First gobbler with o/u 20ga. (Updated with pics)

[old3toe]

 As posted in the small bore forum I purchased a yildiz 28ga o/u. I was so impressed with the little gun I immediately began thinking how sweet the 20ga would be as well. I was online reading different posts about these o/u guns and came upon a post about the youth 20ga yildiz. It stated they have a 26" barrel and shorter stock. I thought that's got to be a sweet little turkey rig itself and wished it'd come with 24" barrels but heck being an o/u it's oal will still be short and fast handling compared to what I'm used to with pumps and automatics. I wanted the 28ga to work up my own hand loads for turkeys and to start my five year old on, when hes a bit bigger, which won't be real long because hes huge for his age already. Plus it's a fun gauge to learn on and can be shot alot cheaper with reloads than other gauges. Well I decided to go check out the 20ga youth and possibly buy it. To my surprise the youth models at my academy were equipped with 24" barrels instead of 26". There was no second guessing the purchase!! I'm still trying to find powder and primers for the 28ga local without having to order and pay the high shipping charges and knew I wouldn't be able to get it lined out for this spring season. However with the 20ga I grabbed a box of fed heavyweight 7's to try. I'd never tried them before and figured with so many people shooting them thats where I'd start since I had one state tag left and was heading out in the morning, though not a hundred percent sure I would be taking the little 20ga. That evening I checked poa/poi and it was more than adequate for the job. Planning all along to put sights on it at a later date I was comfortable shooting just the bead the way it shot right off. With the bottom barrel choked full and a fed heavy 7 round it shot a nice tight pattern at 40yds just a little low. It was actually way tighter than I expected so I was very pleased. The top barrel with the modified choke threw a nice even pattern as well perfectly centered at 30yds with a 2 3/4" federal premium 1oz 7 1/2 copperplated shot. It would kill at 30 but I considered it a 25 yard and in combo. Anything past that would get the bottom barrel. The next morning I got on a very vocal gobbler and got to watch him strut and gobble all the way in to my little o/u. One shot from the bottom barrel and fed no 7's at 35yds and he was down. What a Hunt!! I'm thinking of having it dipped but am going to add sling swivels/sling and sights for sure. Can't wait to load some light loads for it too and break her the rest of the way in!

[howl]

Sweet!

[possum#1]

Congrats.

[Greg Massey]

Nice little gun and great story and bird.

[crow]

good looking gun and wright up

do the top and bottom barrels shoot to the same poa of each other?

[BandedSpur]

Congrats on a great little turkey slayer. If you are going to handload, you might as well do it right with TSS. Going to make for a sweet rig. Congrats on the bird as well.

[old3toe]

 Thanks guys. Crow I tested the poa/poi at 25yds on poster board and the top and bottom barrel overlapped nicely on the up and down aspect and left right was perfect. When I moved back to forty yards the bottom barrel shot a little low with the full choke. I shot the top barrel at 30yds with a heavy field load and it was perfectly centered with mod choke. I will get some pics posted when I can to give an idea but it might be tonight or tomorrow before I can. Also I was shooting off of bags and with the factory bead. I really like to shoot multiple patterns than I have so far to make sure and preferably with sights, which I will add pretty soon. I'm not sure what perimeters the companies use to set the two barrels poi. I've heard people complain about poi problems with o/u and I know they can be way off but you have to remember its two separate barrels. Like a rifle with a scope. When sighted in for a set yardage you'll always have a point where the line of sight crosses the trajectory. My way of thinking is you'll always have a variance with poi between two barrels because if you set them to hit dead on at a fixed distance beyond that point the impacts will be higher and lower from where they cross. I may be totally wrong on this guys so if anyone disagrees feel free to correct me and share their input.lol Anyway I believe this is why the lower barrel must shoot a little lower than the top barrel.

Banded spur I'd love to load and shoot TSS in both guages. The performance and patterns are just redicilous!! I don't know that I could afford it though. Does anyone know how much that stuff sells for a pound? I've thought about robbing some other heavy weight shells to load in the 28ga. I know of no reloading data for the heavier shot though. I could get two shots for one that way but doubt I'd go that route. Sounds interesting though.

[Greg Massey]

What kind of sights can you add to a gun like this ?

[crow]

sounds like you got a winner with the little bit of difference in where the 2 barrels shoot to poi of each other, and left/right your golden

what is the weight of the youth 20gauge?

[old3toe]

 Greg tru glo makes a set that attaches to the rib with screws. They're metal with fiber optic single bead in the front and dual beads in the back and are fully adjustable. They're bright and very durable. I had some on a sx2 for a long time and never had a minutes trouble with them. I can't remember the name of them but they run around 30-35 dollars a set. Thats what I'll be installing on this 20ga. Also the rear portion can be removed easily for wing shooting.

Crow it weighs 5lbs 15oz with the sims slip on recoil pad on it. I think it's gonna be a dandy little turkey gun the way it shoots. I may end up switching the full choke to the top barrel and the mod to the bottom barrel. That way the barrel shooting a little low on bottom will make up some for it with the more open shot spread and I'll be looking right down the longer reach barrel. Just a thought but I'll post back after I do more testing with it.

[Greg Massey]

Greg tru glo makes a set that attaches to the rib with screws. They're metal with fiber optic single bead in the front and dual beads in the back and are fully adjustable. They're bright and very durable. I had some on a sx2 for a long time and never had a minutes trouble with them. I can't remember the name of them but they run around 30-35 dollars a set. Thats what I'll be installing on this 20ga. Also the rear portion can be removed easily for wing shooting.

Crow it weighs 5lbs 15oz with the sims slip on recoil pad on it. I think it's gonna be a dandy little turkey gun the way it shoots. I may end up switching the full choke to the top barrel and the mod to the bottom barrel. That way the barrel shooting a little low on bottom will make up some for it with the more open shot spread and I'll be looking right down the longer reach barrel. Just a thought but I'll post back after I do more testing with it.

Does it come with some way to mount a sling or do you have to drill the stock and mount some kind of barrel clamp for the other attachment. How are you going to carry it , i guess is what i'm asking..

[old3toe]

 It doesn't come with swivel studs. I'll drill the butt stock for a stud and put a barrel clamp swivel stud on the lower barrel. It comes in a kit. You could also get a double loop shotgun sling as well that just slips over the barrel and the buttstock and tightens around the grip area. I'm not real keen on that style though. I figured it would add extra wear on the finished areas as well. The on I tried a long time ago didn't grip the barrel area very good either.

[BandedSpur]

TSS is $50-60/lb

[surehuntsalot]

I really like that set up you got there, I've always said that an O/U would make a perfect turkey gun

[old3toe]

 Banded spur it sure is tempting to try some. I might be able to swing a couple pounds to try out for next year.

Surehuntsalot I've always wanted to try one myself but couldn't afford a high dollar one. I've looked at the Tri stars several times over the years but they had sketchy reviews. These yildiz guns have quite a few followers and have been around long enough I felt they were a safe bet. There's lots and lots of positive reviews on them with only a few negatives. I'm tickled with mine. They seem to be a lot of gun for the money.