Over/Under for Turkey Gun

[open door]

I've always wondered why an over/under shotgun wouldn't be considered an excellent turkey gun. A few manufacturers make them in camo, with screw-in choke tubes. You could the top barrel say for a very tight pattern with hevi-13 or long range shots, and use the bottom barrel for those situations when the bird comes in close for 25 yards on in. I've never seen this even discussed and want to know why - seems to me to be the ideal gun for turkeys.

[allaboutshooting]

I've always wondered why an over/under shotgun wouldn't be considered an excellent turkey gun. A few manufacturers make them in camo, with screw-in choke tubes. You could the top barrel say for a very tight pattern with hevi-13 or long range shots, and use the bottom barrel for those situations when the bird comes in close for 25 yards on in. I've never seen this even discussed and want to know why - seems to me to be the ideal gun for turkeys.

Over the years I've seen a few folks who've used or discussed using O/U guns for turkey hunting. I've also seen a few more who use a SxS gun. Most were for the reasons that you mentioned.

There have also been a few O/U guns offered specifically for turkey hunting over the last 20 years or so but they've not been too popular and some have had some serious quality problems.

Many years ago I had a Fox SxS made into a very handy turkey gun. I had the chambers cut to 3", forcing cones lengthened, barrels honed, cut to 18.5" and threaded for tubes. I also had sling swivels installed. It was and still is a great turkey gun. I carry it from time to time and it has accounted for several birds.

At first, I had a tight choke in the right barrel and a more open choke in the left barrel. Since it has 2 triggers, I could instantly choose which barrel I wanted to fire. When Hevi-Shot came along, I could also choose between lead and those shells for the same reasons.

Over the several years that it served as my primary turkey gun, I just never needed the more open choke. Most birds were shot at 25-40 yards and I was more confident with the tighter choke tube.  Eventually, I just installed 2 chokes with an e.d. of .650 and it worked great.

I was fortunate in that the regulation of the gun was good and it's still the only gun I have that I'd feel confident in bringing up quickly and shooting a turkey. However, I have other guns that I like much more and that shoot much better patterns than the old Fox.

I guess for me it turned out that my idea of the advantage of being able to choose which barrel/choke to shoot did not work our for me in the turkey woods.

It's always good to have another gun however and I'd never try to discourage anyone from giving one a try. It might be exactly what you've been looking for and work very well for you.

Thanks,
Clark

[open door]

Thanks, Clark, for the reply. I've most used semi-autos for my turkey hunting, but last year did kill one with my 870 pump. It was loaded with hevi-13 and I was set up for a long range shot, but the bird circled around and came in a thick 15 yards from me. I made the shot, but a more open pattern at that range would have been very convenient, lol. I just bought a Remington Versa Max for duck hunting, and will now more than likely have to buy an after-market choke tube for turkey hunting. It came with a full choke but I doubt very seriously it's tight enough for a 45-50 yard shot with hevi-13, but I haven't tried it yet. I just wanted to bring up this subject about the over-under for the reasons I stated, by finances won't allow for a species specific gun, I have to have one for "all purposes", lol. Thanks again for the reply.

[Waddle Whacker]

I set one up a few years ago, had it dipped in Bottomland, and bought a couple chokes. It turned out to be a real shooter with the 3" Hevi 7's in the top barrel. The bottom barrel shot a bit too low for me, but with an improved cyl,or skeet choke, it didn't seem to make a huge difference 10-25 yds. I had opportunities inside 25 yds, which is where I felt comfortable with the bottom barrel, but always shot the tighter choke. Just had more confidence in it I guess, or either had the shakes too bad to move my barrel selector,lol. Had I had double triggers, I probably still would've shot the tight barrel. I killed a few birds with it, but it got into my head. What if I miss the first shot at 35? Maybe I get lucky with the IC and kill him at 40.....maybe not. It's a fine looking gun in the bottomland, I love to show it off, and if it shot POA with the bottom barrel I'd tighten it up a bit and never leave it at home, which would kinda defeat the purpose of being able to select an open choke. So for me, I just have more peace of mind knowing that if a follow up shot is necessary, I'm NOT shooting a skeet choke. I still hunt her from time to time, love the gun, love the idea, always wanted a dedicated 2 barrel turkey slayer, but it turned out just not to be for me. Double triggers in my mind should be a must if you're considering one......just don't forget which ones  which!

[drenalinld]

I am seriously considering a Browning Cynergy for waterfowl/turkey gun. For turkey, I was thinking of having Sumtoy make me a couple chokes for optimizing barrels. I am scared the poi would not match point of aim and for that kind of money I would be devastated.

[SumToy]

A lot of folks going to them around my neck of the woods.   They get a short rang set up and long rang set.   Now the thing with them is at 40 yards you shot both barrels fine.  At 20 yards check the set up of gun.   I have a 687 that top barrel is dead on bottom is 1 inch low.  The traditions is 2 inch low bottom.  The Zoli is dead on bottom high top.   Most the Brownings are high both barrels.  They good just got to work with the set up.  Shoot bottom barrel 1st if you can because it will give less muzzle jump that way.    

[natman]

There are some pluses for a O/U as a turkey gun; they're short for a given barrel length and second shots are rarely necessary, much less third shots.

The two choke idea is great for wingshooting and sounds attractive for turkeys, but I have to wonder how much an advantage it really is. If you have some sort of sights - open sights, red dot, scope, whatever - your gun should shoot to POA at any turkey taking range. Sure the pattern will be tight at short distances, but it should still be where you aim it. So I have to question how much of an advantage you'll get with the more open pattern offered by the second barrel. Sure, a hit at close range with a tight pattern will demolish a gobbler's head, but that's a risk I'm willing to take. 

If you do go with an O/U for turkey, it's going to be imperative that both barrels shoot to the same spot. That's going to require a fairly expensive O/U unless you're very lucky.