AmericanLongRifles Forums

General discussion => Black Powder Shooting => Topic started by: Cory Joe Stewart on April 28, 2025, 08:58:26 PM

Title: Gauge and Barrel length!
Post by: Cory Joe Stewart on April 28, 2025, 08:58:26 PM: Hello everyone,

I am curious what you folks think is the best gauge and barrel length for a turkey gun? With a choked barrel?

Cory Joe
Title: Re: Gauge and Barrel length!
Post by: rich pierce on April 28, 2025, 09:45:43 PM: If I had the choice I’d get a 16 gauge with a jug choke. The Colerain 20 gauge turkey choke barrel is hard to load and clean because it’s .58 at the muzzle. No fun getting wads down it. No good for round ball.

I load powder, corn meal, shot, and wadding over shot. Not a thin overshot wad. It would get mangled. Stuff some tow or wadded newspaper over the shot. Just enough to keep the shot in place. Today I tested it with 1.5 ounces of #6 shot. Very good at 30 yards.
Title: Re: Gauge and Barrel length!
Post by: rich pierce on April 28, 2025, 09:46:44 PM: Quote from: rich pierce on April 28, 2025, 09:45:43 PM
If I had the choice I’d get a 16 gauge with a jug choke. The Colerain 20 gauge turkey choke barrel is hard to load and clean because it’s .58 at the muzzle. No fun getting wads down it. No good for round ball.

I load powder, corn meal, shot, and wadding over shot. Not a thin overshot wad. It would get mangled. Stuff some tow or wadded newspaper over the shot. Just enough to keep the shot in place. Today I tested it with 1.5 ounces of #6 shot. Very good at 30 yards.

Length only matters for handling. Depends on your blind situation.
Title: Re: Gauge and Barrel length!
Post by: okawbow on April 28, 2025, 10:38:05 PM: My dedicated turkey gun has a 12 gauge round barrel with full choke, 30” long. Very handy for blinds or just sitting in the brush. The barrel was an old Long Tom single barrel with the shell chamber cut to just behind the cone and threaded for a breech plug. The whole gun only weighs about 6#. Will shoot a good pattern out to 40 yards, but I try and keep shots under 30 yards. I’ve taken more than 15 turkeys with this flintlock.
(https://i.ibb.co/2YgjqSyN/B945540-E-E8-EB-4-B44-A49-C-C6-AA35012-BAF.jpg) (https://ibb.co/bRzr1FPJ)
Title: Re: Gauge and Barrel length!
Post by: wattlebuster on April 28, 2025, 10:45:42 PM: Mine is a Colerain oct to rd 32 inch 12ga that has been jug choked by Danny Caywood. Once I found what it wanted to digest ive been very happy with it. It really likes 4s an Fg powder. I have not been able to turkey hunt for the past few yrs due to an aging mom but when I could hunt regular it done very well bustin wattles

(https://i.ibb.co/F71V3Tc/007.jpg) (https://ibb.co/zfgJxvC)
Title: Re: Gauge and Barrel length!
Post by: Robby on April 28, 2025, 11:01:41 PM: All my bird guns are 16Ga, this year I'll be using one without a jug choke that patterns great out to thirty yards. The barrel is 44" and weighs in at about 6 its.+.
Very light for those days when I feel like roving. All in all a light and handy gun.

(https://i.ibb.co/xSCG1WRc/IMG-0300.jpg) (https://ibb.co/4ZmM8z5D)

(https://i.ibb.co/3yKGvdHw/IMG-0303.jpg) (https://ibb.co/hR0hc9vk)

(https://i.ibb.co/Y4XzP87B/IMG-0305.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Q7k2pnFv)

(https://i.ibb.co/323fLNf/IMG-0306.jpg) (https://ibb.co/jmNV1MV)
Good luck!!!!!
Robby
Title: Re: Gauge and Barrel length!
Post by: Osprey on April 29, 2025, 12:29:06 AM: If you want versatility jug chokes are great, but if you want a dedicated turkey gun get the Colerain full turkey choke 20ga barrel, I think they come in 38 and 44" lengths. Incredible patterns, anything inside 40 yards is dead if you do your part. I went with the 44" O/R, love it in the woods. Birds hardly flop, just hammers 'em.
Title: Re: Gauge and Barrel length!
Post by: Daryl on April 30, 2025, 01:37:07 AM: Good looking gun, Robby, especially the vertical breech "shot".