Topic: The Best Turkey Hunting Shotguns of 2023, Tested and Reviewed (Read 38 times)
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Topic: The Best Turkey Hunting Shotguns of 2023, Tested and Reviewed (Read 38 times)
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Released in 2017, the A350 was Beretta’s first dedicated 3½-inch auto-loader for turkey hunters. The A350 debuted as a waterfowl shotgun, bridging the gap in price between the A300 Outlander and A400 Xtreme. Beretta shortened the barrel to 24 inches on the turkey model and added an aluminum rail on the top of the action—which leads into a stepped, ventilated rib—for mounting an optic. It’s a gas gun, so hunters will feel less recoil than with an inertia-driven gun. Beretta also equipped the shotgun with its Blink system, which cycles shotshells fast, though it’s not a necessity on a turkey gun unless you miss and need a quick follow up shot. There is a Micro Core recoil pad screwed into the buttstock to help absorb the recoil of heavy turkey loads. An extended extra-full turkey choke co*es standard. It’s an Optima-Choke system, which is used by many of Beretta’s high-end guns, like the DT11 and DT10. The camouflage finish of the A350 is in Mossy Oak Obsession. —J.G.
The BPS was made for turkey hunters. Since the load gate and ejection port are one in the same, there’s less of a chance for mud and grime to find their way into the chamber and gunk up your gun. That’s important for turkey hunters, who are mostly sitting on the forest floor. You can buy the BPS in a 3½-inch chamber, but I like the 3-inch model for turkey hunting. First, the travel on the fore-end when you need to eject a spent shotshell and load a new one is shorter, and the gun itself is two inches shorter than the 3½-inch 12-gauge. The receiver is drilled and tapped for an optic, plus there is a 4-in-1 Hi-Viz fiber-optic sight system, which includes a rear and front sight for better accuracy. The downside to a BPS is its weight. They are nearly 8-pound guns even in the co*posite model (wood and steel BPS’ are heavier). But the weight tames much of the felt recoil, and there are sling swivels, so you can haul the gun over the shoulder if you buy a strap. —J.G.
The almost-10-pound 10-gauge Gold Light is anything but light. That said, if you’re not a run-and-gun turkey hunter, a 10 loaded with a 3½-inch lead or tungsten shotshell that has a shot charge of 2 ounces or more is an absolute hammer on gobblers. The knock on 10 gauges is that they shoot bigger shells so they must produce more recoil, but that’s not the case. Since the Gold Light is a heavy gas-driven gun, the recoil is co*parable to a 12-gauge auto. Turkey hunters should opt for the shorter 26-inch barrel, but this is a long shogun (48 inches with a 26-inch barrel and 50 inches with a 28-inch barrel), so it’s not ideal for river-bottom thickets or heavily forested ridgelines. It can be hard to find turkey ammo for 10s because there are only two in production (the BPS is the other), but it’s an ideal gauge for tough old toms because of the increased payload capability of its shotshells. The Gold Light is a well-balanced gun, and though it is nearly 10 pounds, that weight is evenly distributed, which makes it easier to carry. —J.G.
Key Features
Single-shots are making a co*eback in the turkey woods and .410s (where legal) have carved out a niche among turkey hunters willing to pay the price for TSS shotshells. If you desire both those elements in a shotgun, the Scout is an ideal platform. The scope rail allows you to mount almost any optic to it (you’ll need one shooting a .410). Plus, the co*b of the stock is raised like you would find on a rifle to make it easier to see through a mounted scope or red dot. It’s only a 6-pound gun, and just 22 inches long without the included Jebs X-Full choke. Length of pull can be adjusted from 13 to 14 inches, so even though the Scout is “co*pact” it’s still a co*fortable gun to shoot regardless of your size. There is a thick recoil pad affixed to the buttstock, but with the dainty charge weights of .410 ammo, recoil is a non-issue. It is a hammer gun, so you will have to cock it before shooting, which does take extra time you may not have if a longbeard gives you a tight shot window. —J.G.
The 37 has enjoyed one of the longest runs in pump shotgun history. Based on a John Browning design, the Ithaca Model 37 was originally set to debut in 1933 after the Browning patents expired. But it was discovered that gunmaker John Pederson also held some of the design patents, and so Ithaca had to wait four more years for those to expire. The 37 Turkey Slayer is still being made and available in a 12- and 20-gauge model with a 24-inch barrel. There are raised rifle sights just forward of the receiver and at the muzzle for better accuracy, and the Turkey Slayer co*es in a black synthetic finish for added durability. It’s not an overly heavy turkey gun in 20-gauge at 7.2 pounds but the 12 is over 8 pounds. A bottom-eject pump, the Turkey Slayer will keep the elements away from your shotshell, which is critical if you’re sitting through a spring rain or freak snow shower. It’s not unheard of for moisture to make its way into the action of side eject shotguns and contaminate a shell’s gunpowder, rendering it useless. Or the water can work its way into the firing pin, causing a light strike of the shotshell’s primer. —J.G.
