Turkey hunting forum for turkey hunting tips

Fun little thread. What was your first turkey gun, do you still have it, or wish you had it. I'll start. Mine was a Remington 1100 Magnum with 30 inch full choked  barrel.  Shot 3 inch Remington Duck/Pheasant loads #4 for turkey. Took my first gobbler with it in 1982.  I sold it in late 80's and yes for sure, I wish I still had it.

I killed my first bird with an 835, nothing at all I miss about that cannon!  Carry a 5.5 lb 2 ga now!

My first turkey gun was a Mossberg 9200. That thing would jam after every shot. Took it to 3 gunsmiths and never could get it fixed. Sold it and bought a Browning and never looked back.

Sometime around 25 years ago I bought a used 835 .
It's the only gun I've ever had for turkeys.  It's not pretty, but it's a killer, has never let me down.
Just topped it a couple weeks ago with a FF 3 to help my aging eyes.  The only gun I own that I consider sentimental.  I'd feel guilty replacing it.

My 1st turkey gun was my 1st gun.  It is a 20ga Coast to Coast master mag 28" full choke(Mossberg 500). I killed my 1st everything with it...turkey, deer, pheasant, quail, etc.  Got it when I turned 12.  I cracked the pistol grip part of the stock shooting deer slugs one year, so I had it fixed and it is pretty much retired in the safe.   Lots of memories.....

I don't have it, and it doesn't bother me that I do t have it now.  I got Ol Gal shortly afterwards and me and her are doing just fine.


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No and no. First dedicated turkey gun was a Winchester 1300 with a laminated stock. Lightweight and short barrel, but kicked a bit. Was not particularly well made.

My old mans Remington 1100.  Had a krylon paint job and received a fresh coat every spring.   Probably killed my first 5 or 6 turkeys with it.  I then saved my Christmas money, chore money and my lunch money as a kid (around 1992) and bought a 835 ulti-mag.  I call it "The Mule".   It's a very finicky gun that doesnt pattern most loads well but when I finally found the load (federal #6's), it would eat.  Federal started putting flight control wads and had to go back to the drawing board.  I just about give up on it and bought another gun and choke.  It didn't pattern well either.  I went back to the mule and changed some things up.  Still use it.  I just give it a good bath and cleaned it up.  Killed a lot of turkeys with.  I will probably have it in my casket when I'm laid in the ground.


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Mine was really all around duck and turkey gun. I still have the gun A 5 Browning.

Quote from: Bedge7767 on February 23, 2021, 03:58:12 PM
My first turkey gun was a Mossberg 9200. That thing would jam after every shot. Took it to 3 gunsmiths and never could get it fixed. Sold it and bought a Browning and never looked back.

my first turkey gun(and duck/pheasant/rabbit/squirrel) was a black synthetic stock browning bps with 24" barrel. had ducks engraved on one side and pheasant on the other. i've taken it to 3 gunsmiths in the last 5 years and it's been relegated to a single shot for now. i'll never part with it

1978. My Grandad's Model 12 Heavy Duck. 2 3/4 " WW Super X 1.5 oz #6s.

Still own the gun.

Killed my first turkey in 1966 with a Revelation bolt action 410, still have the gun.  Killed my first longbeard in 1967 with a Winchester model 37 20 gauge, still have it as well.  In fact I plan on killing my first turkey this year with that same gun.  My Dad took a breast feather from that first gobbler back in 1967 and put it in that hole that is under the butt plate, I plan on adding another in a few weeks.

Mine was an 870 I got about 1980/81, I still have it, was used for that purpose til the 11-87 came out in 87, (still have that gun too and my daughter has killed birds with it) it's now been changed to a slug gun.

Quote from: guesswho on February 23, 2021, 06:38:11 PM
Killed my first turkey in 1966 with a Revelation bolt action 410, still have the gun.  Killed my first longbeard in 1967 with a Winchester model 37 20 gauge, still have it as well.  In fact I plan on killing my first turkey this year with that same gun.  My Dad took a breast feather from that first gobbler back in 1967 and put it in that hole that is under the butt plate, I plan on adding another in a few weeks.

Very cool

Cool thread. Mine was an 870 express mag with a 21 in barrel i bought in a pawn shop the day i turned 18. I didnt have any interest in turkey hunting then. I started turkey hunting after I got out of the millitary. I set that gun up and used it for a few seaons. Finally killing my first bird with it. I traded it to my brother for a super mag. I got it back in another trade after he had it dipped in bottomland. It wont leave my possession again untill my son is ready for it.

