Need Dedicated Turkey Gun on the Cheap!

Which cheap turkey gun?

  • Tristar Cobra Turkey

    Votes: 2 7.1%

  • Mossberg 500 Grand Slam

    Votes: 18 64.3%

  • Other

    Votes: 8 28.6%
  • Total voters
    28
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Olympus said:
I’ve carried this gun for 3 years now and I have to disagree about the barrel length and lack of sling. I run and gun through thick, hilly woods. Once I hear a bird, I have to hike a good way usually to get within range to start trying to work them in. Carrying that long and heavy gun through thick and hilly woods for 6 or 7 hours at a time stinks!
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I started out with a 28" barrel on my Mossberg. I switched to a 20" barrel and I'm not switching back. A sling is not required, but it sure is nice to have.
 
troy fairweather said:
go to a shop/pawn and get a old bolt 12 ga them old mossbergs work really good for turkey, there like $50 to $100 bucks to.
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I agree, that's what I would do if I wanted an effective & inexpensive turkey gun. They are very inexpensive but not because they are poorly made or unreliable. They have a one piece stock like a rifle so putting swivels & sling is no problem. They are ugly & slow for followup shots. Personally I find turkey loads to be pretty stout. When I shoot one I'm usually not too anxious to do a quick followup anyway.
 
I've been hunting turkeys for years...run and gun is the worst way of trying to harvest a turkey. I now can understand why you are frustrated. What a terrible way to try to enjoy turkey hunting. I'm pushing 60 birds harvested.... all a ton of fun... and not one...run and gun.
You are missing the whole point of being turkey smart....just sayin.
 
mingo said:
I've been hunting turkeys for years...run and gun is the worst way of trying to harvest a turkey. I now can understand why you are frustrated. What a terrible way to try to enjoy turkey hunting. I'm pushing 60 birds harvested.... all a ton of fun... and not one...run and gun.
You are missing the whole point of being turkey smart....just sayin.
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So you just sit in one spot and call all day long? Please educate me on what you think is a better way of turkey hunting.
 
troy fairweather said:
i saw about 30 birds today 10 or so nice toms, but did not have my gun and was in a different state just my luck.
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I think a lot of strategy depends on where you hunt and the population you have. My area has a very low turkey population. If I hear 3 toms during the course of a day, that’s a big day for me. I go a lot of days and will be in the woods from 5:30 to 1p and never hear a single gobble.
 
Olympus said:
I think a lot of strategy depends on where you hunt and the population you have. My area has a very low turkey population. If I hear 3 toms during the course of a day, that’s a big day for me. I go a lot of days and will be in the woods from 5:30 to 1p and never hear a single gobble.
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we have a lot o turkeys, 30 years ago there were none. i have the worst luck with turkeys. i go bird hunting i get deer, go for deer get turkeys lol. the spot i seen them there are always there after sun up and before sun down. i was 5 feet from a hen in the car.
 
Patience is the key to killing large numbers of turkeys. They move around a lot during mating season, not all the time they are off the roost, but enough that they move 1/4 mile and more in no time at all. One can learn a lot about turkeys by simply watching what they do.....they will move in the same locations and avoid others for reasons only they know.
I sit from 20 minutes before opening, and depending on what is happening, determines how long I sit....never less than 4 hours.... take a break and hunt from 1pm till I sit another 4 hours and stay if the action calls for more time.
Nice comfortable chair and the ability to move some in a turkey tent will give you many more hours afield. Take a drink of water or a snack along, and make it nothing but fun.....the longer you sit, the better your odds are for success.
Here folks that use decoys have less success, because smart toms are not fooled...make them come closer to find out who called.....don't call if he is coming...let him come...he will take his time...remember patience is the key. If decoys are used ...hide them and make the the tom come close enough to see them....never place in the wide open here.....just sayin.
 
Olympus said:
Guys after a bad experience in the turkey woods today, I need to stop putting this off and buy a dedicated turkey shotgun. I'm a new turkey hunter and this is my third year to turkey hunt. I've been using a Mossberg 835 Field with 28" barrel that was a gift. The gun is terribly long to be packing through the woods where I hunt, and I hunt hilly, wooded ground. The gun has no sling studs so have to carry it by hand. And it also has a tendency to fail to extract, which happened to me today. So I need a dedicated turkey gun that is dead reliable. Camo finish would be nice to have. Something shorter in overall length would great also.

Right now I've been looking at the Tristar Cobra Turkey with pistol grip, rail on top, and turkey choke included. Comes with sling studs and is camo also. Price looks like $275. The other option I've been looking at is the Mossberg 500 Grand Slam which is similar to the Tristar except it doesn't have the pistol grip and is about $100 more expensive. I have no qualms with Tristar as I already have a Viper auto in 20ga for a dedicated dove gun and it's been flawless!

