The Best Turkey Shotgun For Beginners

Most 12-gauge turkey shotshells, whether lead or tungsten super shot (TSS), carry heavy payloads that produce heavy recoil. Whether you’re a new or experienced turkey hunter, anticipating that recoil [can cause you to flinch](https://www.themeateater.com/hunt/firearm-hunting/how-not-to-introduce-your-kids-to-guns) just before the trigger is pulled, resulting in a clean miss.

But 28-gauge turkey loads produce less felt recoil (as long as you’re shooting the proper shotgun) and can anchor a tom at 40 yards if you pair the gun with TSS ammo. This not only makes the shooting experience more pleasurable for a new hunter but also makes you more accurate.

Recoil: 12-Gauge vs. 28-Gauge

Felt recoil is measured in foot-pounds and determined by using a mathematical formula that considers the weight of a shotgun, the charge weight of a shotshell, and the muzzle velocity of the shot as it exits the barrel.

A modern 12-gauge shotgun typically weighs 7 pounds, and most 3-inch turkey loads of TSS have a 2-ounce payload with a muzzle velocity of 1,190 feet per second (fps). That combination of gun and load produces a stinging 92.1 ft-lbs. of recoil energy. Drop the payload weight to 1¾ ounces and a muzzle velocity of 1,200 fps, commonly found in lead turkey offerings, and the recoil energy is a more manageable 49.3 ft-lbs.

Mossberg is building 28-gauge turkey guns, like the semi-automatic SA-28 and break-action Silver Reserve. Few other gun manufacturers are producing turkey-specific 28-gauge shotguns. But some hunters have turned to Benelli’s Super Black Eagle 3, chambered for 3-inch 28-gauge shells, outfitting the sub-gauge with an optic for better accuracy. The weight of the SBE3 is 5.6 pounds. Paired with Hevi-Shot’s new Hevi-18 3-inch shotshell (1¼-ounce payload, 1,200 fps muzzle velocity), the shooter will experience 34.5 pounds of felt recoil. Through the same gun, Apex Ammunition’s 2¾-inch turkey load with a charge weight of 1⅜ ounces and a muzzle velocity of 1,200 fps produces 40.5 ft./lbs. of felt recoil.

So what does all that mean? First off, a 12-gauge is almost always going to be a heavier carry afield because it weighs more than a 28. If you hunt from a blind, this won’t make much difference. But if you walk miles chasing spring toms, carrying a lighter gun will make a massive difference. I used to hunt with an almost eight-pound Browning BPS, which weighed 2½ pounds more than most 28s. Having hunted with lighter guns over the last several years, I can tell you that my turkey hunting experience is much improved because I am more apt to walk farther for a gobbler without a boat anchor slung over my shoulder.

Less recoil also improves accuracy. Heavy recoil can encourage flinching just as you pull the trigger, pulling the shotgun off target. Some hunters will anticipate recoil, which causes them to flinch—not optimal when a tom is strutting 30 yards in front of you.

Does the 28-Gauge Have Limitations?

Of course, turkey hunters might rightly ask: how much downrange performance am I losing by switching from the 12 to the 28?

Not as much as you might think. I’ve extensively pattern-tested TSS 12-, 20-, and 28-gauge turkey loads. At 40 yards, the 28 shotshells always hold their own against the larger bores. My most recent work pitted a pair of 2 ¾” 12- and 20-gauge Hevi-Shot Hevi-18 loads against the new 3” 28-gauge Hevi-18 offering. I shot each load five times on a piece of 35”x35” butcher paper, found the core of the pattern, drew a 10” circle around it, and counted the number of pellet strikes.

To level the playing field, each shotshell had a payload of 1¼ ounces loaded with No. 9 shot (448 pellets). I first shot all the offerings through stock full chokes but then swapped in Carlson’s Beretta Optima .515 and .505 aftermarket turkey chokes in the 28-gauge to see how they performed. The table below shows the results.

The 28 outperformed the 12 and 20, but remember that the larger bores can hold heavier payloads, which will increase pellet count and pattern density downrange. For instance, a 12-gauge 3” 2¼-ounce payload of No. 9s has a pellet count of 814; the 20 gauge 3-inch 1⅝-ounce payload of No. 9s equals 590 pellets.

I also didn’t shoot the 12 and 20 loads through a tighter aftermarket choke. If you pair the right 12-gauge shotgun, choke, and 2¼-ounce payload, I’ve seen upwards of 450 pellet strikes inside the 10” circle from 40 yards.

Still, the results from the 28-gauge prove that it can anchor a turkey at 40 yards and even compete with larger gauges under some circumstances.

Picking the Right 28-Gauge Shotgun and Load

Choosing the proper gun and ammo is overwhelming for most new hunters. Luckily, there are only a few turkey-specific options at the moment. Most 28-gauge shotguns are chambered for 2¾” shotshells, but with the advent of the 3” 28 and Hevi-Shot’s new Hevi-18 3” turkey load, consumers are going to see more 3” 28-gauge pump and semi-automatic shotguns on the market. For now, your best gun options are Mossberg and Benelli (I suspect the Italian gunmaker will debut an SBE3 turkey gun in 28 before next spring). Hevi-Shot, Apex Ammunition, and Rogue are some of the few manufacturers of TSS that produce 28-gauge turkey shells.

Any of these gun-load combinations will be lethal on turkeys inside 40 yards. Just be sure it’s legal to hunt with a 28 in your state. And be sure to pattern your gun on paper before going afield. TSS patterns are tight because of the shot’s 18.1 g/cc density. Pair it with an aftermarket turkey choke, and the core of the pattern is only about the size of a baseball.