Who uses a scope?

[Tom007]

Amen my friend.....

[deathfoot]

[/quote]
You are correct, a scope will cost you birds. Mobile birds are hard to pick up and keep in a scope. They add weight also. I do not see a day I will ever use a scope for shotgun turkey hunting. A crossbow, yes. My buddy uses a scope and over 40+ years of hunting together I bet I have witnessed his scope costing him 20-25 birds, and of those I have killed probably half of them as they were on their way out after he failed to "get on them".
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I've got a friend who would argue this point until the end of time. He swears by a scope. Pull the gun up, see the plex on red and pull the trigger. Running, standing, walking..whatever.

I haven't hunted with one yet. But I can't wait to get my rig set up. With the right scope, you can pull up and see clear as having a bead. Per him. Which from looking through mine before mounting it..I have a hard time arguing with him. Time will tell. But I think a scope on 1.5 would be just as easy to locate a Tom as a red dot.

If I'm in Arizona tho..and it fails. I'll chunk it on the way back to Virginia. Until then. I'm super excited about my scope.

[joey46]

I posted on this already on #8 but will add this.  When I first tried the scope route I bought a fairly inexpensive saddle mount for my 870.  For me a very bad idea since when I overtightened it (normal for me) it caused the gun to malfunction.  Gave the mount to a friend who used it on another gun and he had the same result and he didn't believe he overtightened.  We tossed the saddle mount.  I then bought a cantilever barrel and mounted the scope with no further problems.  I still have the cantilever barrel and 4x Simmons but only use it for deer or hogs after installing an open choke to shoot slugs.  Works great for that. Always remember that the scope will be a trade off in both weight and field of view.  Good luck.   

[eggshell]

Deathfoot,
Your friend may well be right, because I am making my full judgement on one guy's experience. I have only looked through his. He very well may have a poor set up and using the wrong scope. After reading some of these discussions it dinally dawned on me I was using a pretty limited experience to make that call. I hope it works out for you. At least your doing yur research

[Tom007]

Great discussions here. When us older guys starting hunting years ago, ventilated ribs, round barrels with single or double beads was what we all used. I never thought I would ever add an optic to my Turkey gun. Nature forced me to look into optics. My eyesight stated to change over time, thus I added optics to my Turkey guns. Hers the simple positive/negatives regarding scopes:
Positives: Centers POI, Better sight picture for ailing eyes, consistent patterns, pick up light during daybreak.
Negatives: Field of view limitations, moving target acquisition difficulties, adds gun weight, possible lens reflection. It all comes down to personal wants and needs to make us all better hunters. Red dots, scopes, rifled sights or beads will all kill turkeys......be safe

[BDeal]

I've used a Simmons 4x scope for many years and never had a problem. I do plan on setting up a new 20 gauge with a red dot this year mostly for the weight savings as I want this rig to be as light as possible.

[GobbleNut]

  I like using a scope for turkey.  There have been times when one boogers on me and I cant get the scope on him and off he goes.

This is the single reason I do not use a scope or similar device for turkey hunting.  Back when the "scopes for turkey hunting" fad began several decades ago, I figured I would give it a try.  It took a few instances of well-within-range, moving gobblers being missed because I could not get the scope/holosight/red-dot on them before I realized that I was much better off using beads.  Of course, even at 71, my eyesight is still fairly good so I don't as of yet feel the need to worry about being able to aim down a vent-rib with beads.  After sixty years of shooting that way, I am just more comfortable and confident in continuing to do so. On the other hand, I also fully understand why others may prefer, or even need, some other type of aiming device.

In addition, I have a couple of good turkey guns that I currently don't use because their points-of-aim relative to points-of impact are not centered.  I also have multiple friends that have the same problem with their guns.  That especially seems to be a recurring problem with the newer guns for some reason.  The need for some alternative sighting device is pretty obvious is those situations. 

[eggshell]

In addition, I have a couple of good turkey guns that I currently don't use because their points-of-aim relative to points-of impact are not centered.  I also have multiple friends that have the same problem with their guns.  That especially seems to be a recurring problem with the newer guns for some reason.  The need for some alternative sighting device is pretty obvious is those situations. 

HMMM, yeah that's it we all picked up the wrong guns in SD last spring.....

