5 New Shotguns, 5 New Turkey Shotshells, Plus 5 Must-Have Accessories
The National Wild Turkey Federation’s annual convention is the place to be for all things turkey and turkey hunting. It also happens to be the event where a lot of companies unveil their newest additions to the lineup for the year. To save you the time of walking all the aisles and getting lost among the booths, here’s a list of some of the top new turkey shotguns, ammo loads, and hunting accessories Hook & Barrel uncovered at this year’s show.
New Shotguns
Stoeger M3000 Turkey Edition
Stoeger has offered the M3000 Turkey Edition shotgun for a few years now, but this year they’ve added the option for a pistol grip on the buttstock. That may not sound like much to you, but pistol grips have become increasingly popular on turkey shotguns. This is likely because so many people have gotten used to shooting rifles and other kinds of shotguns that sport pistol grips.
When the moment of truth comes, you want to make sure that everything is operating on muscle memory so that you can focus on the turkey. Having a pistol grip stock allows hunters to have a sense of familiarity across multiple platforms so that the gun feels like a natural extension of the body.
Wrapped entirely in Mossy Oak Bottomland camo, the M3000 Turkey Edition is a 3-inch 12 gauge semi-automatic shotgun that has a fiber optic front sight installed for those early morning fly-down shot opportunities. Additionally, the receiver has an RMR cut-in it for use with your choice of red dot optics. It also comes with an extra-full extended turkey choke installed.
Benelli Advanced Impact (A.I.) Barrel Technology
Instead of a new gun, Benelli has introduced a new barrel technology to some of its most popular shotguns that are often used by turkey hunters, which now includes the Super Black Eagle 3, or simply the SBE3.
The A.I. technology is a patented system consisting of two inseparable elements that work together—barrel and choke. The relationship between the barrel and the choke has been redesigned to achieve tighter patterns at greater distances. This can allow turkey hunters to reach out and touch a bird that gets hung up at a distance that might otherwise be impossible.
The internal contours of the barrel have been manipulated so that when you pair it with their Crio chokes, shot speed is 4% faster and has 6% more energy at one yard out from the barrel. As you go out farther and extrapolate the numbers, that means at 60 yards, you’re looking at a velocity that is now 42% faster with 77% more energy.
Available in 3.5-inch 12 gauge and 3-inch 20 gauge, each version of the new SBE3 with A.I. technology has 28-inch barrels and a matte gray finish on the barrel and receiver. The rest of the gun is finished in GORE OPTIFADE Timber camo.
Mossberg 940 Pro Turkey Holosun/Indian Creek Combo
Mossberg’s 940 Pro semi-automatic shotguns have been really popular with sporting, waterfowl and tactical shooters, so it only made sense that they adapted the gun for turkey hunters. The result is the Mossberg 940 Pro Turkey, a 3-inch 12 gauge gun with an 18.5-inch barrel.
A brand new option for the 940 Pro Turkey is a combination of Holosun and Indian Creek. The receiver on the gun is cut for an optic with the Shield RMSc footprint, but this particular package comes with a Holosun HS507K X2 already mounted on it. Purpose-built chokes are also a staple on turkey shotguns, and this one comes with a premium Indian Creek Diamond Strike ported turkey choke that has been proven to increase pattern density for tighter groups downrange.
The receiver and barrel are coated in Patriot Brown cerakote and the rest of the gun is covered in Kryptek Obscura Trans camo to blend into the environment.
Mossberg SA-410 Tactical Turkey
Sub-gauge turkey hunting has grown in popularity as hunters have embraced new shotshell technology and the desire to make the hunt more challenging. Mossberg’s SA-410 Tactical Turkey fits that bill perfectly.
This 3-inch .410 bore semi-automatic shotgun has 4+1 capacity, 22-inch barrels, an extended turkey choke already installed, fiber optic Ghost Ring sights and is completely wrapped in Mossy Oak Greenleaf camo. The “tactical” part of the model’s name comes from the addition of a pistol grip on the stock and a Picatinny rail installed on the receiver for you to add the sight of your choice.
Overall, the SA-410 Tactical Turkey measures 41.75 inches, and because it’s a .410, it weighs just 5.5 pounds. That makes it a super light option for run-and-gun style hunting.
