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12 vs 20 for turkey

I have 5 different 20 gauge turkey guns. I will never carry a 12 gauge again. The 20 is light ,less recoil and a 40 yards gun all day long with the right shells. I made the switch several years back and have never even considered going back to a 12 gauge. With all that being said some people will never be convinced that a 20 gauge is good enough for turkey. To each his own nothing wrong with a 12 gauge, just not for me anymore!
 
I do, religiously. Numerous hunters using 28G exclusively and the .410 is getting some traction as a dedicated turkey gun with the right ammunition (TSS).
 
I currently use a 12, but only because I haven't came across the right deal on a solid 20 gauge yet. The longest I have shot a turkey is about 20 yards, I wounded one about 50 when I was a kid because I mis-judged the distance and thought he was closer, now I wait until I know they are close enough and more often than not I shoot them around 10-15 yards.
 
I have for the past 3 seasons and see no need to go back to the 12. My 20 with TSS will kill one farther than you should be shooting at a turkey and shoots just as good as my 3.5" 12. It's lighter to carry and less recoil which is important for me with prior back and neck issues.
 
If both are compared using TSS,
then the 12 will provide, maybe, an additional 5 yards range.
But it will do so with much greater recoil,
and the burden of carrying a much heavier gun,
along with carrying even much heavier extra rounds.

With TSS #9, most 20 gauge guns can easily become 45-yds-plus turkey killers,
while that may be 50-yds-plus with the 12 gauge.

But when most turkeys are killed under 35 yards, regardless,
just how much difference does this make?

The way I look at it, with the 20 gauge,
the overall benefits of the lighter gun
which even has lighter recoil
trumps the tiny range increase of the 12.
 
After carrying my 20 last season, I honestly don't see the 12 ever being used again. Absolutely so much more enjoyable toting the 20 around than the 12. My stepson's little 20ga 500 is like carrying a BB gun around, it's ridiculous. With #9 tss, they are turkey killers.
 
I don't even use a 12 gauge on ducks anymore. Been using Hevi shot in my 20 for turkeys but got a box of Longbeards to try for this year
 
I'm new to the 20 ga club this year. I've been sold on the ballistics/effectiveness for years, just hadn't gotten around to buying one and setting it up until now.
 
TheLBLman":2z9btju1 said:
If both are compared using TSS,
then the 12 will provide, maybe, an additional 5 yards range.
But it will do so with much greater recoil,
and the burden of carrying a much heavier gun,
along with carrying even much heavier extra rounds.

With TSS #9, most 20 gauge guns can easily become 45-yds-plus turkey killers,
while that may be 50-yds-plus with the 12 gauge.

But when most turkeys are killed under 35 yards, regardless,
just how much difference does this make?

The way I look at it, with the 20 gauge,
the overall benefits of the lighter gun
which even has lighter recoil
trumps the tiny range increase of the 12.
Click to expand...

Curious on how you came up with the maybe 5 yd difference between a 20 and 12 with both loaded with TSS?
 
scn":ynz4ypnn said:
TheLBLman":ynz4ypnn said:
If both are compared using TSS,
then the 12 will provide, maybe, an additional 5 yards range.
But it will do so with much greater recoil,
and the burden of carrying a much heavier gun,
along with carrying even much heavier extra rounds.

With TSS #9, most 20 gauge guns can easily become 45-yds-plus turkey killers,
while that may be 50-yds-plus with the 12 gauge.

But when most turkeys are killed under 35 yards, regardless,
just how much difference does this make?

The way I look at it, with the 20 gauge,
the overall benefits of the lighter gun
which even has lighter recoil
trumps the tiny range increase of the 12.
Click to expand...

Curious on how you came up with the maybe 5 yd difference between a 20 and 12 with both loaded with TSS?
Click to expand...

Me too. I'm not a fan of "sniping" turkeys with super long range shotgun set-ups, and I'm going to a 20 because it can kill turkeys farther than I have any desire to shoot them. But, focusing only on ballistics, a 12 gauge can handle a 2.5 oz load of 8s or 8.5s compared to a 20 gauge shooting 1 5/8 of 9s. The potential range difference is a lot more than 5 yards.

That said, some good 20 gauges can do 50-55 yards. While a 12 gauge can kill quite a bit farther, beyond 60 it's not easy to account for drop and windage. So some might say that 60 yds is the max "effective range" for a 12, depending on how you define "effective range."
 
I'm not disagreeing with either SCN or Southern Sportsman's thinking here.
But let me elaborate . . . . .

scn":11j2gb5r said:
TheLBLman":11j2gb5r said:
If both are compared using TSS,
then the 12 will provide, maybe, an additional 5 yards range.
. . . . .
With TSS #9, most 20 gauge guns can easily become 45-yds-plus turkey killers,
while that may be 50-yds-plus with the 12 gauge.
Click to expand...

Curious on how you came up with the maybe 5 yd difference between a 20 and 12 with both loaded with TSS?
Click to expand...
I was thinking more in terms of the average hunter afield,
pondering the differences in a 20 and a 12.
But even that said, even with ballistics experts spending a huge amount of time & money "tricking" out their turkey guns,
somewhere between 5 & 10 yards remains more realistic, imo, even for the ballistic experts, who can trick out a 20, not just a 12.