I'd really prefer to stay under $350 total for the gun because I'd like to buy several different boxes of ammo to see which one does best in the gun. Anyone have any recommendations?
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RWB%20Turkey%202016%2093%20a_zpshv8zn6gy.jpg
 
Olympus said:
Here is my next question. Is having the camo finish a big deal? I mean is it a big benefit while turkey hunting? If not, then I can look into all black guns as well. But both the Mossberg and Tristar come with dedicated turkey chokes, which is a bonus and not something included on regular shotguns I think.
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Didn't you say that is a mossberg you have now? How many times do you have to learn that lesson. If you NEED to extract a shell and load another one to kill a turkey, you have worse problem with the gun than the extraction. You have a mossberg.
 
This Mossberg Model 9200 has been my dedicated turkey gun for a lot of years. Nice short 22" barrel, decent camo finish (which has held up surprisingly well over time), and is a nice soft shooting semi-auto that isn't the least bit fussy about the shells I run through it.

2O0d3LN.jpg
 
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Olympus said:
Ok, here my next option. I can piece together a H&R Pardner with 18.5” barrel. The gun would be $160. An extended choke for $20ish and I could either put a HiViz snap-on fiber optic front sight on for another $15 or do a cheap red dot for $150. I could have a red dot shotgun for $315 out the door or a fiber optic front sight gun for $200.
Click to expand...

"I can piece together a H&R Pardner with 18.5” barrel. The gun would be $160. An extended choke for $20ish and I could either put a HiViz snap-on fiber optic front sight on for another $15"

Problem solved.

I bet that has a chamber for 3" shells but all you need is 2 3/4. If recoil is a problem for you with it, get some of those little 1/2 pound lead ingots and a hammer. Pull the recoil pad off and beat those ingot so they fit in the stock removal hole. Just like working silly putty with a hammer. A pound and a half will fit in there and with a little effort you can make it tight so nothing moves but it will slide right out with the pad off.
 
Buy used. You can’t find 870 wingmaster’s for less than $350, or mossberg 500’s less $250
 
mingo said:
Patience is the key to killing large numbers of turkeys. They move around a lot during mating season, not all the time they are off the roost, but enough that they move 1/4 mile and more in no time at all. One can learn a lot about turkeys by simply watching what they do.....they will move in the same locations and avoid others for reasons only they know.
I sit from 20 minutes before opening, and depending on what is happening, determines how long I sit....never less than 4 hours.... take a break and hunt from 1pm till I sit another 4 hours and stay if the action calls for more time.
Nice comfortable chair and the ability to move some in a turkey tent will give you many more hours afield. Take a drink of water or a snack along, and make it nothing but fun.....the longer you sit, the better your odds are for success.
Here folks that use decoys have less success, because smart toms are not fooled...make them come closer to find out who called.....don't call if he is coming...let him come...he will take his time...remember patience is the key. If decoys are used ...hide them and make the the tom come close enough to see them....never place in the wide open here.....just sayin.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips. The legal hunting times in my state are 30 minutes before sunrise and endings at 1pm. So I can’t hunt afternoons or evenings.
 
I ended up ordering the Mossberg. Came close to getting the Rem 870 Express Turkey, but once I realized the bead was pressed and not threaded, that pushed me to the Mossy. It should arrive tomorrow and I’ll be patterning it immediately.
 
Cheapest way is to fix the gun he has and flat black it (spray paint).
If not wanting semi permanent, camo tape.
Sucks taping guns up, removing it after season.

Buy a sling stud mag cap or mod the original.
Then use a sling that attaches to the cap and just cinches around the grip.
No permanent mod to buttstock.

If it's a gift and you'll never sell it, mod it for your use (put a stud in).

My first turkey gun was a shiny 1100 magnum, 30" full.
Now I have an 1100 Special Purpose, running a reg blued 26" Remchoke bbl (Superfull choketube) and synth stock.
I also have an 870 Supermagnum 23" Remchoke.
Both have studs/caps for sling.

Goose hunt, dove hunt.........turkey hunt.
Doesn't bother me one bit to have the stud in.
 
I bought my 870 Express Supermagnum Turkey gun used years ago.
Was like new under the camo tape, paid $215.
Still looks new and has killed a lot of doves and a few turkeys.

Sometimes take my 1100 Special Purpose.
Don't think it too long at all.
Does weigh more, and if going way back after a couple of days I might swap to the 870 LOL.
 
I might hunt public land down south next weekend.
3 hr drive one way, plus hotel.
Miss working OT.
Read: pretty expensive turkey.

I would not risk my hunt to some cheap import pump/auto.
My 870 and 1100 both bought used, run like champs.

But some folks think "new" is better.
Roll the dice.
 
Hard to beat a Remington youth model 870 20 gauge...rattle can camo ... Federal 3" number 9....T SS 1-1/2 once ....
Truloc extended black stainless turkey choke ....

you'll be set with a light weight ....mobile and deadly combo .....

don't laugh at the number 9 shot until you give it a "shot" ...
 
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