Anybody using a Stevens 301 single shot 20ga turkey gun?
Thinking about getting one if I can find one for the spring season.
Let me know your thoughts if you have one.
Printable View
Anybody using a Stevens 301 single shot 20ga turkey gun?
Thinking about getting one if I can find one for the spring season.
Let me know your thoughts if you have one.
Why a 20, and not a 12 for the extra range?
I have 3 20s, but would never think of using them where I hunt in 90 - I want the reach-out range of my 12.
If you can't get a Turkey inside 30 yards you need some calling lessons... :)Quote:
Originally Posted by genec
I’ll put my 20 gauge patterns up against your 12 any day of the week. As good (in many cases better) than most 12s, lighter and lighter recoiling.Quote:
Originally Posted by genec
If we could legally shoot the .410s with the #9 TSS loads in Ontario, I absolutely would.
If you need the extra range, be more patient and learn how to get either yourself or them closer.
-Nick
I’ve been hunting turkeys for over 20 years, and I still want the range of my 12, and yes I CAN call them, but thats not the point.
And sprite, my 12 will work effectively over 55 yards easily…I doubt your 20 will!
And as far as your assuming my lack of turkey hunting skills goes….I’ve won the OFAH spring turkey contest twice over the years….have you?
if you guys want to use 20s, then fine, but don’t try to put down someone else because they choose to do it differently.
Back to the subject!
I just recently got a 20 g Stevens 301 as asked,the black one..........shot it only once.Slug only so far.
The gun definitely looks nice,carries nice,and i will have no qualms to carry it turkey(if and when i ever start turkey hunting)squirell,rabbit,grouse hunting,and as backup slug gun for short range deer hunting.
I am putting a red dot on it,then will state how it shoots.
I have no doubt,it will be a really good gun for the above purposes.
Thanks for the info. I found out they are made in China so not really impressed with them sending the production to China.Quote:
Originally Posted by gbk
I'm starting to look at 20ga's now as well, I'm tired of not being able to find .410 shells and when you do they are like 35 a box. for a slug gun with rifled barrel I'd take a 20 over a 12 any day from what my friends say. I have a 12ga slug gun, but I couldn't find a 20ga at the time or I would have bought the 20ga.
I do a lot of squirrel hunting and like the weight of my .410, but like I stated above no shells, so I have carried my 12ga and it gets heavy, so that why I'm thinking 20ga, need to handle some to see how they feel. For turkey I will stick to my 12ga, but there are a lot of turkeys shot with a bow so I'm sure a 20 would work well. I have been turkey hunting for 15 years and have shot that many birds all but 2 where less than 30yds so and both those were missed at less than 30yds and taken with 2nd or 3rd shot. So I think it whatever you are comfortable with.
In spite of the assumptions of the first 2 posters, I have shot most of my turkeys within 25-30 yards with my 12. However, turkey hunting conditions can differ dramatically from one part of the province to another.
For 8 years I lived near Midland, and turkey hunting was easy there. Lots of wooded areas, and many birds. It was relatively easy to get a tom with decoys and calls with a standard 2 3/4" load, and you could call them away from their hens with a bit of effort.
For the past 14 years I’ve been hunting the family farms in WMU90, and it’s a whole different hunting scenario there. Big open grain fields with only one bush and a wooded glacial river bank along 3 of the fields is the only cover. On the farm, if a tom is with a flock of hens, you cannot call him away - he will not leave the hens under any circumstances, no matter how hard we try. What we do get to call in is the roving toms, and most of the birds we shoot are these. Also, the flocks tend to stay well out in the open fields out of range of the fencelines or treelines most of the time - I think for coyote avoidance. And when they fly down in the mornings they usually fly well out into the fields before landing - 70 to 100 yards is common. The only exception to that is a few I have shot walking out of the bush because their roost tree for that night was well inside the bush. So on some occasions I’ve been glad to have the long range capability to bag a tom in the open field scenarios when we can’t get them to come in closer.
A buddy and I purchased them 2 years ago. We are both very satisfied with them. Nice and light, you'll appreciate that at the end of a long day of hunting.
Mines set up with a Burris FF3 and I'm shooting Federal TSS 7's out of the factory choke.
Tony
Thanx Gonduckin- i also somehow understood,that the thread is about an "user"feedback on the Stevens........not about the Country of origin,or personal opinions on the effectiveness of 12 gage vs 20 gage..Quote:
Originally Posted by gonduckin
Thanks for the input.
I ordered one from General gun in Windsor yesterday. Should have it end of this month. Plenty of time to set it up... :)
I still have an old Nikon Turkey plex (BTR) scope that I will try to mount on it. Red dot sights are no good for my old eyes! lol
I was always told to be careful when asking for an opinion as they are a lot like butts... everyone has one and they usually stink ! With that being said I was interested to see what the Savage 20 ga. was all about and hear input from owners. As for 12 vs 20 ? That is something that will always pop up and of course as threads go they tend to wander. I would like to know the price and if you test pattern it maybe a pic ?