Southern Sportsman":11j2gb5r said:
Focusing only on ballistics, a 12 gauge can handle a 2.5 oz load of 8s or 8.5s compared to a 20 gauge shooting 1 5/8 of 9s.
The potential range difference is a lot more than 5 yards.
Click to expand...
I agree, yes, the difference can be a lot more than 5 yards.
But if you want to talk maximum potential range, you need to also load the 20 gauge up with 8s or 8.5s as well.

The average hunter is not hand-loading his turkey shells.
But based on readily available commercial offerings, yes, there is likely a 10-yd range advantage in a readily available 2 1/4 oz 12ga load
vs a 1 1/2 oz 20 ga load.

But, based on trajectory, how many hunters are on top of the ballistics to get much beyond 5 to 10 yards from their 12 over their 20?
The top of a pattern is relatively small, often resulting in a complete miss, when longer range trajectory is over-looked.

Southern Sportsman":11j2gb5r said:
That said, some good 20 gauges can do 50-55 yards. (In the right hands.)

While a 12 gauge can kill quite a bit farther, beyond 60 it's not easy to account for drop and windage.
Click to expand...
You're talking 5 to 15 yds.
We're on the same page.
But how many more average hunters are on top of the trajectory drop and wind issues?
How many are using finely tuned optical sights which become more important at longer ranges?

"Practically" speaking for those hunters not willing to spend lots of time at the range and lots of money on expensive shells in their testing,
I'll stick by that 5 yds as being more realistic for most, as the practical range difference between the 20 & the 12 if both are using TSS.
 
Shooting 12s now, primarily an old 835 with big Roman candle 3.5 inchers. Also shoot my affinity some but it's only a 3". They work and I've got some left magnum turkey loads left so I'll use them up. Having said all this my next duck & Turkey gun will be a 20 gauge.
 
I guess I'm the odd man out. I was poised to join the 20 gauge ranks, but after watching the Pinhoti guys kill truckloads of turkeys with 20 gauge TSS, and seeing how much the turkeys flop, I decided to stick to my 12. Granted, the birds die and don't get away, but they have to chase them down occasionally or go after them as they are flopping down the hill. I don't like all the flopping. Myself and the 2 guys I hunt with shoot 12 gauge 870s with Hevishot and it drops them like a bag of hammers.
 
I am using a 12 gauge and don't plan to switch not that a 20 gauge isn't capable because with today's ammo and choke combinations it most certainly is. But I figure if I only shoot it for patterning and a couple times a year at an actual turkey my shoulder isn't taking that much of a pounding. And I am getting excellent patterns out of my setups now. With all that being said I may buy a 20 gauge because a man can never have to many guns, ammo or good whiskey lol.
 
Spurhunter":20stgb7h said:
I guess I'm the odd man out. I was poised to join the 20 gauge ranks, but after watching the Pinhoti guys kill truckloads of turkeys with 20 gauge TSS, and seeing how much the turkeys flop, I decided to stick to my 12. Granted, the birds die and don't get away, but they have to chase them down occasionally or go after them as they are flopping down the hill. I don't like all the flopping. Myself and the 2 guys I hunt with shoot 12 gauge 870s with Hevishot and it drops them like a bag of hammers.
Click to expand...

I believe everyone should stick to whatever they're comfortable with.

However, I've never seen a turkey do much flopping with a 20g. I haven't killed a ton (3 I think), and I've seen REN take a few... but with the proper load/choke/aim, they get pretty dead pretty quick.
 
Spurhunter":w6srbilf said:
I guess I'm the odd man out. I was poised to join the 20 gauge ranks, but after watching the Pinhoti guys kill truckloads of turkeys with 20 gauge TSS, and seeing how much the turkeys flop, I decided to stick to my 12. Granted, the birds die and don't get away, but they have to chase them down occasionally or go after them as they are flopping down the hill. I don't like all the flopping. Myself and the 2 guys I hunt with shoot 12 gauge 870s with Hevishot and it drops them like a bag of hammers.
Click to expand...


Dave also said that he is shooting a more open pattern than most because he hunts a lot of woods and shoots a lot of turkeys running/moving so he has some wiggle room.
 
I've center-punched turkeys in the head at less than 10 yards with a 12 gauge. They flopped just as much as they do with a .410 in my experience.
 
I still use a 12 because I just do. I like the 20s, and have an affinity. Maybe one day I'll get on the fad of reloading and tss. I've killed enough with lead 12 with a fixed modified choke back in the day to not want to fool with tss. Dead is dead. I am intrigued by the super good patterns of 20 gauge with TSS but not wanting to spend the money on shells or components.

I've killed, that I remember, one turkey that didn't flop. It was because I body shot him flying over my head right in the armpit long long time ago when I killed turkeys anyway I could.

Sever the spinal cord or send shot into the brain and probably they all flop. Go get your old rooster and chop his head off with an ax. It'll flop all over the place even though it's instant death. The turkeys you got to watch from running off are the ones that collapse and leave their head up with their bottom eye lid still open, or the ones that you shoot and the spin in circles.


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