Buying new turkey gun- cant decide

[Wally0510]

I like an inertia gun bc that's just what I'm used to being a wing shooter but added benefit is the reduced recoil. I'm not really sure why people harp on reliability issues with inertia guns I can count on one hand the number of times I've had an inertia gun joy cycle and it's always been using super light target loads. I'll clean my gun occasionally I'm certainly not meticulous


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[ScottTaulbee]

I like an inertia gun bc that's just what I'm used to being a wing shooter but added benefit is the reduced recoil. I'm not really sure why people harp on reliability issues with inertia guns I can count on one hand the number of times I've had an inertia gun joy cycle and it's always been using super light target loads. I'll clean my gun occasionally I'm certainly not meticulous


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I second this, the only issue I've ever had with an inertia gun was using loads less than 3 dram


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[strum]

Ive carried 870 pumps for years. and I always wanted a semi. So this year I ended up with the Stoger 3020 turkey.. absolutely love it .  I will say though its hard to beat the ole 870. time will tell how reliable the Stoger is but as far as a very light,good feeling gun, it checks those boxes. Price is in your range too. 

[Dougas]

The SA 20 is gas operated, so light loads shouldn't be a problem.

[Dtrkyman]

My SA20 is finicky with light loads, even jammed a couple turkey loads this year, I switched to a lower velocity hand load so I need to see if I can bump up the powder charge slightly without getting over pressure!


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[Bottomland OG]

I'll have to say the new stoeger m3020 turkey is a fine little gun. It's light and for the price I couldnt pass it up.

[Ihuntoldschool]

My SA20 is finicky with light loads, even jammed a couple turkey loads this year, I switched to a lower velocity hand load so I need to see if I can bump up the powder charge slightly without getting over pressure!


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That gun like most 20 gauges is designed for loads up to and including 1.25 ounces of shot.
The turkey loads jamming is a warning you're already over pressure for the gun.

The farther over you go and the more you shoot the more you
stress the internals.

[Dtrkyman]

The loads are tested at 11k.


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[tbowers]

I'll have to say the new stoeger m3020 turkey is a fine little gun. It's light and for the price I couldnt pass it up.

The Stoeger is cool, but I didnt want a 44" gun. I ordered the Super Bantam 20ga yesterday. Found a good price online, should be here next week. I hunted with by 4' long 870 for years but I carried my daughters compact H&R 20 most of this year. That was so much nicer, and its not all that light at around 6.5lbs even though its only 40" long. My 870 weighs over 8lbs with the sling.

Still dont understand why  semi-autos are so popular for turkey. A rapid follow up shot is needed so rarely. I get it kicks less but that isnt a factor to me. Granted it wears on ya when patterning, but I can suck that up once a year. I dont know if my buddies guns are inertia or gas, but I can count on two hands the number of 'clicks' and jams they have had. I have never had a single issue with a pump in years of turkey hunting.

Appreciate everyones input!

[strum]

I'll have to say the new stoeger m3020 turkey is a fine little gun. It's light and for the price I couldnt pass it up.

The Stoeger is cool, but I didnt want a 44" gun. I ordered the Super Bantam 20ga yesterday. Found a good price online, should be here next week. I hunted with by 4' long 870 for years but I carried my daughters compact H&R 20 most of this year. That was so much nicer, and its not all that light at around 6.5lbs even though its only 40" long. My 870 weighs over 8lbs with the sling.

Still dont understand why  semi-autos are so popular for turkey. A rapid follow up shot is needed so rarely. I get it kicks less but that isnt a factor to me. Granted it wears on ya when patterning, but I can suck that up once a year. I dont know if my buddies guns are inertia or gas, but I can count on two hands the number of 'clicks' and jams they have had. I have never had a single issue with a pump in years of turkey hunting.

Appreciate everyones input!

   I can say with my 870 ive only had one jam whch was my fault . I didnt have the slide closed all the way and I missed the shot and could not follow up because of the jam.  Really the reason i got the semi was because ive never had one lol.   

[Rio Bandito]

Still dont understand why  semi-autos are so popular for turkey. A rapid follow up shot is needed so rarely. I get it kicks less but that isnt a factor to me. Granted it wears on ya when patterning, but I can suck that up once a year. I dont know if my buddies guns are inertia or gas, but I can count on two hands the number of 'clicks' and jams they have had. I have never had a single issue with a pump in years of turkey hunting.

Appreciate everyones input!

I can tell you my preference for semis came from two things 1) my personal experience with a pump, and 2) other shooting opportunities.