1987, I took my first turkey with My dad's Model 12  12guage with a full choke barrel.   When he passed in 2008, I inherited that gun.  I want to say that it only shoots three inch shells, I need to pull It out of the safe and look. Anyway One of these years I am going to take it for  walk in the woods again, and hopefully take a bird with it.  .   

1979 I think ?  Fox double barrel 20 ga . It was my grand pas gun , he killed tons of game with it .
I think one of my cousins ended up with it .  I've owned many since then .over / unders mostly

Mine was an Ithaca 37R (solid rib) 2.75 inch chamber I bought used in 1980. Killed a bunch of ducks with it (before steel shot requirement) and killed my first turkey in 1991.  Gun was stolen when my house was broken in to.  Wish I still had it and I wish that d@mn thief was in range.

Jim

Love the stories, thanks so much. Keep em coming....

Mossberg 600 (not a typo) country squire. 
Should get it out and shoot another gobbler with it.

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Quote from: vt35mag on February 23, 2021, 07:21:47 PM
Mossberg 600 (not a typo) country squire. 
Should get it out and shoot another gobbler with it.

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Wow, never saw one. If you can, post a pic.

Yup. An 835 mossy. Still use it to this day. We been at this for around 20 years now.

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In 96 I bought an 835 Ulti Mag in woodland ofm camo. Saved up my turkey egg pickin, hay haulin and milkin money! I had to work, so my mom offered to go to Bass Pro and pick it up for me. They were on sale and I didn't want to miss out... I got home after work and mom had the box on the table. I originally sent her after a Mossberg 500.... she told me they didn't have any of the 500s and said they gave her a rain check for me to pick one up at a later date. We'll, the question I had was, what's in the box on the table. I opened it up and it was the 835 I wanted (but didn't have the money for) they were actually selling them at the sale price of the 500 so mom grabbed it and told me if I didn't like it she could take it back.
No need! It was the one I wanted in the first place and I just happened to luck out that day.

Me and "Ma Bell" have been together ever since. Haven't shot a 3.5" shell out of it since I was 18... too much kick for me!

My grandpa gave me his old 835 goose gun once he gave up chasin em. Got it when I was 12 I'm now 32 and I will never replace it. Few years back I tried to build an 870 20 gauge for a run n gun setup. Patterned that little 20 ga with 2 shots with federal heavyweight #7 3" and was not thrilled with the pattern at 30 yards. Even bought a sumtoy choke and a lotta y'all have proven it to be a deadly turkey gun. But I just couldn't get a pattern with it. Gonna throw a fast fire on it this year and try tss. But I couldn't get federal ammo, had to buy em in Illinois( I'm from Indiana) at Dunn's so I only had 3 rounds to turkey hunt after my 2 pattern rounds left little to be desired but I was perfectly fine with my 20 yard shot when I patterned. Had a bird come walk past and actually brushed my blind. Came in totally silent and heard something hit the blind thinking it was a squirrel, peaked out and I could grab him by the snood unbelievable encounter. I let that bird work past towards my decoys at 20 yards. Kaboom. I let her rip. Birds still standing. Kaboom. Birds still standing now he's walking away. One final KABOOM. bird just keeps walking and I sit there in complete awe that I just fired 3 rounds at a bird and he didn't flinch. Found all 3 of my wads too. To this day I will only carry that trusty 835 and those big ol shells. I have killed 20 birds with that gun and it means something fierce to me. Every time I take a bird it makes me think of all the memories I've had with my grandpa and all he taught me to be an outdoorsman.


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First dedicated Turkey gun was a Stevens single shot 36" full choke barrel "Long Tom" 3" Remington Nitro Mag #4 copper plated lead. Killed on one end crippled on the other. Lost it in house fire in my late teens.

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Killed my first several birds with a Winchester 1200 and 2 3/4" shells.  It was my shotgun.  Not a "turkey gun" per se.

My first dedicated turkey gun was a BPS 10 gauge.  Got it the 2nd year they were out.

I still have both guns.

My first turkey gun was mossberg 835 ulti-mag, bought new from gander mountain. Patterned nice, but 6 inches high and 6 inches left, after missing my 8th or ninth turkey, i traded it straight up for a plain Jane 870. Best trade I've ever made, I've got zero desire to ever get it back. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210224/91dc4bccde273385564d395615da9840.jpg)

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Still got it, first gobbler 40+ years ago in Northern Michigan and latest last May in Minnesota. 1938 Model 12(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210224/da769492b77f0893cdd7babcdcaa9031.jpg)

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Mossberg 500.

