Hunting Washington Forum
Other Hunting => Turkey Hunting => Topic started by: heyharris on February 12, 2008, 09:04:04 PM
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hello all,
this will be my first season doing a turkey hunt, and will probably try some other birds later on, duck and such. a friend told me i need a 24 " barrel shotgun for turkey and a 28 " barrel for ducks. is that true, or is there one general purpose shotgun i can buy for both. advice will be greatly appreciated before i spend my hard earned money on something that wont work.
jim
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I would have to say a turkey killed with a 28" barrel wont know the diffrence! What I did was buy a 28" barreled gun and shot it until I could afford another barrel that was shorted and had rifle sights. JB
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I would have to agree with JDB, give em hell with the 28, then upgrade the barrel. I don't worry so much about the barrel length, I just adjust the shot size accordingly. Works for me but I'm no expert.
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I wouldn't worry about barrel size. I have a benelli super nova with a 28" barrel and it works great as an all around gun. You could also look at remington 870's, which is also an outstanding gun. I am sure most shotguns have interchangeable chokes, but not all of them will shoot 2 3/4", 3" and 3 1/2". Both of the shotguns I mentioned will give you a good option for hunting upland, waterfowl or turkeys.
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I have had the same 870 for 10 years...Great guns but you cant beat the benelli's also...the 870 is rough and tough but i would personally love to own one of those benelli's....All the guns you have named sound good so its really just personal preference...good luck..Justin
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gonna agree with everyone else here. buy a 28" gun and pattern it. find a choke and a shell that agree with each other and use it. i have killed 2 turkeys in 2 years with a 28" gun. the benefit to a shorter barrel is it's easier to handle in the woods and thats about it. i have added the tri-viz sights to my gun with good results for the turkeys and they can be removed for ducks and pheasants.
i would like to buy a short barrelled "turkey" gun, set up for turkey hunting one of these days, but if you are in a position where you can have only 1 gun, buy the 28"gun for sure.
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heyharris, the reason your buddy said get a 24" barrel is probably cause they are easier to point and move around in tight cover, or behind a blind, than the 28's are. I shot my first turkey last year with a worn out ol' mossberg with a 28". This year I upgraded the shotgun, the newby has a 28", but I will buy a 24" barrel for it later when the time is right.... For now, its the 28" barrel come April.
Welcome and good luck.
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I use a 28 for everything. Also look at the loads and specs on them. Pattern your shotgun. I have had really bad luck with 3.5 inch loads and patterns. I went back to 2.75 inch loads, higher velocity and they pattern better in my 11-87. Try chokes too, I get better patterns even at 40 yards with a FULL choke then I do with an Extra Full or a Turkey Full I tried.
Carl
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hello, thank you all for the info, im defently going with a 28 " barrel then, maybe get a 24 " later on, but since april will be fast approaching, i can only get one gun at the moment. thank you all for the advice
jim
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I sold my 870 and bought a Browning Gold, worst mistake in my life. Yep, Benelli has a good name, yep Browning Gold does to, but the cheaper 870 pump has the smoothest ass kickin actionin the world.
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I broke up with a girl in college and went down to the Husky shop in Moscow to buy myself a gun and make myself feel better. I ended up getting the Beretta A390 with a 26" barrel and have never looked back. It shoots much better than an 870. I've killed geese, ducks, turkey, grouse, quail, chuker, pheasant, huns, etc. with this gun. It's a good all around gun. I found the rem. 870 withe the 28" barrel too long for going through the forest after turkey and grouse. It's great for waterfowl though. Either barrel length will shoot the exact same pattern. The longer barrel just helps you swing and aim. Some like the feel of a longer barrel. 26" is perfect all around IMO...
Shawn
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I broke up with a girl in college and went down to the Husky shop in Moscow to buy myself a gun and make myself feel better. I ended up getting the Beretta A390 with a 26" barrel and have never looked back. It shoots much better than an 870. I've killed geese, ducks, turkey, grouse, quail, chuker, pheasant, huns, etc. with this gun. It's a good all around gun. I found the rem. 870 withe the 28" barrel too long for going through the forest after turkey and grouse. It's great for waterfowl though. Either barrel length will shoot the exact same pattern. The longer barrel just helps you swing and aim. Some like the feel of a longer barrel. 26" is perfect all around IMO...
Shawn
I wholeheartedly agree.
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My Ruger Red label has a 24" barrel. I slap in 2 Extra Full Chocks with 3" mags. I Do believe I have a turkey slaying setup. We will find out this spring :drool:The short barrel does swing real nice and handles great in the woods.The Big question I have being my Ruger is the satin all weather, Will the see the gun? Should I camo this silver slayer?
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870 is a great gun.
I picked up a Beretta 686 onyx Pro with 3.5 inch chambers last summer used at a gun show. The guns was basically new but for a used price :chuckle:
So far I love it.
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Passion, I have a 686 Black onyx that chambers 3.5's its a sweet rig.
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yup thats the one I have.......its one of the last ones before they went to the plastic wood too. I had wanted one for along time and finally found a good used one and pulled the trigger.
They are great guns.
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Shawn, interesting statement for a man in your profession; "it shoots much better than an 870" by what standard?
No two shotgun barrels pattern alike!!! You must test them all. chokes and loads also.
Carl
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heyharris,
You'll find over time if you do end up doing a lot of turkey hunting that a shorter 24" or < barrel will be advantageous. As others have said it certainly isn't a necessity but it will give you much better handling in close quarters. You may wanna gauge your initial purchase on what you're likely to be hunting the most. Another option is to compromise and go w/ a 26". Got a couple buddies who really like that as an all around.
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I just read an article about this. Summed up it said barrel length won't affect pattern until you get under 20". It is all about the extra weight and maneuverability of the shorter barrel. My two cents is that I don't shoot my 24" 835 very well at ducks. I would imagine if I had a 28" barrel there would be times that I may have missed a turkey also. I have a 26" side by side for upland that swings like a dream.
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well its been awhile but i did it, i bought my first shot gun, it is a simple benelli nove, its fully camo, nothing fancy but the sales guy says it will work, well find out.
wish me luck
jim
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Nice, it is a good shotgun. It is the only shotgun I have and works well for turkey, upland and what ever else you may want to try and hunt with it.
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well its been awhile but i did it, i bought my first shot gun, it is a simple benelli nove, its fully camo, nothing fancy but the sales guy says it will work, well find out.
wish me luck
jim
I own the same gun. Works great and you canbeat the heck out of it and not worry. I use the 3.5" fed premium shells and undertaker choke and has worked good so far.
