I need to pick a turkey gun

[crow]

^^^ nice looking setup and patterns

[g8rvet]

One gun?   No doubt, 870 12 gauge, 26" barrel.  I have killed, in no particular order with mine: ducks, geese, dove, quail, turkey, deer, hogs, squirrel, and various other nuisance critters.  It has never jammed once, never failed to fire and is easy to break down and clean.  My brother shot one too for years and is also a lefty.  It is very versatile and very reliable. 

I now shoot an O/U for all flying birds/skeet (12 gauge) - although my son outshot me at sporting clays this past fall using my old 870 that he learned to hunt and shoot with - he broke 44/50 and 46/50 at a clay range.  I raised him too well to use a pump.

I hunted a rainy nasty muddy field for snow geese one time - there were 8 guns in the field.  The only 2 left still working at the end of the hunt were my O/U and my nephew's 870. All the autoloaders were single shots. 

Shoot what fits and what feels good.  Honestly, that is why they make so dang many options, we all like something different.  Kinda like redheads, blondes and brunettes - they are all good, it is just that some are better!   

[EZ]

I just recently bought a 20 gauge and set it up for my 74 year old Mom, who loves to turkey hunt.  I went with a Weatherby SA459.  I installed a Sumtoy 562 choke, topped it off with a Vortex Venon sight.  I patterned it with 3" Fed HW 7's.   After shooting it I have about decided to get another one for me and set it up the same way.  Wicked little set-up that I'm sure will prove to be deadly on turkeys.

Nice rig. What is the name of the added on cheek piece?

[guesswho]

It's by Triad Tactical.  Well worth the money.   Provides perfect eye alignment with optics. 
http://www.triadtactical.com/Triad-Stock-Pad.html

[Swampchickin234]

Go pick em up and get what feels right.  20 or 12s.   With today's available loads, you can do anything with either


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[Bowguy]

To clarify the righty lefty thing first off you need to learn eye dominance. If you shoot w wrong eye you'll be shooting sideways. Sights will help so will will closing dominant eye if you must shoot opposite eye but Id not recomend it. 
Now pumps are available that shuck a shell straight down n out. Single shots shouldn't be ruled out either.
Yes 20 or 12 can work but can it work for you? Do you reload? Havd extra money for expensive shells?
If not you'll find most 12s pattern better w identical shot. Larger bore means more pellets down range simple as that. 20s often need shot sizes illegal in some states. Best option is get a safe n get a buncha guns like everyone else. Oh n btw most turks are shot fairly close so 20s can do the job. Confused yet?
Main thing is whatever gun you get pattern it n shoot in effective rangd for that gun/load combo
Good luck.

[Marc]

To clarify the righty lefty thing first off you need to learn eye dominance. If you shoot w wrong eye you'll be shooting sideways. Sights will help so will will closing dominant eye if you must shoot opposite eye but Id not recomend it. 

I am an eye doc, and my kids will learn to shoot off their dominant eye.  Wish I had, but as an adult, I shoot reasonably well (shotgun) right-handed and left-eye dominant...  It has taken some effort, and I have no doubt I would be a better shot if I had learned to shoot left-handed as a child...

Some can do it, I am not one that could successfully switch to shooting left handed as an adult.

Now pumps are available that shuck a shell straight down n out. Single shots shouldn't be ruled out either.

The Ithaca Model 37 and the Browning BPS are great pumps for left-handed shooters (or anyone for that matter).  Two of the smoothest pumping actions currently made...  As far as an all-around gun, I do not think that a single-shot is a good choice...  And remember, that most single-shot guns have excessive recoil (in my opinion, there is not a worse gun to learn on than a single-shot 20 ga. due to the excessive recoil).

For a single gauge with the most versatility, the 12 ga. wins hands down....  There are better guns for certain tasks, but for an all-around gun, the 12 gauge is tought to beat.

[g8rvet]

I am an eye doc,

Opth or Opt ?

My best friend and duck hunting compadre is an Opt (as is his wife).  My brother (a retired Lt Fireman) gets bored when we start talking shop. 

Guy that works for me got into the cowboy action shooting.  The pistol was natural for him, but the shotgun was whooping his tail.  I took him duck hunting and immediately noticed something was wrong.  I did the dominance eye test and he was left eye/right handed.  He switched.  It took him 6 months to get comfortable, but his shooting improved in a couple months. 

[Happy]

I am left eye dominant and shoot right handed. Both eyes open for both gun and bow. Haven't done a whole lot of wingshooting but I did shoot a running deer once. Seems to work ok for me.

[Marc]

I am an eye doc,

Opth or Opt ?

My best friend and duck hunting compadre is an Opt (as is his wife).  My brother (a retired Lt Fireman) gets bored when we start talking shop. 

Guy that works for me got into the cowboy action shooting.  The pistol was natural for him, but the shotgun was whooping his tail.  I took him duck hunting and immediately noticed something was wrong.  I did the dominance eye test and he was left eye/right handed.  He switched.  It took him 6 months to get comfortable, but his shooting improved in a couple months.

Optometrist...

I never could make the switch, and although I will never be any George Digweed, I have learned to compensate for the left-eye dominance as a right-handed shooter...  In fact, the fact that I have had to work at it a bit has probably made me a bit better shooter, and certainly improved the basic mechanics of my wing/clay shooting.  Gun mount, focus on the target, and gun mount...

My father, with the same issue as me, is one of the best wing-shooters I know, and was on the state skeet team, and missed the national team by one (i.e. number 11 in the nation) when he used to shoot skeet competitively.