First turkey and firearms deer. Still have it because of the rifled slug barrel on the off chance I apply for one of Idaho's short-range weapon hunts. If not for that, I would have sold it years ago.

My first gun was a Remington 870, with gobble dot iron sights on it and an ati tactical stock. Loved it, even thought it was heavy. Lost it about a month ago when my car got stolen, so who knows where it's now. But my first shotgun and will be building another one just like it this summer.


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Quote from: Spring Creek Calls on February 23, 2021, 08:05:50 PM
Still got it, first gobbler 40+ years ago in Northern Michigan and latest last May in Minnesota. 1938 Model 12(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210224/da769492b77f0893cdd7babcdcaa9031.jpg)

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Cool gun

Yes, it's gotten a facelift but it's still killing them.

Quote from: Spring Creek Calls on February 23, 2021, 08:05:50 PM
Still got it, first gobbler 40+ years ago in Northern Michigan and latest last May in Minnesota. 1938 Model 12(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210224/da769492b77f0893cdd7babcdcaa9031.jpg)

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Sweet!!!  My Grandfather always had one hanging on his wall.  I would have loved to had that gun.  I'm happy to say it is still in the family, just not at my house.

I didn't own the gun but mine was a A5 Browning Belgium. Smooth bore slug barrel and all. I shot my first gobbler in 1988 at the age of 16. It belongs to my Dad and it will be passed on to me and then I'll pass it on to my grandson one day. It's still in the family.
 

My dad got me a youth mossy 500 20 gauge for Christmas when I was 8 years old. Killed my first long beard that spring with it. About age 11 my dad bought me a comp n choke for it for my birthday. (He had one in his 870) and buddy you couldn't tell me anything. I was a turkey hunting fool. I love that gun. I cleaned it up the other day and actually have considered using it this year. Can't wait to pass it to a son of my own one day.

Winchester model 12 in 20 gauge.  Fixed full choke barrel.  Killed my first spring gobbler in '69 with it.  Not knowing any better, I shot him out of the air at 40 yards flying away from me with 2 3/4" high brass lead 4's as I recall.  I would never consider such a shot nowadays, even with the much better guns, chokes, and loads available.  Knocked him right out of the sky with a single shot on that day, though. 

Still have that gun, and have added 12 and 16 gauge model 12's to the collection since then, as well.  Haven't shot any of them in probably three decades now. 

My very first turkey killer was a Remington 11-87. Got rid of it to jump on the 3.5 band wagon. Got a Browning Gold Hunter turkey model. Killed several with that gun as well.

My first gun was a H&R "Topper" 20 ga. single shot.  I hunted everything with it. I no longer have it. I wish I did though.  My first dedicated turkey specific shotgun was a Remington 870 Super Magnum soon after they hit the market.  I don't have that one anymore either but I have another 870 SM similar to it.

My first turkey gun was my original 870. Still have it, and still use it from time to time. That's a gun sock covering it. Old school. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210224/fa5546bc59901ffdcb64982ec5becdba.jpg)

Sent from deep in the woods where the critters roam.

I got a Mossberg 835 for Christmas in high school. Still have it, and it's killed a bird about every year since then (about 20 years) with only a few exceptions.

My first gun I used to kill a turkey no, that was a 870. The first gun I made for turkey YES! about 4 years after I decided to build a dedicated turkey gun, my REM 11-87 12 ga and still have it, hunt it every year! Going on 26 year with it.


MK M GOBL

My first turkey gun was my Dads 20 gauge 870 wing master with modified barrel.  I still have that gun. Haven't shot turkeys with it for 25 plus years but a lot of doves and quail.

I still hunt with the factory camo 835 ulti-mag I bought in '88 or '89.  I took many birds with it as it came then later added an Indian Creek choke and Gobble Stopper rifle type sights.  Shoots great patterns.

A couple of years ago I bought a Mossberg camo 535 20 inch barrel with pistol grip stock.  It has the same sights as the 835 but I also have a vortex red dot mounted to the factory rail. Lighter and 4 inches shorter than the 835. Carlson's choke on this one.

Great thread!

Late 80's. Treebark green. Mossberg 500 28" fixed modified barrel. 3" Winchester Super XX #6 copper plated shot (25 in a box). Penn Woods super raspy 3 mouth call. My fathers gun, he still has it.
I got a Remington 870 express magnum turkey special soon after. I still have. The a Charles Daly Maxi Mag because the 3.5" was cool... Which is my go to gun.... Shooting Nitro heavyshot 4x5x7.... Patterns and shells have come a loooooong way.

Glad to see most have kept their first guns...wish I did..

