Your going to get many recommendations , if the gun your looking for is going to be a multi purpose hunting gun , like waterfowl , you may lean to the side of a semi- auto - If its going to be a straight turkey gun , just about any shotgun with screw in chokes can be made to kill a turkey
1) opt to get the most value out of your purchase , for a little bit more money you can get a loaded turkey gun off the rack ....a camo dip , sometimes a half decent turkey choke and some adj. fiber optic bead sights , and a good soft recoil pad, and a sling -----all these things can ad up if you try and buy them latter
2) Get a 3.5 chamber (if 12) , its a no-brainer - barrel length is up to you - shoulder it ,and then you make the choice
2) Find what fits
you best , shoulder all of the guns in the shop - when you snap it up to your shoulder at a object , ( those mounted gobblers in the hunting department are good for something ) you want to see that bead and mid bead ( truglow sights if it has some ) point true and center at the gobblers head - if all you see is rib , or the rib to the side , it feels to long of a pull or too short - try some other guns or see if the stock has adjustable shims - shotgun fit is important , eventually every serious turkey hunter if he/she hunts enough will miss a gobbler , and the main culprit is poor shotgun fit - when you rush a shot on a poor fitting shotgun bad things happen
3) Avoid no-name brands with obscure choke thread patterns - get a gun with a mobil type choke, rem choke , invector etc.. a big name brand thread pattern ,that's important cause you will be able to get that all important aftermarket choke - warranty and repair service is simpler with the larger brand firearm makers
4)Cycle the action , some of the longer 3.5 actions have a long stroke , make sure the gun cycles well for you --- forearm rattle , some don't care , test out the gun you like in the store - make sure the safety is okay to operate
5) When you round it down to a gun you like make sure you get one that is put together right ,make sure the rib is soldered on true - most importantly , some choke installations are put in crooked at the factory , put the recoil pad down flat on the floor { make sure unloaded of course} and look very closely at the very thin muzzle around the choke , make sure it is even all around , it will be hard to tell because its probably only 10-20 thousands of a inch thick , make sure it is centered , look down the bore with the choke and make sure the choke seats the bore centered - if it is off even by .003 your going to have lets say a choke (.665 example) that will be a .662 on one side of the shot charge and .668 on the other side - I have seen chokes installed .010 off resulting in a gun that shot 1 foot to the right - that shotgun was a PITA to hunt with -For Example , I have SP10 that is .003 off and shoots about 3-4 inches to the right -- Take the barrel off and make sure there are no wobbles down the bore and the forcing cone in front of the chamber wasn't butchered at the factory- they can be polished out , but if there is another gun in the back with a better barrel get that one -
-If the gun your looking at has a uneven choke ,
put it back on the rack ,and ask if they have another new one in the back - that uneven choke gun will be someone Else's problem not yours - aftermarket sights will help correct some of this
this is a exaggerated graphic of what to look for
image courtesy of
http://theshotgunshop.net/about.htmlIt don't matter how tight or hard a turkey gun shoots if it wont shoot where it is aimed , it is useless most important thing is to get it shooting straight -
then work on the load and choke For about $400-$500 bucks for a good camo pump will fix you up good , I have owned countless shotguns , Remington's have a reputation for having solid reliability and a good fit for most statures plus after market parts galore ,Winchester& Browning's are of excellent in Quality , Beretta's & Benellis are good on performance and quality watch out for the price tag on the autos , Mossbergs especially the 835's are Value packed and proven to have it where it counts -
There are some newer makes of Turkish makes like Winchester pumps and the Stoegers are hard to beat , especially the Auto Stoegers you can pick up a 3.5 chamber Stoeger auto for about $600 - Stoeger is owned by the Parent company Beretta who also owns Benelli -
Good Luck--Shannon
