I ran across a deal on a SBE 24" gun this year that I turned into my dedicated turkey gun. I put a pistol grip stock on it and had a weaver rail put on it for the FFII. It's been absolutely devastating on the 5 turkeys killed with it this year.
I've got a Benelli M1 20ga that throws a great pattern with the TSS. However, I'm not drilling and tapping the receiver on that gun for a weaver mount to put a FFII on it. I have had zero luck finding any of the bolt on fiber optic sights that mount to the rib that would allow me to dial it in either. So, with that said I've decided to fix me up a dedicated 20ga turkey gun with a FFII and pistol grip.
I'd love to stick with a Benelli, but they don't make a pistol grip stock for any of the 20ga's that I have found. That's a showstopper for me as I really like the control I have with my SBE I put the pistol grip on. I don't think I'd like the cost of having a custom stock made.
So, with that said what are my options for a 20ga I can put a pistol grip stock on?
I'm leaning towards the 870 youth as it's cost effective, seems to throw good patterns, and I can put a Knoxx adjustable stock on it where it will be comfortable for me to use and my wife if she goes turkey hunting with me. I also like the idea of a 21" barrel for carrying around in the turkeys woods.
Any suggestions or help is appreciated!
If you were going to build a 20ga turkey gun what would you build and why?
I just picked up an 870 youth myself. I've not got it set up yet but I can tell you when I get done with it my 12ga may stay home alot.
this season i have turned my old 870 20 ga dove gun into a gobbler killing machine, with ofcourse the help of hal and tss. i have had that gun since i was 8 and its so light and just feels good. the barrels is a bit long at 28'' but that has not been a problem yet, but the main reason i like it is that it hits where i'm aiming with just the plain bead, i used to have to use a scope and i liked it but since going to my sweet 20 gauge with just a plain bead i have put the 835 up for sale along with all the rem heavyshot i stockpiled. my 20 ga and #9 tss have went 11 for 11 this season and we still got 6 weeks left! have i mentioned how much i like my 20 ga. oh and after the 20 goes off i don't have a headache either. i still have the same wood stock that my dad sawed off for it to fit me on it too. not a fancy gun but deadly.
i think it would be neat to find one of the old ithaca 20ga and get it to shoot tss. the chokes would be the only problem as most of them were fixed i believe. don't hear much about the ithacas on here, but they used to be real popular.
on the ithaca subject: i was going to buy one in feb. to set up for rabbit hunting. i was going to get a fixed choked one and have the barrel shortened to 21 or 22 inches and have chokes put in it. i think it would have made a great gun. i ended up buying a browning bps upland special 20 gauge. its worked great and has turned into a great turkey gun as well.
Can't go wrong with 870. It will take pistol grip stock, and has many choke options to choose from. Benelli, Beretta, and Browning also good guns with great patterns, and choke options, but no pistol grip options. Ithaca also option, could find one on Gunbroker, but would have to have it tapped for threaded choke. My lil 20 is nice to carry, and deadly.
Ranman
870 youth... :z-guntootsmiley:
I've found a 870 Express with wood stocks, but a 26" barrel in a Pawn Shop for $170. Tough for me to spend $300+ just to get the 21" barrel. Opinions?
Quote from: Sand Man on April 21, 2011, 09:00:20 AM
I've found a 870 Express with wood stocks, but a 26" barrel in a Pawn Shop for $170. Tough for me to spend $300+ just to get the 21" barrel. Opinions?
especially since it will probably out pattern the 21"
use the bucks for chokes,shells, possibly optics
Not sure if your wal-mart sells guns, but mine keeps the 870 20 ga Youth in stock pretty much all the time. $257. Perhaps a drive down to Hermitage, TN is cost effective? They may do a store to store transfer. If not, pretty much all others are priced at $329 to $347 from what I have seen.
I hate that all the new wal-marts have gone liberal on us and stopped carrying guns.
Quote from: gophert on April 21, 2011, 02:46:24 PM
Not sure if your wal-mart sells guns, but mine keeps the 870 20 ga Youth in stock pretty much all the time. $257. Perhaps a drive down to Hermitage, TN is cost effective? They may do a store to store transfer. If not, pretty much all others are priced at $329 to $347 from what I have seen.
I hate that all the new wal-marts have gone liberal on us and stopped carrying guns.
The Wal-Marts in Dothan, AL never carry 870 20ga youth models. They might have a 26" barrel rig in there from time to time. They used to always have some 12ga camo 870's, 1187's and 835's but no longer have those in the rack. They are replacing all the better guns with Maverick 88's and H & R single shots.
Quote from: gophert on April 21, 2011, 02:46:24 PM
I hate that all the new wal-marts have gone liberal on us and stopped carrying guns.