Browning Citori 825 Sporting
In today’s world, anything even remotely related to turkey hunting comes in some form of camo pattern and is purpose-built for chasing gobblers. Browning’s new Citori 825 Sporting reminds us that it wasn’t always that way and that it still doesn’t have to be. You can use the same gun for skeet, trap, sporting clays, and turkey hunting. Let’s call it—you’re getting more than two great bangs for your bucks (or feathers and clays, in this case).
The Citori 825 Sporting is an over/under shotgun available in 3-inch 12 gauge only but with your choice of 30- or 32-inch barrels. Yes, the barrels are much longer than what’s en vogue in today’s turkey woods, but that’s what makes it versatile. Plus, your dad and granddad probably didn’t have a purpose-built turkey gun and yet they still got it done.
A camo finish isn’t an option here. Instead, Browning opts for a black walnut stock, a silver nitride receiver, and matte blue barrels. If you stay still—like you’re supposed to—then the birds won’t notice you or the gun.
Rounding out the shooting experience is an Inflex II recoil pad, HiViz Pro Comp sight and ivory mid-bead, and screw-in chokes that give you the option to use an Invector-DS Turkey choke in one or both barrels depending on the distances you may be hunting.
It may not be a dedicated turkey gun, but the birds won’t know that when you pull the trigger on the Browning Citori 825 Sporting.
New Turkey Ammo
Boss TOM 2.5 oz
Boss set out to create a 12 gauge shell that performs like a 3-inch but doesn’t hit like one, and they have succeeded. Boss’ TOM shotshells are more powerful than ever with their new 2.75-inch 12 gauge load that packs a whopping 2.5 ounces of copper-plated TSS pellets in each shell.
The shot, which is available in #7 or #9, is lightly buffered and nestled in their in-house manufactured wad that has a cushion and perforated pellets that help them deliver exceptionally tight patterns and consistent performance from one shell to the next.
Traveling at 1,050fps, there are 462 #7 pellets and 905 #9 pellets in each shell.
Federal Heavyweight TSS 28 Gauge
Even though Federal’s Heavyweight TSS shotshells aren’t new, their availability in 28 gauge is. The rise in prominence of sub-gauge guns for turkey hunting had been answered by Federal with Heavyweight TSS in 20 gauge and .410 bore, but that left 28 gauge shooters out in the cold. That stops now.
The performance of Federal’s Heavyweight TSS shells is well known, and that is in part due to the weight of TSS and also the use of the rear-braking FLITECONTROL FLEX wad. Since this wad opens from the rear instead of the more commonly found front opening, the shells perform flawlessly through ported and standard turkey chokes for consistent and deadly patterns.
Winchester Long Beard TSS
Turkey hunters have been bringing down birds with Winchester’s Long Beard shells for years, but they’ve been updated and are now available with TSS loads. The results will prove to be devastating to the birds you’re chasing.
The new Long Beard TSS shells are available in 3.5- and 3-inch 12 gauge, 3-inch 20 gauge, 3- and 2.75-inch 28 gauge, and 3-inch .410 bore. When compared to 3-inch 12 gauge shells loaded with #5 lead shot, the same gauge and size Long Beard TSS loaded with #9 shot has 2.6x more pellets, puts 10.1x more of them in a 10-inch circle at 60 yards, and delivers 5.1x more energy. The results across the other loads and gauges are similar in their impressive increase in performance.
HEVI-Shot HEVI-Bismuth Turkey
Non-toxic yet exceptionally lethal, HEVI-Shot’s new HEVI-Bismuth Turkey loads are fast and hard-hitting. Available in 3-inch shells for both 12- and 20-gauge guns, the blend of #4 and #5 shot is traveling at 1,300 fps to deliver a crushing blow to the turkeys down range.
While not as dense as TSS shot, these bismuth loads are 22% denser than steel. Since bismuth is malleable, you can use it in vintage guns without worrying about damaging the barrels. As an added bonus, bismuth is an excellent option for hunters who are chasing birds in areas where lead shot is prohibited. For more, check out this Hook & Barrel review of HEVI-Bismuth.
Apex Turkey NEXT LEVEL Ninja
For hunters who have often had to choose between one shot size and another, Apex has created the NEXT LEVEL Ninja shells to bridge that gap. Loaded with a mix of #8.5 and #9.5 TSS shot, they’ve created a perfect balance between pattern density and knockdown power.