Oh yeah, and shooting "at" a lot of pigeons each year probably does not hurt my wing-shooting either...  If I can keep access to some of the dairies, my own girls will have a huge advantage in the learning-curve for wing shooting.  Those pigeons are one of the most challenging targets I have ever shot at, and although I would be disappointed with a 2 shot average on waterfowl, if you can kill a pigeon for every 2 shots, you are shooting quite well.  Most birds flare up after you shoot, pigeons go balls out for the deck (and they immediately start to twist and turn in flight).

A bit off-topic, but I would say that when teaching a child to learn to shoot, a visit to the eye doctor is in order.  Correcting refractive errors and checking eye dominance are important issues...  And kids rarely complain about refractive errors, cause they don't know any better (i.e. if they see blurry, they just assume that is how they are supposed to see).

I am also a big believer in gun fit (for kids or adults)...  A long stock (or LOP) will be more difficult to shoot, and increase felt-recoil.  I see too much rib, I will likely shoot over the target...  When I pick up a prospective gun, I want the gun to point where I am looking, see just a bit of rib, and likely, I will do something to shorten the stock.  When I miss, it is cause I did something mechanically wrong, not cause I was struggling to compensate for a poor gun fit.  I put a relatively high priority on gun-fit, and have seen my own, as well as some of my friends' shooting improve drastically with improved gun-fit.

Shooting a turkey with a shotgun, is not at all comparable to wing-shooting in any aspect...  It is far more similar to shooting a rifle, as you are generally aiming at a stationary target.  Misses on a turkey are generally due to shooting too far, lifting your head, not knowing where the gun shoots (with such a tight pattern), or some other very basic mechanical error on the shooter's part (such a breathing really heavy while the gun is waving around in a circle when you shoot).

[g8rvet]

All good points and why I wanted to stop shooting my duck gun at turkeys.  I think I was overly confident or just not as careful with "rifle shooting" the target. I mean, I water swat cripples with barely a thought - ya just do it.  But turkey shooting is a lot different with the tighter chokes and it took me a few years to re think that.  Now I have a dedicated turkey gun, that fits, points and shoots more like a rifle.  I just feel more confident and that helps a lot too.

[Old Gobbler]

I used to sell guns for a living , and I'll give you my advise that's as good or worse that any other person "the best gun is the one that works best for you " literally any shotgun with s screw in choke can be made to kill a gobbler , there are some messed up barrels out there , but I doubt you'll ever cross paths with one

Go down to a sporting goods store on a slow day and try out and shoulder as many guns as possible , look for a good fit ,and  fits your budget. I strongly recommend you get one with a popular screw in choke system , a shotgun with a obscure choke system will be a hassle .pick a quality shotgun -keep a keen eye out ft or a centered choke instalation job and rib from the factory

Nothing against 20's they work fine and set up properly are more than enough,  but some of the lighter 12's will feel like a 20 with some additional payload , if a friend is selling you the gun try and pattern it first to test for accuracy and pattern density

[Bowguy]

To clarify the righty lefty thing first off you need to learn eye dominance. If you shoot w wrong eye you'll be shooting sideways. Sights will help so will will closing dominant eye if you must shoot opposite eye but Id not recomend it. 

I am an eye doc, and my kids will learn to shoot off their dominant eye.  Wish I had, but as an adult, I shoot reasonably well (shotgun) right-handed and left-eye dominant...  It has taken some effort, and I have no doubt I would be a better shot if I had learned to shoot left-handed as a child...

Some can do it, I am not one that could successfully switch to shooting left handed as an adult.

Now pumps are available that shuck a shell straight down n out. Single shots shouldn't be ruled out either.

The Ithaca Model 37 and the Browning BPS are great pumps for left-handed shooters (or anyone for that matter).  Two of the smoothest pumping actions currently made...  As far as an all-around gun, I do not think that a single-shot is a good choice

I actually was only referring to the single shot for turkey. Personally in anything but a controlled, single aimed shot I believe single shots, besides being imperfect for some tasks can be more dangerous than guns w safeties. Just my opinion

[Cut N Run]

My $0.02;  I shoot left handed and hunt with right handed semi-auto SBE II, 870, and Model 70 bolt action rifles in .308 & .30'06.  I started turkey hunting with an Ithaca 37R 2&3/4 inch chamber that worked well enough.  The bottom eject in that Ithaca was nice, though I seldom see the spent casing/hull eject in any of the right hand guns I shoot.  The 37 was stolen when my house got robbed, so I turkey hunted with a single shot Stevens for 8 years, because I got used to it.  I never missed a turkey with it either.  My granddad taught me to be sure of the first shot and it wouldn't matter how many rounds you had in the magazine.

I prefer the 12 gauge over the 20 because there are more ammo options available.  I haven't found more than a 3 inch shell necessary for any hunting situation, but that's personal preference.

A firearm does not need a camo finish, but it sure doesn't hurt.  My single shot still has the same No-Mar bow tape I put on it in 1985, though it is kind of ragged in places these days.

Like others said, find a gun that fits your size and wallet just right.  You'll be better off buying a quality firearm that will last than buying a cheap one that doesn't hold up as well.  There are also a lot of good quality used guns on the market if previously enjoyed is not a problem. I hope your new gun brings a lot of successful hunts and adventure.

Jim

[Gooserbat]

 Really easy, go to the gun shop.  Look at the shotguns.  Handle a Benelli auto.  If the price tag won't get you divorced, buy it.  If it will buy an 870.  That's how to pick out a shotgun.