port work over. Don't have to have the 3.5 in chamber if you can learn to call a turkey and learn how to hunt them. I have had several of the older express shotguns that shot better than alot of high dollar guns.

 

[Broken Brow]

Another vote for the 870.

 

[maddoc]

I run a Mossberg 535 with a 28" barrel, Knoxx recoil stock and super full choke. Great combo, Its never failed to kill a bird ive pulled the trigger on

 

[matt_3479]

A few of you guys are saying get a middle line 870. What's tge middle line model? There is an 870 express with a 23" fully rifle barrel for my deer hunting and it comes with a 26" barrel for turkey and waterfowl. Now you guys were saying the express is a cheap gun. Why?

I have heard some great things about the Winchester sxp's at tge local shop. Any reviews in that?
Does nobody like the browning bps on here

 

[Broken Brow]

A few of you guys are saying get a middle line 870. What's tge middle line model? There is an 870 express with a 23" fully rifle barrel for my deer hunting and it comes with a 26" barrel for turkey and waterfowl. Now you guys were saying the express is a cheap gun. Why?

Matt - I don't know what your local gun shop has, but here are some examples:

http://www.remington.com/product-families/firearms/shotgun-families/pump-action-model-870.aspx

Here are some examples of the prices:
Remington 870 Express 12GA 3" Chamber $325
Remington 870 Express 12GA Super Magnum $350
Remington 870 Express 12GA Super Magnum Turkey Synthetic $475
Remington 870 Express Mag Waterfowl 12Ga, 3.5" Chamber $475
Remington 870 SPS ShurShot Synthetic Turkey $500

If the price of that Browning BPS looked "OK," these probably are looking better.

The first new shotgun I ever purchased was just a plain old 870 Express and it turned out to be a dependable shotgun to get started with.
Good Luck!

 

[ecoboost]

I shoot the 870 express 30" barrel w a Carlson turkey choke. Has not failed me yet!!

 

[260smith]

i got a 20ga full choke single shot h&r put camo cloth type tape all over it and use 3" #7 filte control federal hevi weight i also put 1.75-4x scope circle cross hair just put the head in the circle and it's dead. i have killed trukeys over 40yds hammer to the ground. real cheap set up that works!!

 

[Trickymissfit]

Be aware in some shotguns the 3 1/2 " loads have a brutal kick, but the good news is if you buy the big 12 you can still shoot 3" through it , pattern density is where it's at whether you shoot 2 oz. Or 2 1/4 oz. Lately around here some guys are making the move to 20 ga. And shooting hevi-shot and the like and gettin the job done with a gun that's a full pound less. Keeps an old guy more mobile to to make the move on old tom.

I use a Mossberg 835 with a back bored barrel. A 3" mag is like shooting a 2 3/4" Win XX mag thru it. I really can't see much difference in recoil between the 3". I have a 1x-4x scope on it now, but will change it out to an Aimpoint very soon. I'd look for an aftermarket back bored barrel with a good turkey choke to use in whatever brand you buy. The backbored barrel reduces felt recoil by about 25% alone
gary