The Best Turkey Shotgun For Beginners

Most 12-gauge turkey shotshells, whether or not lead or tungsten tremendous shot (TSS), carry heavy payloads that produce heavy recoil. Whether or not you’re a brand new or skilled turkey hunter, anticipating that recoil [can cause you to flinch](https://www.themeateater.com/hunt/firearm-hunting/how-not-to-introduce-your-kids-to-guns) simply earlier than the set off is pulled, leading to a clear miss.

However 28-gauge turkey hundreds produce much less felt recoil (so long as you’re taking pictures the right shotgun) and may anchor a tom at 40 yards if you happen to pair the gun with TSS ammo. This not solely makes the taking pictures expertise extra pleasurable for a brand new hunter but in addition makes you extra correct.

Felt recoil is measured in foot-pounds and decided through the use of a mathematical system that considers the burden of a shotgun, the cost weight of a shotshell, and the muzzle velocity of the shot because it exits the barrel.

A contemporary 12-gauge shotgun sometimes weighs 7 kilos, and most 3-inch turkey a great deal of TSS have a 2-ounce payload with a muzzle velocity of 1,190 ft per second (fps). That mixture of gun and cargo produces a stinging 92.1 ft-lbs. of recoil vitality. Drop the payload weight to 1¾ ounces and a muzzle velocity of 1,200 fps, generally present in lead turkey choices, and the recoil vitality is a extra manageable 49.3 ft-lbs.

Mossberg is constructing 28-gauge turkey weapons, just like the semi-automatic SA-28 and break-action Silver Reserve. Few different gun producers are producing turkey-specific 28-gauge shotguns. However some hunters have turned to Benelli’s Tremendous Black Eagle 3, chambered for 3-inch 28-gauge shells, outfitting the sub-gauge with an optic for higher accuracy. The load of the SBE3 is 5.6 kilos. Paired with Hevi-Shot’s new Hevi-18 3-inch shotshell (1¼-ounce payload, 1,200 fps muzzle velocity), the shooter will expertise 34.5 kilos of felt recoil. Via the identical gun, Apex Ammunition’s 2¾-inch turkey load with a cost weight of 1⅜ ounces and a muzzle velocity of 1,200 fps produces 40.5 ft./lbs. of felt recoil.

So what does all that imply? First off, a 12-gauge is sort of at all times going to be a heavier carry afield as a result of it weighs greater than a 28. In case you hunt from a blind, this received’t make a lot distinction. However if you happen to stroll miles chasing spring toms, carrying a lighter gun will make an enormous distinction. I used to hunt with an virtually eight-pound Browning BPS, which weighed 2½ kilos greater than most 28s. Having hunted with lighter weapons during the last a number of years, I can let you know that my turkey searching expertise is far improved as a result of I’m extra apt to stroll farther for a gobbler and not using a boat anchor slung over my shoulder.

Much less recoil additionally improves accuracy. Heavy recoil can encourage flinching simply as you pull the set off, pulling the shotgun off course. Some hunters will anticipate recoil, which causes them to flinch—not optimum when a tom is strutting 30 yards in entrance of you.

After all, turkey hunters may rightly ask: how a lot downrange efficiency am I shedding by switching from the 12 to the 28?

Not as a lot as you may suppose. I’ve extensively pattern-tested TSS 12-, 20-, and 28-gauge turkey hundreds. At 40 yards, the 28 shotshells at all times maintain their very own in opposition to the bigger bores. My most up-to-date work pitted a pair of two ¾” 12- and 20-gauge Hevi-Shot Hevi-18 hundreds in opposition to the brand new 3” 28-gauge Hevi-18 providing. I shot every load 5 instances on a bit of 35”x35” butcher paper, discovered the core of the sample, drew a ten” circle round it, and counted the variety of pellet strikes.

To degree the taking part in discipline, every shotshell had a payload of 1¼ ounces loaded with No. 9 shot (448 pellets). I first shot all of the choices by means of inventory full chokes however then swapped in Carlson’s Beretta Optima .515 and .505 aftermarket turkey chokes within the 28-gauge to see how they carried out. The desk beneath reveals the outcomes.

The 28 outperformed the 12 and 20, however do not forget that the bigger bores can maintain heavier payloads, which is able to improve pellet depend and sample density downrange. For example, a 12-gauge 3” 2¼-ounce payload of No. 9s has a pellet depend of 814; the 20 gauge 3-inch 1⅝-ounce payload of No. 9s equals 590 pellets.

I additionally didn’t shoot the 12 and 20 hundreds by means of a tighter aftermarket choke. In case you pair the best 12-gauge shotgun, choke, and 2¼-ounce payload, I’ve seen upwards of 450 pellet strikes inside the ten” circle from 40 yards.

Nonetheless, the outcomes from the 28-gauge show that it will probably anchor a turkey at 40 yards and even compete with bigger gauges underneath some circumstances.

Choosing the right gun and ammo is overwhelming for many new hunters. Fortunately, there are just a few turkey-specific choices in the meanwhile. Most 28-gauge shotguns are chambered for 2¾” shotshells, however with the appearance of the three” 28 and Hevi-Shot’s new Hevi-18 3” turkey load, shoppers are going to see extra 3” 28-gauge pump and semi-automatic shotguns available on the market. For now, your greatest gun choices are Mossberg and Benelli (I think the Italian gunmaker will debut an SBE3 turkey gun in 28 earlier than subsequent spring). Hevi-Shot, Apex Ammunition, and Rogue are among the few producers of TSS that produce 28-gauge turkey shells.

Any of those gun-load combos might be deadly on turkeys inside 40 yards. Simply ensure it’s authorized to hunt with a 28 in your state. And be sure you sample your gun on paper earlier than going afield. TSS patterns are tight due to the shot’s 18.1 g/cc density. Pair it with an aftermarket turkey choke, and the core of the sample is just concerning the dimension of a baseball.