[GobbleNut]

In addition, I have a couple of good turkey guns that I currently don't use because their points-of-aim relative to points-of impact are not centered.  I also have multiple friends that have the same problem with their guns.  That especially seems to be a recurring problem with the newer guns for some reason.  The need for some alternative sighting device is pretty obvious is those situations. 

HMMM, yeah that's it we all picked up the wrong guns in SD last spring.....

Did you have to bring that little misadventure up?!  Wish I could blame it on the gun but in my case I must reluctantly admit it was strictly "operator error"... 
As we get closer to the upcoming season, this "operator" is starting to be a bit concerned about continuing that missing streak.  ...Maybe it's time to reconsider my position on scopes on turkey guns...   

[Sir-diealot]

I have a Loupold* turkey Plex Scope that I love, real easy to see the reticle, don't regret buying it at all. My eyes have gotten to where I couldn't even see carbon fiber sites anymore so I had to do something. Edit: voice type is horrible.

Sent from my moto g pure using Tapatalk

[deathfoot]

I have a Loupold* turkey Plex Scope that I love, real easy to see the reticle, don't regret buying it at all. My eyes have gotten to where I couldn't even see carbon fiber sites anymore so I had to do something. Edit: voice type is horrible.

Sent from my moto g pure using Tapatalk

I've often wondered why leupold doesn't make a camo scope for such an occasion. It's the only scope I'll buy. And I have my freedom VX 1 dipped because of that reason. The Turkey plex is also no longer available so I went with the pig plex. I can't wait to site it in and get in the turkey woods this spring!!

[Sir-diealot]

I have a Loupold* turkey Plex Scope that I love, real easy to see the reticle, don't regret buying it at all. My eyes have gotten to where I couldn't even see carbon fiber sites anymore so I had to do something. Edit: voice type is horrible.

Sent from my moto g pure using Tapatalk

I've often wondered why leupold doesn't make a camo scope for such an occasion. It's the only scope I'll buy. And I have my freedom VX 1 dipped because of that reason. The Turkey plex is also no longer available so I went with the pig plex. I can't wait to site it in and get in the turkey woods this spring!!

I have wondered about that scope. Let me know how it works out.

[76chevy]

I have the simmons pro diamond on my 20 ga and love it.  Burris FF3 on another gun too and its great also but has battery which could fail

[Tom007]

I have a Loupold* turkey Plex Scope that I love, real easy to see the reticle, don't regret buying it at all. My eyes have gotten to where I couldn't even see carbon fiber sites anymore so I had to do something. Edit: voice type is horrible.

Sent from my moto g pure using Tapatalk

I've often wondered why leupold doesn't make a camo scope for such an occasion. It's the only scope I'll buy. And I have my freedom VX 1 dipped because of that reason. The Turkey plex is also no longer available so I went with the pig plex. I can't wait to site it in and get in the turkey woods this spring!!

It seems like the scope companies veered away from making Turkey specific scopes for some reason. Years ago, there were many great options for Turkey hunters: Pentax Lightseeker in camo, Nikon Monarch Turkey Plex Camo, Leopold had a few Turkey Specific Scopes, Bushnell etc. A few years ago Weaver made a camo Turkey Scope in camo that was discontinued. I think the Red Dot craze took over for scope sales, thus they started disappearing from the market. Thankfully you can still find them used......

[Greg Massey]

I've got a Remington 870 /12 ga. shotgun setup with a saddle mount and Nikon Turkey Pro scope and I've never had any problems with the saddle mount or the scope. I've got a Remington 870 /20 ga. shotgun setup with saddle mount and Simmons pro diamond and I've never had a problem with the saddle mount and the scope. Both saddle mounts also give you the opportunity to still see your beads on the guns.  The Simmons are good scopes. I also have a older Weaver turkey scope, Bushnell, Redhead and BSA ... I have a couple Simmons Pro Diamond scopes called the Master Series that a lot of you probably have never seen or didn't know they made these scopes back in the day with illuminating pro diamond that you can increase the intensity of the pro diamond just like a red dot ... amazing scopes for their times.  Like i told y'all earlier in the post i have a collection of these turkey scopes.. LOL.   BLACK RIVER PRECISION LLC ... he builds some of the best turkey shotguns that money can buy and he uses saddle mounts on his builds ... SO i just don't want saddle mounts getting a bad wrap ... It all has to do with the choice of what you want and how it's setup in my opinion.  Anyone who wants to see my builds, just shoot me a PM and i will be glad to show you...