No joke. I don't know that I've seen a gun in a Wal-mart around here in a couple of years. :(
Did you try williams firesights the slugger is what they call the model that i bought and others on here have recommended i like mine. optics planet has them for around 40.00 shipped.
Quote from: slicksbeagles1 on April 21, 2011, 05:10:12 PM
Did you try williams firesights the slugger is what they call the model that i bought and others on here have recommended i like mine. optics planet has them for around 40.00 shipped.
Not following you here slicks. Are you talking about a replacement stock maybe??
What kind of pattern was your M1 throwing with TSS and what choke? My uncle has one and they are super light!
Quote from: turkey_slayer on April 24, 2011, 09:51:41 AM
What kind of pattern was your M1 throwing with TSS and what choke? My uncle has one and they are super light!
They are light. I'd love to have one for turkey hunting, but I'm drilling and tapping the receiver for a red-dot.
Undertaker .582 choke. Here's some 40yard patterns:
(http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/3946/img4041l.jpg)
(http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/1183/img3769q.jpg)
Here's a Carlson's .575 at 40yds:
(http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/9483/img3771i.jpg)
Nicest setup I've seen is a Savage 220 single barrel a friend of mine turned into a turkey gun. Only problem is it is so light he sometimes forgets he doesn't have it strapped on his shoulder. ;) I keep waiting on him to miss 1 with it so I can buy it at a good price. Hasn't happened yet. 3 for 3 so far.
I went with the 870 youth model, got it new at a gun show for $321 cash out the door ($300 plus 7% tax).
Had my gunsmith drill and tap it, and put an EGW weaver/picatinny base on it.
My trusty Aimpoint 9000SC on top - that thing takes a licking and keeps on ticking!
Bought the Rem SF choke on sale from Midwest Gun Works and some HW#7's.
Here's a glamour shot from this morning...
(http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m8/Kimber7man/IMG_1752.jpg)
very nice looking rig
I came across a Maverick 88 20ga today,NIB 159.00 26" barrel black synth. stock
what do ya'll think?
Quote from: surehuntsalot on May 08, 2011, 08:34:02 PM
I came across a Maverick 88 20ga today,NIB 159.00 26" barrel black synth. stock
what do ya'll think?
Jump on it. One of my friends bought one this year. He gets 160-170 in the 10 at 40yds with the H-13 #7's and a primos tightwad .570.
Shane
I would vote a mossberg 500c with a 24 inch tube and a sumtoy choke.
A buddy with a pawn shop got me a youth 870 with 21" barrel for $145 out the door. Looks brand new. I also found another Rem Express 870 with a 26" barrel in a different pawn shop for $179. Thinking of buying both and seeing which one patterns the straight TSS 9's the best, keep it, and selling the other gun. I've got all summer to play with it.
I'll 100% drill and tap the receiver and put the FF II on top, put synthetic stocks on it with a pistol grip, and get the entire gun dipped. Hopefully it tuns out as a good of a turkey stomper as my SBE I built to hunt with this year. Went 6 for 6 with that gun. :you_rock:
can't beat either one of those deals
Last year I rigged out a Mossberg Super Bantam 20 gauge youth model. 5.25 lbs and .25 lb. Trijicon Reflex Amber dot sight, tritium lamp powered. One value of the Mossy compared with the 870 Youth Model is that it comes factory drilled and tapped for a scope.
I added a sling, a neoprene sleeve with foam insert to raise the comb and a slip on Limbsaver pad to extend the stock length. I use a .555 PG shooting ' 1 5/8 oz. recipe of TSS 9s. It shot too tightly (for my use) with the .555 choke, putting 336 9's in the 10" ring at 40 yards. My concern was inside 20-30 as I sometimes have to shoot off handed and in uncomfortable positions. I want a more generous margin of error. Very few of my kills have ever exceeded 30-35 yards. Rather than buy a new choke, I dispensed with the buffer in the load which dropped the shot count to 208 inside 10 inches at 40 yards. That's 2.7 #9s per square inch. 208 tungsten 9s is a gracious plenty inside the 10" circle at 40 yards. At his point, I don't see the need for 336 9s inside the ring at 40 yards (4.3 per square inch). There are only 78 square inches in a 10" circle. The no-buffer load broadened the kill zone considerably and gave me an 8" spread at 20 yards. I didn't shoot the buffered load at 20 yards and can only speculate that it would have been considerably tighter. With the no buffer load this year, I dropped a 18.5 lb. bird like a sack of bricks at 44 steps with this configuration and a 21.75 lb. bird inside 30 steps. I don't see the need to tote my SBE or Ultimag ever again. They are now safe queens for guest hunters.