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Who’s still shooting a 10 or 12ga?

Buckmaster7600

By Buckmaster7600,
in Turkey Hunting

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Buckmaster7600 Mentor

Buckmaster7600

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I had some buddies over for the annual pattern testing/confirming this morning. Every one of my buddies wanted to shoot my 20ga’s. They all couldn’t believe how much lighter they were and how little they kicked. All but 1 “a 10ga guy” said he was going to start looking for a 20 for next year. I guess I was a little ahead of the curve on this because all but 1 of my turkeys in the last 10/11 years have been killed with a 20ga.

 

I’m sure most just use what they have and what they’re comfortable with but for anyone that’s looking for a new turkey gun seriously consider going to a 20ga. Unless you want to shoot them at 60 or 70 yards you aren’t loosing anything but a ton of recoil and a couple pounds.

 

 

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landtracdeerhunter Experienced

landtracdeerhunter

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 My 20 ga. don't pattern right, fact it never did out of the box, no matter what shell or choke I use.   I like the weight of the 12 ga. anyways , as it feels like I have a real weapon in my mitts. It"s pattern is perfect for my liking. I figure the more shot coming out of the barrel, the better chance I have of holding up a bird.

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stubborn1VT Proficient

stubborn1VT

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I shoot a 12 gauge.  Never really considered my 870 heavy.  It fits me better than the 835 I had before, and I never had any use for 3.5" loads.  It may be in my head, but I wouldn't feel confident in a 20 gauge beyond 30ish yards.  Then again, I don't shoot over 40 yards with my 12.

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ATbuckhunter Rising Star

ATbuckhunter

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I currently have a 12 guage for my bird hunting. With hevi shot and tss, a 20 guage really is all you need for turkey. Hell even a .410 will do the job out to 40 with tss. Maybe in a few years ill buy a 20 guage for turkey hunting, but for now ill turn my current 12 into a dedicated turkey gun once I get a semi auto shotgun for duck hunting

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cas Enthusiast

cas

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I shoot 10 and two 12's for turkey.

 

It's an interesting, yet short sighted argument. Guys like to say with modern x-y-z (add the shell tech of your choice) you don't need 10ga, or you don't need 3.5" shells, or 3" shells, or even a 12 ga. 

As if SOMEHOW the advances in tech only applies to 2 3/4" shells, or 20ga or even 410. :D

 

If you have 2 feet of string and you tie it to 2 feet of string,  get 4 feet of string. 

But if you start off with 6 feet of string, and add 2 feet of string..... ;) 

But then I pattern two of my turkey guns at 55 yards. Why? Because I can. Heck, just about anything throws a usable pattern at 30 yards.  Do I want to shoot birds at 55 yards and beyond? No, but it's nice to know that I can. 

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cas Enthusiast

cas

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I'm not hung up on weight.

I deer hunt with a  sub 6lb rifle...  and many others that range in weight up to about 13-14 lbs.    

And always carry a handgun. I also carry 8-10 lbs of crap in a pack with me everywhere I go. And probably 30-60 lbs extra on me. lol 

 

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Pygmy Experienced

Pygmy

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6 hours ago, blackbeltbill said:

Looking forward to Tomorrow  with my light 20 Gauge. Worth every penny. Hopefully some Birds will be Vocal  early!:paladin:

Good luck, Bill  !!    If it weren't for the damned virus I'd be hunting in Ontario on the 25th...

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Buckmaster7600 Mentor

Buckmaster7600

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In my opinion, patterns can be much to tight.  Your super tight shot pattern at 40 yards sucks at 20 yards, easily shooting over or beside a gobbler. 
 
You don’t need 50 pellets in the cranium.....

I completely agree! My run and gun setup I use a improved modified choke in and use 2 3/4” high brass 6’s because my shots are usually very close and I’ve missed more than my share at under 5yds!


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Buckmaster7600 Mentor

Buckmaster7600

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I shoot 10 and two 12's for turkey.
 
It's an interesting, yet short sighted argument. Guys like to say with modern x-y-z (add the shell tech of your choice) you don't need 10ga, or you don't need 3.5" shells, or 3" shells, or even a 12 ga. 
As if SOMEHOW the advances in tech only applies to 2 3/4" shells, or 20ga or even 410.
 
If you have 2 feet of string and you tie it to 2 feet of string,  get 4 feet of string. 
But if you start off with 6 feet of string, and add 2 feet of string.....  
But then I pattern two of my turkey guns at 55 yards. Why? Because I can. Heck, just about anything throws a usable pattern at 30 yards.  Do I want to shoot birds at 55 yards and beyond? No, but it's nice to know that I can. 

I absolutely agree that a 12 or a 10 has become more effective at longer ranges, that’s not arguable. 70yds is the new 50yds with the new technology. Those improvements are something I don’t need or have a use for. I don’t like heavy guns and I don’t like recoil. I have never fired a first shot a turkey at over 30yds and don’t have any intentions to.


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G-Man Veteran

G-Man

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20ga became the "in thing" in late 90s when rob keck started shoving them on every tv show and every nwtf banquet, he even went down to a 28 gauge but thankfully that never caught on. Banquets for various organizations is what fuels the gun " in thing" rage. The most recent is the 6.5 creedmore that had been around for decades but no one heard of or used.. enter tv and advertising, product usage and banquets. And everyone needs a 6 5 creedmore.  Imo yse a gun you have patterned and are confident in and with extra tight chokes do yourself a favor and put a good optic on it close shots and 6 in patterns lead to misses with out it.

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Pygmy Experienced

Pygmy

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Posted (edited)
18 minutes ago, Dr Juice said:

I’m still using my early 1990s 11-87 3” 12-g in mossy oak green leaf. This photo is from 2019.

IMG_3863.jpg

Cool, Doc....That makes three of us on the forum who use the exact same gun , right down to the barrel length and camo pattern....You, me and Mowin'.....

OOOPS, my bad.....Mowin' and I both have trebark camo....Same barrel length and vintage, though..Early 90s  and 21" bbl....

Edited by Pygmy
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2012_taco Rising Star

2012_taco

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I have a Remington 870 ulti mag 12 ga., can use up to 3.5" shells. I use 3" Winchester LR #5 iirc? I don't need the extra kick of the 3.5". It patterns very good out to 40, I'm sure it's good to 50 but, I hope to never find out! My buddy says the rage in the NWTF world is going to 410 ga with the TSS shot. I believe G-Man is correct with the NWTF bringing in new ideas/trends to the banquets to create a bidding frenzy. 

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