1) Years ago, my first dedicated waterfowl & turkey gun that I saved up for was a Remington 887 Nitro Mag. Camo pump 12 gauge. That gun kicked like a mule with turkey and big waterfowl loads, and it needed to be racked hard for the first shell to fire. If you carried it on the sling through the marsh or turkey woods, the bolt would unseat just enough that unless you racked another shell hard when you sat down, the first shell wouldn't go off. It wasn't as big of a deal with waterfowl since I wasn't walking around with a loaded gun. But when turkey hunting, I had at least a dozen turkeys that I either got a click or nothing, and then had to rack a shell and shoot them when they started walking away.

I tried everything from racking quietly when I set up, to trying to force the slide closed as hard as I could, looked up fixes online, etc. Nothing would work when it got like that except a hard rack. Couldn't afford anything else at the time so I had to just make due. I missed one bird due to a rushed shot after he started leaving, but I killed the rest thankfully. It definitely steered my preference away from pumps. I don't even own one today, not even for dove hunting . I know there are better ones out there, and that 887 went the way of the dodo bird, but those years and experiences soured me to them to the point I haven't considered them much since.

For 2) If the birds aren't cooperating, it's pretty easy to stalk up on pigs here during the spring when they can be out most of the day. I carry buckshot in my vest and just swap out shells if I find a group to stalk. If you get a sounder in an open area, you can rip of 3 pretty quickly with a semi 

[bbcoach]

Take into account on whether or not TSS will be available or priced out of reach. Had been thinking of a 28.  Now on the back burner.

AMEN Joey!  With the trade wars still looming and ON GOING, I would be VERY HESITATE to go away from the Tried and True 12 gauge.  Plenty of ammo for the Bigger gauges but not so with the Smaller or you'll be back to 20-to-30-yard shots or paying through the NOSE for TSS.  This could get ugly with China holding the TSS market for the future! 

[Wally0510]

I'll have to say the new stoeger m3020 turkey is a fine little gun. It's light and for the price I couldnt pass it up.

The Stoeger is cool, but I didnt want a 44" gun. I ordered the Super Bantam 20ga yesterday. Found a good price online, should be here next week. I hunted with by 4' long 870 for years but I carried my daughters compact H&R 20 most of this year. That was so much nicer, and its not all that light at around 6.5lbs even though its only 40" long. My 870 weighs over 8lbs with the sling.

Still dont understand why  semi-autos are so popular for turkey. A rapid follow up shot is needed so rarely. I get it kicks less but that isnt a factor to me. Granted it wears on ya when patterning, but I can suck that up once a year. I dont know if my buddies guns are inertia or gas, but I can count on two hands the number of 'clicks' and jams they have had. I have never had a single issue with a pump in years of turkey hunting.

Appreciate everyones input!

I can't speak for others but I can speak for myself I do a lot of other wing shooting aside from turkeys and having a gun that is more versatile is key for me. If my turkey gun weren't also my quail 20 ga and my dove 20 ga hell I might have a pump too


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[ScottTaulbee]

I'll have to say the new stoeger m3020 turkey is a fine little gun. It's light and for the price I couldnt pass it up.

The Stoeger is cool, but I didnt want a 44" gun. I ordered the Super Bantam 20ga yesterday. Found a good price online, should be here next week. I hunted with by 4' long 870 for years but I carried my daughters compact H&R 20 most of this year. That was so much nicer, and its not all that light at around 6.5lbs even though its only 40" long. My 870 weighs over 8lbs with the sling.

Still dont understand why  semi-autos are so popular for turkey. A rapid follow up shot is needed so rarely. I get it kicks less but that isnt a factor to me. Granted it wears on ya when patterning, but I can suck that up once a year. I dont know if my buddies guns are inertia or gas, but I can count on two hands the number of 'clicks' and jams they have had. I have never had a single issue with a pump in years of turkey hunting.

Appreciate everyones input!

I can't speak for others but I can speak for myself I do a lot of other wing shooting aside from turkeys and having a gun that is more versatile is key for me. If my turkey gun weren't also my quail 20 ga and my dove 20 ga hell I might have a pump too


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I do too, my dedicated turkey gun is a mossberg 835. Has been for almost 10 years now. But for wing shooting, even though I have easily a dozen shotguns, I'm married to my Belgian Browning Auto 5 mag 12. On the flip side of that, I have a affection for a nice double barrel and picked up a CZ Bobwhite G2 12 gauge last month and it very well may be my wing shooting, trap and sporting clay, squirrel, rabbit, and turkey gun moving forward. The more I handle it, the more I'm loving it


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[tbowers]

I am curious if the factory X Factor choke in this gun will pattern. Its .584 constriction which is a little big -seems odd to have that large of a choke in a dedicated turkey gun. My daughters 20 has a .565 in it but I havent shot another choke.  I guess I'll shoot it and see