Price was $330.00pls tax. Not too shabby! I will post the pattern I get with it once I get it all setup.. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by longpointer
Going to use Fderal TSS loads. Spendy at $10.00 per shell but I will only use 2 shells max per year... :)
Thanks Belle River ! 330 bucks eh ? Not bad but the ammo for 20's is pricey and sometimes hard to find. Maybe when this new fashion wave settles down the suppliers can catch up to the demand ? Sure , 20's have been around a long time but the past ten years with manufacturers producing 200 yard shot(slug?)guns (or so they claim) plus more women getting into the sport sales have taken off.
I was out checking on the feel and price yesterday. Both shops I was at had 20ga, on remington and other mossberg. They also had shells for them at well less than 20 bucks before tax. To my surprise they also had .410 shells, was able to buy 1 box at each place at over 30 a box.
There's a fellow on Facebook who was a pro for Quaker Boy that has one in 20 for here and one in 410 for Florida. He is very fond of his. Not sure what choke he uses but he claims 60yd capable with #6 Hevi-13 which of course you can't get any more. I got an 870 20 ga. myself this year for turkey along with a Long Beard choke and it also likes smaller shot. #5 Longbeard wasn't that impressive but #6 produced 50 yd kill shots which for me is 3 or 4 in the brain/spine and a dozen or so in the head/neck. Federal 3rd Degree did slightly better at 50 and I tried one box of Federal TSS #7 and it blew both of those out of the water but at double the price of the 3rd Degree I think I'll pass, and I can buy them wholesale! Like most folks on here most of my kills have been under 35yds but I like the confidence of a little more range if I need it. I'm also in area 90. TC
I think it is not all that bad,and with the price of ammo today-is there such a thing anymore as a cheap ammo?Quote:
Originally Posted by longpointer
I found the 20 gage no more expensive then 12 gage.So far.
Less variety for shots-not so much for rifled slugs,i could scoop up several different brands/types in no time.
Bit harder to find variety in the same store-but if one puts in a little time,can have all them ammo one desires/gun likes/yearly usage requires.
Example-20 g rifled (Foster)slug= 9-12 $ with tax, in several flavors.
# 5- # 71/2 shots,14-19 $.
Prices end January-mid February 2024.All within 80 km from Toronto.
I've gotta laugh at all the discussion about the crazy price of turkey shells. I've shot a turkey every year and I use a single shot Cooey 12 ga full choke that I've had since I was 13. I use #4 23/4" shells from what ever is left over in the gun safe. Last year I used a Challenger from Crappy Tire. They would have been $12.99 for a box of 25. The longest shot has been maybe 20yds. I don't understand the need to mortgage the farm for gear, or shoot 45yards with shells that cost more than a Barrett .50 round. I'd rather have a colonoscopy without anesthesia before I bought a pack of shells that cost $5+ per shot.
I just use a crossbow and keep re-using the same bolt. A 30 yd shot is all I need.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fenelon
It all depends on a lot of factors. How much time you have to hunt, what the population is like and what the hunting pressure is like. Of course skill level and experience falls in there somewhere as well. I have a friend who once had 400 acres of prime turkey habitat all to himself. He always killed a 25+ pounder with 2 3/4" #6's. Until he lost the property that is. Then he either hunted public or private with other hunter pressure. That year he shot a 20lb 2 year old and the year after he started using a 10ga. If you can kill turkeys from your back porch go ahead and use 2 3/4" Challengers but if you hunt hard hunted public land you're either going to step up your loads and chokes or your going to put a lot of pellets in a turkeys butt. TCQuote:
Originally Posted by Fenelon
my bird last year was a good example of light load or to far out, it had I think 8 pellets in it all just under the skin nothing into the meat. all those pellets were in leg or low breast. I shot it at maybe 10yds so yes I could have used a lot lighter load, but I'd rather be sure then sorry and do what the other guy did to the turkey I killed.
Is this real life? Didn’t you chime in to knock his usage of a 20 and provide no real help towards his ask?Quote:
Originally Posted by genec
This is why nobody posts on this forum.
I’ve shot lots of turkeys with shot just under the skin. People don’t estimate range properly or fail to consistently take head/neck shots.
Regardless of what firearm you choose, you have to know it’s and your limitations. I see guys down south tricking up .410’s for turkey hunting !
In New Brunswick they must be better then all of us as you can use a 28g thereQuote:
Originally Posted by rick_iles
I love my 20 ga. O/U. With 3" magnums, I wouldn't hesitate to use it for Turkey.
You are right. I share a private spot with every trespasser and local who calls it there own private spot Lol. The rest of my spots are public bushes. I do find the birds are decoy shy and pressured. I am usually more successful with out decoys and at farther range as they do not come in to decoys to often. I have had some bigger birds but mostly average - I don't usually weigh them. Thinking about what you said, if you compare that to a nice large area with lots of not pressured birds that never see a decoy, I guess I am doing all right lol. It makes it more interesting I guess and forces you to think out of the box.Quote:
Originally Posted by trky chsr