Turkey Gun Help and Opinions - Please Read

[bnewt3]

Personally I think 3.5" for turkey is punishment for punishment's sake. 45 yds and in.......3" will do that with ease with the right load/choke. I use an Ithaca M37(King Ferry built) with a .670 choke and some 3" Longbeard XR #5s and it produces some TIGHT(possibly too tight) patterns @ 25yds. I may try a slightly more open choke but i need to pattern @40 first.

In my particular case, @25yds and aiming near the bottom of the waddle, the pattern is perfectly centered horizontally and about 4" high. Which means within 40-50yds or so I hold that same POA and dont worry about any drop.

Not requiring 3.5" opens your options a ton.

Ill see if I can remember to get a picture of the target.

As far as gun options, take a look at Ithaca. Their current guns made in Ohio are better quality but pricey, but King Ferry guns are solid and dont break the bank. They are also virtually unchanged since 1937 so its a really good, reliable, robust design. Also, they bottom eject so good for wrong-handed or left-handed.

I also am strongly considering the Vortex Viper shotgun red dot. Ive never liked the height of other options. With the integrated mount, the Viper sits very low. Just need a drilled and tapped receiver(which fortunately my Ithaca is from the factory). Many shotguns do not pattern straight, they often pattern high, low, left, right or some combination of 2. I am very fortunate with mine that its purely high, but a red dot solves that if its not.

 

[bnewt3]

FWIW, most of the turkey hunters I know have killed the vast majority of their turkeys with a youth 20ga with lead loads.

 

[bnewt3]

Does a longer barrel increase range and tighten up groups? Or is that mostly up to a good choke and load combo?

As far as barrel length, i think it depends on the barrel and the length of its forcing cone.

But as others have said, the right load/choke combo will be lethal.

For instance, the Longbeard XR(probably some others as well) loads are buffered meaning they have some type of inert powder or something mixed with the shot that i *think* reduces how much the shot bounces off each other in the barrel, which results in a tighter & more uniform pattern downrange. Combine that with a choke that produces the pattern size you are looking for and you have a winner. And they arent too expensive, I picked some up at academy for $23/10rds

 

[bnewt3]

One last thing, a tip I heard Rob Roberts say as a way to not waste more expensive ammo, especially if you use tss:

Start by patterning @25-30 yds with a field load......like a 2 3/4" 1oz #8 or #9 to get you an idea of where its patterning. If its way off in any direction, solve that, then pattern your turkey load.