New Turkey Gun.......gimme your thoughts

[TFrank]

I just picked up a Retay for a dedicated turkey gun. Literally just got it. The brand, from what I read, doesn’t have many complaints. Turkish Benellis.

I just heard of it this year. Seems like a good gun. Hope to pattern it soon. Waiting on a pic rail to mount my dot.

Long story short, Retay might be worth a look.

 

[Tbone26]

I have a Franchi Affinity 3 Turkey and a Mossberg SA 20 Tactical Turkey. I much prefer the Mossberg. I shoot TSS. I've had a lot of problems with the Franchi and would never buy another.

What problems did you have?? I just purchased a Franchi Affinity 3 Turkey and it seems to check all the boxes?

 

[Long Cut]

I have a Franchi Affinity 3 Turkey and a Mossberg SA 20 Tactical Turkey. I much prefer the Mossberg. I shoot TSS. I've had a lot of problems with the Franchi and would never buy another.

I bought this Franchi Affinity in 2017 or 2018- I honestly cannot remember.

The gun has killed dove, quail, ducks, geese, deer and turkey. Been across the Country dozens of times and the only thing I changed was the recoil spring, because it finally gave out after I don’t know how many thousands of shells.

I’ve had several buddies borrow my Franchi and they ended up buying their own. I personally know of 5 different guys with Franchi Affinities and we’ve collectively had 0 issues with them. That’s shooting birdshot to buckshot.

Dave Owen’s of the Pinholti Project exclusively used a 20 gauge compact Affinity before getting his Benelli sponsorship. He swore by his Franchi for years as well…

So to make the claim “I’d never buy another” is shocking to me, because frankly I’d argue the Franchi Affinity is the best inertia driven shotgun for under $1k right now.

Having said all that, what problems did you experience with your Franchi?

 

[LookinforDirt]

the first gun I bought for my son was for turkey and duck. Youth Weatherby 20g SA-08. Small, light. It’s now my turkey gun ( and I have two nicer berettas I could use). It’s just compact, easy to carry and I still have a bunch of turkey load for it.

I have the same gun I bought for my son being repurposed for the same reason. I have a Tristar Raptor ATAC 12g currently and it makes a nice turkey gun. 20” barrel is great for getting around the woods snag free. But 2lbs heavier than the SA-20 Compact which still has a short 24” barrel.

 

[RS3579]

Remington SP-10. Semi, Weights 10#. It can also reach out and get em.

 

[Bluefish]

I went with a Cva scout in 410 with red dot. Ran about 500, nice little gun. Have not got one yet, but patterns look good. I would have considered a Stevens if I could have found one in 410. The local fleet farm has them for under 200.

 

[darkhunter6.5]

Mine is an old H&R pardner I believe cut down to 20 inches and threaded for trulock chokes. It’s got some old irons and a pic rail with a vortex razor red dot and hammer spur and god-a-grip cheek weld. Dipped in OG mossy oak greenleaf. It’s a small lightweight turkey killing machine. Its perfect for hiking these N. GA mountains and alot easier to maneuver than my old 870. Im shooting Apex 2 3/4 inch #9 TSS and it throws a great patten out to 40 yards (could kill a turkey further but I have no interest in shooting that far). The only two things I wish were different is the chamber length and I wish it was a folding model. Could have got a cheap Turkish made gun for cheaper but there’s something about old American made guns that I love….View attachment 703789

What chest rig is that? Looking for something like that for the hot days here in South Carolina.

 

[Turkeytider]

I agree with the above - 20ga, red dot, TSS #9. Its the easy button and the turkey version of the tikka 223/rokslide special.

If I had more turkey seasons than I probably do, I`d transition to this ( 20 gauge, TSS loads ). I WOULD NOT be transitioning to TSS so I could snipe turkeys at 70 yards, however, because for me that takes out about 90% of what turkey hunting is all about. If I can`t get him inside of 40 yards, he can sleep with his hens. Plus, while TSS is indeed a marvelous load ballistically, especially for sub-gauge, you`ll never get me to believe that what we DON`T hear about are the cripples at 60 and 70 yards.
But..... then again, I`m an older guy and not the meat hunter I used to be.

 

[plebe]

I just picked up a Retay for a dedicated turkey gun. Literally just got it. The brand, from what I read, doesn’t have many complaints. Turkish Benellis.

I just heard of it this year. Seems like a good gun. Hope to pattern it soon. Waiting on a pic rail to mount my dot.

Long story short, Retay might be worth a look.

Actually Retay earned a patent for it’s inertia design in 2018. It’s different than a Benelli/Turknelli…

“Designated the Inertia Plus System, it improves upon Bruno Civolani’s 1967 rotating-bolt-head design by adding a rollover internal torsion spring that forcefully rotates the bolt head into battery. What that does in practice is virtually eliminate out-of-battery failures, probably the most notable (though rarely encountered) flaw in other inertia-operated systems.”

