Turkey Shotguns for Spring Hunting (cont.)

Turkey Shotguns for Spring Hunting (cont.)

A guide to buying the right shotgun for spring turkey hunting.

There are better ways to go though. Scopes, open rifle like sights, or even electro-optical systems. Turkey scopes usually run 1.5X to 4X in power. You won't need a high powered scope, but you will want it to have good light gathering capabilities. Because a lot of times the best turkey shots come early in the morning when the light is still relatively low. On the downside, There is often rain during a spring turkey hunt, and the gobblers keen eyesight will not forgive the movement of removing lens covers when a shot is at hand. The elecro-optical system places a laser aiming reference on a display . Though lightweight, low profile, parallax free, and highly accurate; it's difficult to read in rain or mist. Open sights are efficient and simple. They use the same premise as on a riffle and allow you to accurately place the shotguns shot pattern to the head of the spring turkey. Open sights work in rain and don't put a lot of added weight and bulk to your turkey gun.

The choke is the next consideration. Many of today's shotguns have screw-in chokes. So if the shotgun you choose comes with a standard full choke, you can swap the choke out with a extra-full choke tube, also known as a turkey choke. But even if the turkey gun you choose has a fixed full choke tube, they are usually fine for most shots on a spring turkey hunt.

Perhaps the most trying part of buying a shotgun for turkey hunting is finding the shotgun shell. The thing to remember is that a turkey gun is only as good as it's pattern. The relationship between a shotgun and the shotgun shell you use is no easy thing to discover. There is a lot of ammunition out there designed to kill turkeys, but ther's no guaranty that all loads will pattern well with your shotgun.

Most turkey loads are copper-plated, some are buffered and most have relatively high charges. The buffering and copper plating detour the pellets from deforming in the barrel, creating a tighter pattern. Shot sizes range from 4 to 6, five being a good middle ground. A shot size of 4 provides a penetration that allows for longer range shooting. You will have to practice and test different turkey hunting ammo to find the load that works best for you.

Finally, I recommend you buy a camouflaged gun. You spend a lot of time making sure that tom turkey does not detect you. And you spend a lot of money as well on camo clothing, gloves head nets and hats. It makes sense not to give yourself away with a non-camo shotgun.

If you're in the market for a new turkey gun, use these considerations when choosing it. Take the time to practice, and find the right ammo, and you'll find your next spring hunting trip to be more successful.