What do you consider to be your ideal turkey gun?

Would it be a factory gun or one you built or one you would build and customize?

Is there one out on the market either new or old that you are looking to buy?

I have toted an 21” bbl 870 20ga for 10 years, but I have picked up a few I’m going to be piddling with this season.

One gun is a little 28ga O/u, a couple semi automatics an 18” bbl mossberg, a 21” bbl benelli M2, and a 24”bbl M2 compact.

What do you have your eye on or what have you considered is your perfect turkey gun?

When I was coming up, everything was big bang, dead turkey… but seems TSS has changed the game. Everyone wants smaller, shorter, lighter.. and I totally understand that! I purchased a heavy used 1187 20ga mossy oak green that has made it to its 3rd Aldeer member. I’d shoot a 410 if I had one… bought my 8 yr old a 28ga for his birthday. Gonna give it a go this year some..
But if I bought a gun off the shelf, the first thing I’d do would be drill/tap for a dot, dot, then choke, then pattern..
perfect turkey gun to me would be a good pattern thrower, not really heavy, no mule kicking…
Sounds like you got a nice lineup if’n you get some birds to play

I've been carrying a Browning Cynergy 3.5 12 ga for over 20 years. I guess that gun has close to 250 under it's belt from Alabama and from out of state hunting. It's really been the perfect turkey gun for me for a long time.

i’m superstitious & don’t believe in experimenting - if i’ve got a gun i’m 100% confident in, i’m done & just focus all my energy on hunting & don’t second guess my weapon - for me that’s a bone stock Stoeger 2000 semi-auto 12ga (outside a Primos TightWad choke tube) … i’ve had it so long now that the factory camo paint has worn off on the fore-end where i rest it again my knee setting up … to me, it’s not a heavy gun - everything about it just “works” …

i’m the same with deer hunting - i’ve had my Remington SPS .308 for a while now - don’t ever really plan on changing that ever … i’ve learned to not fix what’s not broken …

BUT i do enjoy hearing y’all’s stories 🤣🤷🏻‍♂️

I will probably hunt with the M2 compact 20ga until I’m unable to hunt any more. It has a pistol grip, dipped and coated (by gun doc), a trijicon red dot, and factory full choke. The only way I could see a better option, for me, would be a side by side or over / under with converging poi barrels (unusual), a decent trigger and a pistol grip. I have never seen one of these guns 😜.
I spent unreasonable money on a 20ga side by side coach gun (36” total length). I couldn’t get the barrels to shoot any closer together than 16” at 40 yards. I have a 12ga Remington over/under that the barrels shoot well together at 40 yards. I mounted a red dot on it, but the trigger pull was pretty bad and the recoil was as bad as anything I’ve ever shot. They sit in my safe collecting dust still.

I too have an 21” 870 20 gauge that I built up right and have hunted with for about 10 years. If I were going to buy a factory gun and call it as close to perfect as it gets, it would be the Mossberg 500 20 gauge turkey gun in greenleaf. It’s a perfect set up factory gun with only one flaw. The trigger spring sucks. It’s got like an 9 lb trigger. I put a mcarbo spring in mine and got it down to 3 lbs. That’s all that needed to be done.

A compact 11-87 20 gauge with 21" barrel, venom red dot and a timney trigger kit is currently the perfect turkey gun. Sorry I didn't post this sooner so all others could be in their rightful spot of second, haha.I do really like it.

I’d say that’s a tried and true killer.


My go to is a Benelli M-1 Super 90 with a 28 inch barrel. (12 gauge, 3 inch)

My favorite turkey gun is a single shot 20 gauge H&R topper Junior that I had cut to 18 inches and threaded

25 year old Remington 870 compnchoke I think what the choke is called. Gun is a Warrior kicked rain on muddied dropped broke ice in the swamp and still shots very good. Belly craw and never think about scratching the gun.

I shot a 870 with XX comp n choke and leads 4’s in the late 90’s. Still shooting the affinity 20 gauge since 2014-15

I’ve used a SX3 20ga for years now and have loved it but I’m considering using my A300 patrol 12ga this time
It’s short maneuverable and is equipped with a ghost ring sight with a 19” barrel and I think it will make a dandy turkey gun

SBE H&K forcing cone lengthened and angle ported. Rhino 650 choke hand loaded 3” 2oz tss 7x8x9

Very nice!

Dis my whumpin jumpin turkey thumpin mojo magnum craw stompin waddle wackin snoot pooter longbeard shooter…

Aka…20ga 870…boy it whopsem downz…id like ti have me a nice semi auto..really like to have a weatherby element with the 22in barrel

Nice setup

Have the element 22” as my backup gun…it’s a fun thing to tote

.243!!! Some of us really suck at turkey hunting and can’t get them in close. Someone told me one time that you have have to do whatever it takes to kill the turkey and the number one rule of turkey hunting is DONT SCARE THE TURKEY!!

Winchester 1300 NWTF youth 20ga