The result of a partnership with Woodhaven Custom Calls, the NEXT LEVEL Ninja shells are offered in 3.5- and 3-inch 12 gauge loads, as well as 3-inch 20 gauge, 2.75-inch 28 gauge and 3-inch .410 bore. In order of the above, they are packing 931, 854, 608, 569, and 376 pellets in each shell.
New Accessories
SPYPOINT FLEX-DARK TRAIL CAMERA
It’s time to scout for turkeys! Trail camera technology has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years and there’s no sign of it slowing down anytime soon. While they are most often associated with deer and other big game hunters, they’re just as useful in pursuit of turkeys.
The ability to capture quality images at night has been made possible by low-glow LED lights that do their best to avoid spooking animals that walk into view. However, sometimes that low-glow is just bright enough that it can throw off more wary fare. Sure, turkeys are roosted after dark, but your camera may be capturing them as they head to their trees at night or just after morning flydown when the sun is still low in the sky. Turkeys have excellent eyesight, and they can spot the LED.
SPYPOINT has eliminated this issue with its new FLEX DARK series of cameras. Not only do they offer the low-glow LED lights that are available on other FLEX models, but the DARK cameras now offer a no-glow LED option. You can switch back and forth between no-glow and low-glow right from the app.
The DARK series keeps everything from the FLEX lineup that users have come to know and love: 40MP photos, 1080p videos with sound, 100-foot flash and detection range, multiple photo capture modes, and more.
Vortex Viper Shotgun Red Dot
If your turkey shotgun’s receiver is drilled and tapped, you can add an optic to it. However, this usually involves having to install a mounting rail first. Sure, that works, but the result is an optic that is mounted higher than it needs to be.
Vortex’s new Viper Shotgun red dot sight solves that problem by integrating the mount into the enclosed aluminum housing so that it mounts directly on top of the receiver and is as low as possible.
The battery loads from the side so there’s no need to remove it and disrupt your zero when changing it, and the controls are on the top of the sight so that they’re ambidextrous. An auto-off and motion detection on feature ensures that the battery lasts as long as possible.
Two versions are available. One has a single, 3 MOA red dot and the other has a multi-reticle with a 3 MOA red dot in the center surrounded by 32 MOA and 65 MOA circles.
Alps Outdoorz Turkey Tracker
There are myriad turkey vests on the market, but most of them are fairly similar to one another. Alps Outdoorz has a bunch of turkey vests to choose from, but they bucked tradition and went in a different direction with their new Turkey Tracker.
The Turkey Tracker is a hybrid lumbar/fanny pack system. It has a minimalist appearance, but it’s actually packed with everything you could need. The fanny pack has a simple yet secure magnetic closure system for silent access in the woods. There are removable box call and pot call pouches. The pot call pocket holds two pot calls, three strikers, and other accessories. The box call pocket is structured, padded, and adjustable to fit a wide range of box calls.
Hunting in an area thick with mosquitoes? This kit comes with a Thermacell pocket that can be removed if you don’t need it. There are also front and side pockets, a water bottle holder, MOLLE webbing, and compression straps to ensure that you’ve got spots for all your stuff.
The whole system is lightweight and held up with 1.5-inch two-point suspenders that can be removed if you’re running the rig in a simpler setup with fewer components.
HECS Lightweight System
Arguably the most popular camo pattern for the turkey woods is Mossy Oak Bottomland, but until now, the HECS Lightweight System wasn’t available in that pattern. Sure, some may argue that a new camo pattern isn’t really a new product, but we all know that one person who wears one pattern, one pattern only and will shun anything else.
If you’re a hardcore believer in HECS and in Bottomland, you can now have both. The HECS Lightweight System is a three-piece set that consists of a lightweight shirt, lightweight pants, and a combination head and face cover.
In case you don’t know, HECS is a hunting technology that allows hunters to block their own bioelectric signature to help you stay hidden from animals in the field. It’s a bit hard to explain, but the videos on their site do a great job of showing just how well it works in real-life scenarios.
Pistol Creek Trinity Box Set
Box calls, pot calls, and mouth calls are the three main types of turkey calls and there’s no shortage of debate over which kind is best. If you like them all—or you’re trying to figure out which one you like best—the Trinity Box Set from Pistol Creek has you covered.
It’s all about the trinity; everything here is about threes. There are three mouth calls with different cuts for different sounds while both the box and pot calls (and the pot call striker) are constructed of three different types of wood in each one.
There were only 100 of these limited edition sets made, so if you want one, don’t wait too long.
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