20 gauge for youth turkey gun???

H

Huckster

New member
My 14 year old daughter will turkey hunt for the first time this spring. She shoots a 20ga 870LW Rem. for deer hunting. Would a turkey load 5/6 shot and full/x-full choke with this gun be enough for turkeys OR should I invest in a single shot 12ga?
I know she can handle the 20ga well, she's too small for my 870 12ga.

Huckster
 
Thats a good question! I bought a Mossberg 20g youth model for two 12 year olds. (28 inch barrel). What range would Huckster and I be looking at? Maximum.
 
Huckster - I would rather see a 12 used but if she limits her range the 20 should work. I would use something larger than 5/6's though. I would probably go with 4's. If you do decide to get a single shot 12 get her a past recoil pad or something like it as those light little single shots with turkey loads kick like a mule. Shorthair
 
All my kids have gotten their 1st turkeys with 20 gauges. They do fine if you have a good choke and keep the range to under 30 yards. I like to use 7 1/2 shot since you are shooting at the head anyway. It gives a dense pattern and is deadly within 30 yards. I ordered some of the new Remington Hevi Shot loads in #6 for the 20. I haven't got it in yet but I used the #6 loads in 12 last year and they patterned better than anything else and did a good job at 45 yards. My 2 cents. I hope it helps.
 
I've killed several turkeys with a 20 ga. Use #4 magnum lead loads and aim for the head. Be sure to pattern the shotgun to determine what the max range should be.

My shotgun is an old winchester that patterns really tight, but I've killed turkeys at 50+ yards with it with no problems.

DWL
 
A 20 guage ought to work just fine, so long as the choke is relatively tight. The muzzle velocity for most 20g loads is very close to that of a 12 guage, so an accurate shot will put the big birds down........

I would use 4 shot as well............
 
I agree about muzzle velocities being similar...
A 20 ga just throws less pellets, and we're only talkin' a couple hundred fps...
I think there's that much variance in a box of factory shells.

I am not very big either and often shoot the 20ga with three inch mags (which actually kicks me harder that the 12 ga does with average 2 3/4" loads).

A couple really great downloadable turkey targets can be found here:

http://www.ammoman.com/graphics/tar02.jpg

and here:

http://www.wanwtf.org/target.htm

They say you need to put at least ten pellets into the head and neck...

I wish her the best of luck, and I am so jealous... it must be great to have a child (or a father) to hunt with!

Jeff
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Hey guys,
Thanks for the info.
Krusty Klimber the turkey tagets are great. You just saved me a bunch more time lookin for targets. The Ammoman one is about the best "freebee" I have seen!
To bad your in Seattle, you sure would be welcome to hunt with me any time.

Huckster
 
Thanks Huckster,

Your offer couldn't have come at a better time... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif I wish I could take you up on it!

How many turkey do get in WI?
We get up to three springers and, I think, three fall turkeys. Just buy your tag right over the counter, first one comes with our small game license, and the next two are $18 apiece... can't buy 'em in the grocery store for that!
And we have three subspecies here in the state (all recently introduced).
I've never hunted them, but I'm really stoked to be going this year, they look REALLY tasty!
I'll be sizin' 'em up for my smoker, it's gotta be able to fit! LOL

Those are cool targets, I found them on our local WTF site (no, not that WTF... Wild Turkey Federation LOL Got me too).
Look for your local chapter, and join if you can.

I read something recently that hit me like a ton of bricks... "a shotgun kills with pattern, not with shot size..."
Your average shell holds about an ounce and a half of lead give or take a little... if all of it, large or small, hits your target it delivers a force like being hit by a car... more shot is a big car, less is like a small one, still a lot of impact force... food for thought, for sure.

So, print out a pile of these targets and pattern, pattern, pattern, 'til you can hit 'em good everytime... the shootin' practice never hurts your skils either (just your shoulder). Make sure to practice some sitting in akward positions... ya know how critters like to make you do that.

Cabelas has a "turkey mix" shell that they sell, with #4 & #6 hevi-shot, and a tight pattern wad in it. I don't know if (but I hope) they have them in 20ga 3"ers, but they are highly spoken of. You might want to pattern some of those in both your gun and hers.

Jeff
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