But made in Turkey, yes.

The biggest complaints I’ve read about them address light/slow loads. So not really an issue with turkey setups. Some say changing the spring resolves that for such applications as necessary.

I have a MasaiMara w/ Eotech HWS, but keep grabbing my Dad’s Ithaca semi for old times sake.

There’s probably a load/choke combo for most guns to pattern acceptably. It’s personal preference after that.

 

[plebe]

If I had more turkey seasons than I probably do, I`d transition to this ( 20 gauge, TSS loads ). I WOULD NOT be transitioning to TSS so I could snipe turkeys at 70 yards, however, because for me that takes out about 90% of what turkey hunting is all about. If I can`t get him inside of 40 yards, he can sleep with his hens. Plus, while TSS is indeed a marvelous load ballistically, especially for sub-gauge, you`ll never get me to believe that what we DON`T hear about are the cripples at 60 and 70 yards.
But..... then again, I`m an older guy and not the meat hunter I used to be.

TSS has it’s upside, but can do a number on a bird. If taxidermy is in play, it’s not my choice.

 

[BCD]

I bought this Franchi Affinity in 2017 or 2018- I honestly cannot remember.

The gun has killed dove, quail, ducks, geese, deer and turkey. Been across the Country dozens of times and the only thing I changed was the recoil spring, because it finally gave out after I don’t know how many thousands of shells.

I’ve had several buddies borrow my Franchi and they ended up buying their own. I personally know of 5 different guys with Franchi Affinities and we’ve collectively had 0 issues with them. That’s shooting birdshot to buckshot.

Dave Owen’s of the Pinholti Project exclusively used a 20 gauge compact Affinity before getting his Benelli sponsorship. He swore by his Franchi for years as well…

So to make the claim “I’d never buy another” is shocking to me, because frankly I’d argue the Franchi Affinity is the best inertia driven shotgun for under $1k right now.

Having said all that, what problems did you experience with your Franchi?
View attachment 704798

On the first one the forend wouldn't go on. Me and the FFL struggled with it for about an hour and sent it back. Appparently there was a bad batch of forends and this happened to others as well,. The second one they sent would not cycle any shells and occasionally wouldn't fire when you pulled the trigger. I sent it back and they "fixed it". It still jams some and occasionally doesn't fire. The fit and finish is also poor with some paint spots missing and little white spots under the finish. There were others online that had similiar problems. I bought a Mossberg SA 20 this winter and it is superior in every way. I tried to get a refund from Franchi but they wouldn't take the POS back because it had been fired. Biggest piece of junk I have ever bought.

 

[Scottf270]

I have a single shot 10 gauge and a single shot 20 gauge. Both are short and handy. I'll never use any other guns for turkeys.

 

[Gbrecka]

Man that TSS is expensive…I’ve found Winchester XRs hammer the birds, and I can get 10 for under $30. TSS is easily $5 more per trigger pull. A 5 pack of .410 tss is $45.

 

[RMM]

I've been using a mossberg sa 410 turkey, vortex venom red dot and 9.5 TSS for the last three years and will never go back to a 12 gauge. Super light and puts a hurting on the turkeys. I killed a bird last year at 58 steps with that set up. I don't like to kill them that far and honestly didn't know it was that far. He picked me out when he rounded a tree. The only thing I'm going to change is the red dot. Going to go to a holosun.

 

[Bluefish]

Man that TSS is expensive…I’ve found Winchester XRs hammer the birds, and I can get 10 for under $30. TSS is easily $5 more per trigger pull. A 5 pack of .410 tss is $45.

I found federal for 35 per 5. Not cheap, but will last a few years.

 

[Shadow14]

What chest rig is that? Looking for something like that for the hot days here in South Carolina.

Its the Kifaru steelhead with the marsupial gear hydration pack. great setup tho it still is hot at times.

 

[TFrank]

Actually Retay earned a patent for it’s inertia design in 2018. It’s different than a Benelli/Turknelli…

“Designated the Inertia Plus System, it improves upon Bruno Civolani’s 1967 rotating-bolt-head design by adding a rollover internal torsion spring that forcefully rotates the bolt head into battery. What that does in practice is virtually eliminate out-of-battery failures, probably the most notable (though rarely encountered) flaw in other inertia-operated systems.”

But made in Turkey, yes.

The biggest complaints I’ve read about them address light/slow loads. So not really an issue with turkey setups. Some say changing the spring resolves that for such applications as necessary.

I have a MasaiMara w/ Eotech HWS, but keep grabbing my Dad’s Ithaca semi for old times sake.

