First turkey gun

[BINK McCARTY]

First and foremost buy what YOU want!!!!!! I'm kinda like you,I like the feel ,swing,and how an 870 shoulders waaaaay better than a mossy.Not to mention I have known several folks that have had just plain bad experiences with them.....a good buddy of mine bought a BRAND NEW 835 ,we went to test it,and after the shot he had to literally slam the butt pad down on the ground to get the action to even open so he could eject the empty.....so he ended up trading it back to the store he bought it from on a used rem. 11-87 which turned out to be one of the best patterning and most reliable guns he ever owned!!!!
Bottom line is ,get what YOU like. My advice and what I have done a couple times now upon tryin' to help my buddies out is look at pawn shops,local gun stores,and even online for used shotguns,and ifn you can get em' for a song then you can put $$$ with it and have it tricked out (like havin forcing cones lengthened & polished,trigger jobs,or ifn you find one with a longer bbl. than what you want,send it to someplace like Rob Roberts' Gobbler Guns and have the bbl. cut down to the length you want a fitted with one of his KICK-BUTT Final Strut chokes and you will in no time have one AWESOME turkey rig!!!! Let's say you find a 26" bbl......have it cut to 23", do the cones,have him let up on the trigger poundage,tell him what shells your wantin' to shoot and he can match a choke for you,and in no time you will be ready to rock -n- roll!!!!!
I also looked up a few $$$$ from Buds gun shop in Lexington just to try and help you get an idea of whats out there and how much....
These are ALL NEW IN BOX Remington 870s....some are supermag,which i'll note.Also they ship for FREE!!!!!! Hope this helps,and ifn you have any ? or want more info. just hit me up!!!!

12/21"-3"-MONBU camo with Hi-viz fiber optic sites. model: 81115 for $387
12/26"-3"-blk.syn.model:5589 for $329
12/28"-3"-blk.syn.model:5587 for $326
12/26" -3.5" supermag-camo. MOBL-model:81125 for $478
12/26"-3.5" supermag-blk.syn.model:25102 for $363
12/28"-3.5" supermag -waterfowl camo...(I think its wetland camo from MO)model:81111 for $488

Again, I hope this helps and don't hesitate to hit me up ifn you need any help!!!!! HAPPY HUNTIN'!!!!!

[Longshanks]

870 21" bbl. you can buy another barrel for that gun in 26" or 28" if you want to duck, dove, or  pheasant hunt. Good luck.

[Sealbilly]

^THIS^  870 barrels are cheap.  Get a 21" and a 26 or 28 to wingshoot with if you do that.  I have a M1 with a 28" and a 24" barrel for turkey and waterfo/birdhunting and I wanted it to be even more light and compact so I got a 21" and love it.

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[decoykrvr]

I've owned and killed gobblers w/ an 835 and I'm not a Mossberg fan.  I've got a 3 1/2, 26", Browning BPS which will pattern as well as any 835 I've ever worked with, doesn't rattle, and doesn't swing like a 4x4.  I hunt almost exclusively w/ a 3" gun and Hevi-13, 6's, 7's, and MagBlends and seldom use a 3 1/2" shotgun except for waterfowl hunting.  If you run & gun for turkeys, get the lightest most reliable gun which fits you, and shoot it a lot for doves, crows, ducks, geese, and lastly turkeys.  There is no substitute for developing the fit, feel, and confidence which comes from shooting a particular shotgun a lot.  I agree with the comment that the "new" Remington's are not as well built as the older guns. If you want an 870, I would shop around for an older model, buy a 21" barrel, put on adjustable sights, and have a 26" or 28" barrel for hunting everything else. 

[357MAGNOLE]

I love my 870 youth with 21" barrel. I also love that with the scope dialed in.... The cross hairs are right on with the bead. Usually you have some POA/POI shift. This one is dead on.

[budtripp]

My buddy has an 835. I myself have an 870 super mag I bought used for 300 bucks. Camo, 23" barrel. He kills the snot out of gobblers every year, but so do I. It's really a personal thing and you can't go wrong with either.

[Bowguy]

I see mention of the way guns swing, problems, etc. just to give you more to think about, you don't swing on turkeys, you aim at em. You said you wanted a gun for turkeys.
You want a good swinging gun get a well made, well balanced over/under, the gun would be made for wing shooting n excels in that regard. Guess it's all about what you're doing with gun.

Next saw mention of problems, I've had mine(835) since the 80s, never once a single problem.
Most guys I know own n hunt w em. Again never a single problem. I'm sure there is some, but that goes for every manufacturer. Winchester had tons of guns recalled for safety reasons, same for Remington, you'll see/hear bout probs w Benelli, ah list goes on n on.
I'm bashing no companies, the three companies I listed as having problems should not be overlooked since they're all great.
I understand wanting your own gun, good luck w search

[decoykrvr]

You swing on turkeys when you shoot them in the air.  I have never planned on wing shooting a gobbler, but over the course of 36 years, I've killed 5 flying long beards which includes one I called across a lake and another which flew to the call from an adjacent ridge.  I hunt a lot of ducks and geese and got rid of my first 835, which was a 3rd year production gun, for a 2nd year production H&K/Benelli SBE which is a superior wing gun, has better balance and weighs considerably less than the 835.  Today there are numerous shotguns which with different barrels and chokes will accommodate a shooter as an all-around shotgun and enhance your opportunities to shoot the gun at more than turkeys.

[Ozark870Hunter]

decoykrvr you sir are spot on. I bought my 2001 21" mossy oak camo 870 used from a gun show for $350 as my first shotgun. Bought it mainly for turkey but swap out chokes for wing shooting and routinely outshoot my buddies on dove. And that's with the 21" barrel. Come turkey season It is most definitely a benefit to have a gun that shoulders, swings, and fits you like a glove. Here's a video I took with a iPhone several years ago. If I hadn't been wing shooting like I had been, I would've never taken this bird. It was my first time calling with a mouth call, as I had just discovered small frame calls. (Can't believe I actually called in a bird back then sounding like I did). From my vantage point, I never saw or heard the hens, and he was strutting, head obstructed by his fan when I tried to raise on him. They spooked, and started to flush. The gun came up, went boom, and he was done.
There was no conscious effort to raise, acquire, and shoot. It was all muscle memory, and I nailed him.
First 3 videos are me calling and him gobbling. Last video I snap shoot him the last 30 seconds.
http://youtu.be/9CVLHwEC2SA
http://youtu.be/OgmgmmUGT7g
http://youtu.be/yydWq9grt7w
http://youtu.be/8mtT9zn_MuU

[decoykrvr]

Ozark870Hunter, I would strongly advise you to find a 26" or 28" barrel for your 870.  The longer barrel will be a definite advantage when wing shooting doves, crows, ducks, etc., and will really help your swing and follow-through.  Most importantly, a longer barrel will go a long way to preserve your hearing and that of anyone hunting near you.  The DB rating to your ear from a 21" vrs a 26' or 28" barrel is significant.  A  21" barrel is fine for turkey hunting, since you probably wear ear protection during sighting and patterning sessions, and won't shoot the shorter barrel much, even during a great season.

[Ozark870Hunter]

Use ear protection when ever hitting clays or patterning. And only go through a box or two a season while dove hunting. When I say I outshoot my buddies it's usually my 2-5 doves vs 0-2, but point taken. I should be using a longer barrel for anything but turkey.
Wanted to add that my buddy recently purchased a new 870 and the first thing I noticed too was the rail wasn't that straight either?