Turkey gun for wife

[peterk123]

Done. Going fancy though. Mossberg semi auto. Going to put a red dot on it for her too. Thanks for all the comments. Very helpful!

 

[Archer829]

.410 with TSS seems like a great option for you!

 

[PNWGATOR]

TSS out of Rossi Tuffy .410 topped with a red dot.

 

[dtrkyman]

If you went 20ga, keep in mind weight of the shot load and velocity equal recoil. Federal has a low recoil load, shop around some of the smaller ammo companies, salt creek, burgess creek, fox trot and look for a 1 3/8th oz load, Apex has one in 2 3/4 for sure as well.

Sub 1100 fps will be a good gauge for recoil as well.

I hand load a 1 5/8th oz load and in a light 20ga I wouldn't have a kid or small lady shooting it, it's quite stiff on recoil even in a gas semi auto!

Any TSS turkey load will get you 40yds with 9s!

 

[Honyock]

Stevens 301 Turkey 410 with a red dot and TSS

 

[Ringbill27]

This is the gun I bought for my wife. Silver Eagle Alpha 2 12ga. It’s a M2 clone. I won it on auction for almost nothing.

She duck hunts with a black eagle 2 so I figured this would be a good because of the controls are the same as her benelli.

I went with 12ga because she can handle the recoil and is the easiest to find in my neck of the woods ammo wise.

 

[butcherboy]

I just bought the Stevens 410. Putting a Sig red dot on it. This is for my daughter but I may just get one for me as well but in a pump or auto. Freakin NM passed a law last year that makes us wait 7 days from purchase to pick the gun up. waited 6 days for the gun to come in to ffl then another 7 days after that!

 

[PaulB84]

its been said many many times already above, but another huge +1 for the 410 and TSS. You simply gotta see what they can do to believe it.

 

[roosiebull]

I didn’t realize that a 410 with TSS was so widely accepted as a 40yd turkey gun.

I am going to get a dedicated turkey gun after this year (currently still using my beater nova 12ga with TSS) and I despise shooting it, it sucks.

My wife is showing some interest and I think she will love turkey hunting when she has her first action, but there is no way she could use my gun

We have a moss 500 20ga too that’s our slug gun, And she has killed a couple nice bucks and a bull with it, and we have a smooth barrel for it too, so I’m going to get a couple chokes and pattern a load with it, but I do want a dedicated turkey gun.

My 90lb daughter killed a bull with the 20 as well, but it rocks her, and want something she can turkey hunt with… 410 wasn’t really on my radar (20ga gas gun was what I was thinking) but maybe the 410 should be considered.

 

[Gobbler36]

I'd say 40 yards max. I've never had to shoot further than that on a bird.

Sounds like I need to take a hard look at a 410.

Go with a 28g
Just bought one for my boys and they are legit getting way more pellets for the same recoil as the .410
My 7 year old shoots the 28 completely fine
Ask me all the time to go shooting now lol !

You think that tss with a 410 is impressive watch some YouTube videos with tss on the 28g 40,50,60 yd gun easy

 

[peterk123]

Thanks everyone for the comments and advice.

We got out and sighted in the gun (410 with a turkey choke) and tested some loads. This thing is awesome! Barely any recoil. At 20 yards it will literally remove the head of a bird. 30 yards its dead....



40 yards and the bird is still done.




And the most important pic of all. A happy wife....

 

[juju]

12ga only if your budget is constrained to lead shells. 410 only if you handload.

If she's right eye dominate: Stevens 555 compact 28ga., Boss 1.25oz T9s. I'd try the factory full before considering a turkey choke. If she's not backwards, one of the lightweight 28ga autos that have reversible safeties. Let your budget be your guide. Turkey hunting is not high volume, high wear.

If you do handload, find a Yildiz TK-36 .410. It weighs a little over three pounds. Some of them will pattern well enough without a turkey choke, but you may have to send it to SumToy. You want a red dot mounted. All the other .410s weigh as much as larger gauges. The which are all easier to get along with.

If you buy any of these options and have heretofore only used 12ga, you'll be switching to your wife's turkey gun after you see what it does. Bank on it.

 

[juju]

Well, now I see you got the .410. You'll need to test pattern at least one shell from each new box. Also weigh them to consistency. Good luck. You probably won't have a dud, but it's not unheard of. .410 is finicky. I only use my handloads. It took some doing to work out all the details.

 

[Gobbler36]

This is a kids 28g at 40yds today
9.5 Rogue TSS
Redicilous pattern

 

[Skydog]

I was researching low recoil options for a turkey gun and came across this article. Thought it was interesting and sounds like there may be a lot more 28-gauge gun and ammo options coming...

The 28 Gauge is Taking Over the Turkey Woods

The 28 has the perfect blend of light weight, soft recoil, and gobbler dropping effectiveness, especially with new ammunition. Will one of them be your next turkey gun?

realtree.com

 

[UKwildcatfan]

She is a little lady, 5'4" and goes about 115 pounds or so. What would you guys recommend we consider and would you go with 12 gauge or 20? Right now she is using an old bolt action 20g. Time for a dedicated turkey gun. Thx Pete

Got my wife a Franchi 20 ga pistol grip turkey gun. She loves it.

 

[satchamo]

I’d echo what most are saying with 410 TSS. They do throw a lot of shot for their size and can stretch to 40 yds. I’d personally recommend 10 shot for a newbie. It’s gonna throw a bit more forgiving pattern. I’m a fan of kinetic gunwerks loads.

You probably aren’t gonna find a single shot sub gauge right now. IL finally made them legal so there was an increased demand for them this spring. I got a Rossi tuffy turkey for my 8 year old and that guns a feather. It weight 3 lbs with a red dot and has a removable lop spacer and a pistol grip to fit his smaller hands. That said it is a cheap ass fun. It does not eject apex or any cheddite hull rounds. But it handles anything rolled in fiocchi hulls. The Steven’s 301 is a much nicer fun but it’s a lot heavier and the stock pic rail is way too high. You have to add a comb riser to get a cheek weld with a red dot.

The Rossi kicks the stevens ass in ergos but the stevens is a heavier, more stout gun and they pattern ridiculously well. The Rossi doesn’t throw a bad pattern, but the Steven’s I’ve seen have been tighter. And in speaking to the stock chokes. I’m sure you could make either do what you want with the right load and choke combo.

 

[Skydog]

Stevens 555 compact 28ga., Boss 1.25oz T9s

Curious about the use of an over/under for turkeys. Do you use a different choke in each barrel (one for closer shots, one for longer shots), or the same choke in both barrels (in case the 2nd one is needed for a follow up shot)?

Also, how is the quality of the Stevens?