If you want to have any chance of success hunting turkeys then you have to get yourself the right gun.

Not only that you also need to use the right shot to take that gobbler down.

That’s why I’m going to tip you off on what you should be taking out to the hunt!

Barrel Length for turkey

You’ll find that a lot of folk tell you that, quite simply, you need a 26 – 28” barrel for your shotgun.

But that’s not necessarily the case when hunting turkeys.

Sure, you’ll get a better swing with a longer barrel, but there’s less maneuverability with such a long barrel.

What you need when turkey hunting is a shotgun which allows you to make shots quickly and then re position quickly.

That’s why I would always recommend a barrel length of around 20”, but you may want to go up to 24”. These barrels should give you the best chance to bag that gobbler!

I’d also recommend that, with such short barrel lengths, you also invest in some extra full choke to control the spread.

Type of Shot

The last thing you want to do is land the perfect shot on a gobbler, but then see it run off into the bushes.

That’s why you have to pick the right type of shot to ensure it stays down. And that means finding a shell which will break through a turkey’s neck or, ideally, the skull.

Now, there’s not really one size shot that you could say is perfect. It all depends on your gun, so you need to experiment a bit. That being said generally you’d want to have #4 to #6 shot.

Personally, though, I find you can’t go wrong with a good simple 3″ shell. As long as the gobbler’s in range and you’ve got a good pattern, you won’t have any problem taking it down.

I really hope you found my advice useful, so please leave me a comment below about what you thought!