Quote from: Tom007 on February 24, 2021, 08:52:16 AM
Glad to see most have kept their first guns...wish I did..

I have my shotguns and rifles. Pistols I have sold or traded. I have an old G17 that I am one with.... That one is cray... Other pistols have come and gone.... LOL

Still have it though it's not seen action in probably 10 years.

I still have the the old remington 870. I carry it a couple times a year now.

Older Mossberg 500...only thing I could afford:) Now, I use Mossberg 835 killing machine, also throw in an Ithaca Turkey slayer which does almost as good.

Remington 870, 3" chamber with 18" barrel and still lives in the closet.

Started out with a Savage Stevens model single shot 12 gauge with a full choke and the old Federal Premium 2 3/4" 6's. Couple years later received a Mossberg 500 as a college graduation gift, kept shooting the 2 3/4" 6's out of its full choke.  Upgraded to an 835 in 2006 and 3" and 3.5" shells and it's all I hunt with mostly but from time to time I'll carry the Stevens or 500 on a squirrel hunt or two.


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Mine was a Mossberg 835 20" with the ported barrel... I do not miss shooting that thing at all.  I used a SBE II for a while and now I am shooting a weatherby sa 459. 

I got an 870 wingmaster in 2000 from my parents for xmas. It killed alot of birds spring and fall. Now its mostly a safe queen.

My first shotgun was a Win 101 20g.  I still have it.  Never turkey hunted with it. 

My first turkey gun was a Rem 870 12 with a 26" barrel.  It was a do all gun at first. I later changed my prime duck gun and my son claimed it.  I shot the bird in my avatar with it.  My son outshot me with it regularly at sporting clays, so I gave it to him.  It is his first 12 and he killed his first gobbler with it.  His first turkey was a jake and his sister now owns that youth model 870 and it is rigged for turkey. 

Used my Dad's 870 2 3/4" 12 ga wingmaster for my first turkey. Was taped with ww2 style woodland camo, 30" full choke barrel. Killed a jake and a longbeard one eve. Went on to buy my own "first" turkey gun. Sometime later my brother got hold of that 870 wingmaster which he pawned after few years. Would have loved to been able to own it.

My first "turkey" gun is a 1972 Remington 870 Wingmaster LW with a fixed modified choke in 20 gauge. My dad originally bought it and later gave it to my brother with the stipulation that if my brother didn't want it my dad would buy it back from him, which he did. Later on after I got old enough (12) my dad gave it to me. I have used it for everything except waterfowl and hoping to hand it down to one of my kids. With that in mind I ended up buying my first fully dedicated turkey gun (and first 12 gauge) earlier this year, a Mossberg 835 Ultimag along with a Stoeger M3020 for backup.(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210225/dd759fdfd360d31cccd9e1d1a596222d.jpg)

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Shot my first bird with a LC Smith 16 gauge double barrel.  Still have it.  First dedicated turkey gun was an 870 SPST 12 gauge.  Got rid of it when I went to a 20.  Will never go back to a 12.

My first turkey gun was a poly stocked Mossberg 500 with a 28" barrel. I used a sticker set to camo it, switched to a much handier 20" barreland added fiber optic sights. I still have it. I ran across a great deal on a like new Mossberg 500 turkey gun with factory camo, 20" barrel, fiber optic sights and a nice cushy recoil pad. It's lighter than my first gun and is my go-to turkey gun these days.

Great posts my friends.....love to hear about our first guns.

My first dedicated turkey gun was a remington 870 max gobbler. I was coming home from the rig in Arkansas and slept in the parking lot of bass pro in Louisiana until they opened to buy it. I think that was 2005 I still use it today.

My first Turkey killer was a 12 ga. Remington 870 Wingmaster my Grandfather bought new in 1952. Plain barrel, modified choke, bead front sight. He used it for years as a pheasant and slug gun for deer.
When he stopped hunting he passed it on to me and I killed my 1st gobbler with it in 1982.
Still have it and it's in better shape than I am!

The first turkey I ever killed was with a Remington 1100 12ga I borrowed from my best friends dad. My first real turkey gun was a Remington 870 Super express magnum 12ga. I've killed most of my turkeys with it but have retired it and switched to an 870 20ga youth model. I really like carrying that little gun.


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I hunted my first 4 years as a kid with many close calls, and finally sh out my first spring gobbler when I was 15 with a Winchester Black Shadow with a short stock. My father still has it and I will use it from time to time. Its ugly and noisy. My buddy nicknamed it the black rattler, because of the dang noisy forearm.
But I still love that gun, and can't wait to teach my son how to hunt with it.