There’s probably no other shotgun manufacturer more dedicated to turkey hunting than Mossberg. Just about every time Mossberg co*es out with a new shotgun, it eventually is made available in a turkey platform. Its most iconic pump is the 500, and the turkey model is an ideal gobbler gun. Just 40 inches long—the barrel is 20 inches—the 500 is great for hunting tight cover. The X-Factor choke co*es standard, and a tang-mounted safety is perfect if you need to kill a longbeard with your off-hand. The length of pull is only 13.875 inches, and the travel of the fore-end is short in case you need to get a second shot off quickly. There is a front fiber-optic sight for quicker target acquisition, and the 7-pound 12-gauge (get ready for some serious recoil) is finished in Mossy Oak Obsession. The 500 is also available in a .410-bore and 20-gauge. —J.G.
If you like the Mossberg 500 features but you’re a maniac and want to shoot 3.5-inch turkey loads, then the Mossberg 835 Ulti-Mag Turkey is the shotgun for you. It has a longer 24-inch barrel and weighs a half pound more than the 500, which is welco*e weight to help soak up all that recoil.
I’ve hunted across the country with my 835 over the last seven turkey seasons and what I love most about it is that it’s a beater shotgun. It always cycles and always goes bang when I squeeze the trigger. It gets splashed with snow, rain, mud, and turkey blood every season and just keeps running (now that I think about it, I’m not sure that I’ve actually ever cleaned the gun).
It came with a full (.695) choke that I’ve never seen a need to swap out, which is good because it’s probably rusted in there by now. With top-end TSS loads it shoots killer patterns at 60 yards—and probably farther but I’ve never tried it. The only real downside of the 835 Turkey is that my version came with cheap, flimsy sights. My rear sight fell off at some point during its first season. I solved this by adding a Leupold Freedom red-dot optic. To get the proper co*b height in order to see through my new sight, I stole a trick from Dave Petzal and taped a few strips of foam to the stock using green duct tape. It works wonderfully, and really adds to the aesthetic of my beater gun. But wait, you might say. Do you really need 3.5-inch TSS loads to kill a turkey? To that I’d respond, need has nothing to do with it. —Alex Robinson
Turkey hunters will appreciate the 21-inch barrel of the 870 Turkey, which makes it easy to reposition for a better shot if a gobbler co*es in from an unexpected direction. The shorter barrel cuts some of the weight from traditional 26- and 28-inch barrels, and it balances nicely for those times when you need to make an off-hand or awkward shot.
Like most turkey guns, this one has everything you need to start turkey hunting without buying additional accessories. The extra full choke patterns well depending on the ammo you use, and hunters who want to dial in their patterns can find an assortment of aftermarket chokes for the 870. Similarly, the HiViz single bead lines up great but doesn’t feel as sturdy as the rest of the gun, but you can easily replace them for cheap. The gun has a matte finish on the steel receiver and barrel, plus Mossy Oak Break-Up on the stock and fore-end.
If you’re also looking for a budget gun that can take a licking and keep on ticking, look no further. By the end of every turkey season, I’m always amazed at how much dirt and debris I clean off this gun, and I’ve never had a misfire or cycling issue. It’s crawled through mud, cut hay fields with standing water, and even bounced on concrete a time or two.
Unlike other turkey guns (I won’t mention), the 870 doesn’t punish you when you shoot it. The weight absorbs most of the recoil, and it’s never given me a shiner even if I had my cheek to close to the stock.
I’ve used 870s almost exclusively since I started turkey hunting, and my first one came from my grandfather who found it on a used gun rack. The worn finish around the receiver is from where me and the previous owner(s) gripped and toted it through the woods, and they also swapped the camo stock and forend for glossy Wingmaster furniture. But I never bothered to change it because there’s nothing wrong with having a classy turkey killer. It may not be a true Wingmaster, but this gun’s no pretender when it co*es to dropping toms. Besides, it’s a wingmaster in its own right. For years, especially in college, I ran it with a Primos Tight Wad choke and whatever turkey ammo I could find. Sure, I could probably shoot tighter patterns with TSS loads or blends, but this budget gun loves budget ammo. And there hasn’t been a gobbler strut within 40 yards of this gun to change that yet.—Adam Moore
The .410 Mossberg 500 Turkey produced the best patterns in our test of .410 turkey guns, putting an incredible 156 Apex No. 9 pellets on target from 40 yards. For reference, that’s a denser pattern than 12 g