There’s probably a load/choke combo for most guns to pattern acceptably. It’s personal preference after that.

Thanks. Yeah I wasn’t much concerned about light loads for a dedicated turk gun.

Still have not patterned yet. Getting all the pieces together. I am considering replacing the recoil pad with the 10810 limbsaver. I understand it isn’t 100% perfect and might need minor modification to work. I know it is a turkey gun, and I wont be shooting much. Just wanted a new pad.

Issues with the masai mara?

 

[plebe]

Thanks. Yeah I wasn’t much concerned about light loads for a dedicated turk gun.

Still have not patterned yet. Getting all the pieces together. I am considering replacing the recoil pad with the 10810 limbsaver. I understand it isn’t 100% perfect and might need minor modification to work. I know it is a turkey gun, and I wont be shooting much. Just wanted a new pad.

Issues with the masai mara?

None to speak of. It’s a nimble dedicated turkey rig. I did add a JEBS choke and the holographic sight. A far better package than the old Ithaca, but that one’s never let me down either.

 

[Maineiac]

I’ve hunted with a number of turkey guns, my favorite “feeling” gun was a Thompson center pro hunter, only down side was that it is a 12ga and kicked terribly. Patterned amazingly well with hevishot and was pretty good with WLB. Used a Mossberg 500 12 ga. Great patterns with an Indian Creek Choke which also fit my TC. If TC offered a full sized .410 I’d get it in a second. I used my xtrema 2 for a few seasons too shooting 3.5” WLBs, amazing patterns but not a turkey gun.
My son saved his wood splitting money and bought Stevens 301. We shoot apex 9.5’s and the gun will consistently place 130-150 pellets in a 10” circle at 40 yards with the factory choke. I bought a mossberg 500 410 and it patterns nearly identically with a factory choke. I love the 410 and will not be going back. Sold the TC and and the Mossberg 500 12 ga. Benefits I see from the 410:
1) Reduced recoil
2) reduced sound at the shot, (a big deal for folks who enjoy hearing turkeys gobble and elk bugle and plan to do so long into the future). Every time I shot the 12 gauges I felt like I lost a little bit of my permanent hearing. Sometimes those far off sounds are so faint that reducing my cumulative hearing loss is a big deal to me.
Finally they’re effective at what I consider desirable turkey killing ranges likely out to 50ish yards but I keep it to 40 on the maximum side.
TSS is expensive but my hearing is important, and I don’t flinch when shooting these 410s, I can’t say that was true with my 12 ga guns. I haven’t missed with my 410, I can’t say that with any of my 12 ga guns.

 

[Turkeytider]

I’ve hunted with a number of turkey guns, my favorite “feeling” gun was a Thompson center pro hunter, only down side was that it is a 12ga and kicked terribly. Patterned amazingly well with hevishot and was pretty good with WLB. Used a Mossberg 500 12 ga. Great patterns with an Indian Creek Choke which also fit my TC. If TC offered a full sized .410 I’d get it in a second. I used my xtrema 2 for a few seasons too shooting 3.5” WLBs, amazing patterns but not a turkey gun.
My son saved his wood splitting money and bought Stevens 301. We shoot apex 9.5’s and the gun will consistently place 130-150 pellets in a 10” circle at 40 yards with the factory choke. I bought a mossberg 500 410 and it patterns nearly identically with a factory choke. I love the 410 and will not be going back. Sold the TC and and the Mossberg 500 12 ga. Benefits I see from the 410:
1) Reduced recoil
2) reduced sound at the shot, (a big deal for folks who enjoy hearing turkeys gobble and elk bugle and plan to do so long into the future). Every time I shot the 12 gauges I felt like I lost a little bit of my permanent hearing. Sometimes those far off sounds are so faint that reducing my cumulative hearing loss is a big deal to me.
Finally they’re effective at what I consider desirable turkey killing ranges likely out to 50ish yards but I keep it to 40 on the maximum side.
TSS is expensive but my hearing is important, and I don’t flinch when shooting these 410s, I can’t say that was true with my 12 ga guns. I haven’t missed with my 410, I can’t say that with any of my 12 ga guns.

The first time I shot my turkey gun, a 12 gauge Remington 870 Special Purpose with 21" barrel, 3" #6 Hevi-Shot, I thought every filling in my head was going to fall out and I just knew I had a concussion! My buddy laughed at me because of the expression on my face! I`m convinced it precipitated the PVD ( Posterior Vitreous Detachment ) in my left eye that occurred later that evening! Anyway, thank the Lord for slip on Limbsavers! That calmed it down considerably. Otherwise, it`s been a good turkey gun, patterned very well.
If I had more seasons in front of me than I probably do, I`d transition to a sub-gauge with TSS, and not because I want to shoot at turkeys at 70 yards, either.