20ga for turkeys

[WN]

I ran accross a combo gun yesterday.  It is a 22mag/20ga  it got me to thinking.  I have been carrying my Valmet 12ga/223 which is a great gun but it is very heavy and th3 20/22mag is very light compared to the Valmet.  I have killed turkeys with a 22mag with no problem.  I was wondering if the 20ga is enough.  I know it does not have the range of the 12ga.  What are some experiences with the 20ga.

[Jack Crevalle]

I shot my first turkey with a 20ga. 3in. magnum and full choke. I don't remember pacing off the distance but it was a pretty good ways off.

Check out the post I made earlier about the young girl who shot a turkey with a .410 she bought with her own money.

Having a light gun can give you an advantage. I've talked to two buddies of mine who passed up shots this year because they were carrying 10 gauges and said that they couldn't swing them about fast enough.

[varmit_master]

My wife use's a 20ga B. BPS youth 3 inch mag model with a custom turkey  screw in choke with a 22 inch barrel with Fed. 6's  1 1/4 oz turkey load and i partten it at 40yds and that little 20 will shoot i have kill a good bird 2 yrs ago with it and she has killed 8 or 10 over the yrs i think that 20 has fought it a home she is talk about giveing it to our son when he gets old enuff to hunt VM

[Robert]

Is that combo gun a Savage?  If it is..it is a damn nice Turkey, Grouse, pheasant , varmint gun.  I have one and it is a sweet little shooting iron.  The choke on it is pretty full.  I have taken Turkey with mine, it is a great gun to have late in the season when the gobblers are 'called out'.  The length of the barrel and the stock make it a nice easy carry gun and you can be ready for just about anything.  I put a 2X Shotgun scope on mine a few years back, and after sighting it in with a 22 mag, .....a 20 gauge slug would be dead nuts at about 100 yds.  They will also chamber a 3" mag Turkey shot.  Federelmakes a real nice 20 gauge premium Turkey shot.  Hmmm. I wonder if we have the same gun.

[Stan M.]

I have done some testing with two different 20's and they both looked to be deadly at 30 yards. Patterns seem to spread a little at 40 yds though. I'm not saying it wouldn't take a bird. But 30 yrds was impressive.
 On was a Rem 870 youth model with a Hastings choke tube.
 The other was a Ithaca 66 that I had a gunsmith tweak the choke and cut the chamber's forcing cone.
 They both liked the Winchester Surpreme 3" #5's. The other ammo I tried was Rem. 3" #6's. Neither gun has yet scored a bird though.
 With the right load and choke combination you could probably get 40yds. especially with the Heavy Shot loads. If you experiment a little you should find something that will be suitable, and the 22 mag can take up the slack.
Good Luck

[WN]

The gun is made by EAA Corp.  I was thinking about putting a 2x7 scope on it.  What do you all think about the gun and set up.

[Jack Crevalle]

I had looked at one of these in 12 ga. / 6.5 Swede as a possible turkey gun. since it weighed more than my 12 ga. pump however I decided not to go that route.

Here's a review you might want to look at:

http://www.predatormastersforums.com/baikal.html

One more thing. Shop around on the net for these. I've seen price differences of close to $200 on these.

[freddogs]

I saw at Remington's website that they have a hevishot load in a 3 inch 20 guage. I was thinking this might be a load my wife could use if she wanted to hunt turkeys. It sounded pretty good.

[dawei]

I ran accross a combo gun yesterday.  It is a 22mag/20ga  it got me to thinking.  I have been carrying my Valmet 12ga/223 which is a great gun but it is very heavy and th3 20/22mag is very light compared to the Valmet.  I have killed turkeys with a 22mag with no problem.  I was wondering if the 20ga is enough.  I know it does not have the range of the 12ga.  What are some experiences with the 20ga.

I have a Mossberg® Mdl 500C in 20GA and am EXTREMELY PLEASED with it's performance. It came with IC, Mod, & Full chokes; additionally I bought a Mossberg® X-Full (.585) Choke Tube for it. Later, I purchased a Hastings® Super Full (.570) Choke Tube as well.

Because you have far less shot (1¼oz) in a 20GA 3" Mag than a 12GA 3" Mag (2oz) I have a self imposed limit of 30yds. Inside that range it is a real "PERFORATOR"! Using Federal Premium Grand Slam® 1&5/16oz of copper plated #6's I get 61 pellets in the kill zone of a Turkey Pattern target. Using the same load with#5 shot drops down to 25 pellets in the kill zone (still very good in itself). Unfortunately #4's do not pattern well at all.

As I get older (54 in a few weeks); and the miles get longer, I appreciate the lightness of a 20GA (both gun & ammo) more & more. I use it for everything from Doves & Quail to Ducks & Turkey; and, I never feel undergunned. While I am not a Goose Hunter if the opportunity presented itself I'm sure with 3" Hevi-Shot® the 20GA would do the job.

Use it with confidence!