Gobbler Gear: 10 Turkey Shotguns for 2024 Hunting

With spring turkey hunting's arrival, there's no shortage of modern and traditional shotgun models to consider.

April 09, 2024 By Lynn Burkhead

In the early days of springtime's grand-old obsession, a turkey shotgun was likely the same side-by-side that your grandfather, or his father, also used for ducks, doves and quail.

And maybe, with a load of 00 buckshot or a slug, an old twin barrel by the likes of A.H. Fox, Parker Brothers, L.C. Smith or perhaps an Ithaca also doubled as a deer gun, in addition to inviting spring gobblers to the Sunday dinner table.

But that was then, the golden era of American made side-by-side shotguns, and this is now—the golden era of the specialty shotguns that are tailor-made for Mr. Tom.

So whatever type of scattergun strikes you, old or new, here are some options to consider for spring turkey hunting:

Benelli Super Black Eagle 3 Turkey Performance Shop Shotgun

turkey shotgun — Benelli Super Black Eagle 3 Turkey Performance Shop Shotgun.

While the Benelli Super Black Eagle 3 isn't a new face on the block, the shotgun maker's taking of its iconic scattergun to the legendary Benelli Performance Shop is.

The result is the creation of the Benelli Super Black Eagle 3 Turkey Performance Shop shotgun, a superb offering for spring turkey hunters, thanks to its ported barrel and Burris FastFire fiber-optic bead on top to start with. Add in a camouflaged all-weather stock, a textured pistol grip, and 12-gauge chambering for 2 3/4-inch shells all the way up to 3 1/2-inch shells, and the SBEIII is a winner in the springtime woods on looks and specifications alone.

Add in the fact that this gobbler-getter comes with performance-boosting shotgun enhancements from Rob Roberts, along with Benelli's cryogenic treatment of the barrels, and the result is the aiding of the shotgun choke tube's ability to turn a regular shotshell pattern into an incredibly dense and lethal swarm downrange.

This Performance Shop shotgun is pattern-tested with Federal Premium Ammunition loads and includes computer printouts that show the actual points of pellet impact in 10-, 20-, and 30-inch circles. Such attention to performance and details comes with a bigger price tag, but there's little doubt that this model is at the top of the turkey shotgun heap for the spring of 2024.

Beretta A300 Ultimate Turkey

The Beretta A300 is widely respected among waterfowl and upland shotgunners and the shooting industry in general. Now with the addition of the Beretta A300 Ultimate Turkey semi-auto shotgun to the lineup, add spring turkey hunters to that mix of admirers.

With an enlarged loading port, extended bolt release and bolt handle, and an oversized and reversible safety, this shotgun is easily handled, manipulated and used in high stress moments and adverse conditions. With a seven-slot Picatinny rail and sling mounting points, not to mention some Beretta after-market rail and optic-mounting accessories, getting a solid bead drawn on a gobbler's noggin is that much easier.

Coming in the Realtree Edge pattern, along with Mossy Oak's Country DNA pattern, the shotgun has a 24-inch barrel, extended Beretta Mobile Chokes, and the longtime Italian gun-making legend's Kick-Off recoil reduction system.

All that's left to do with this shotgun from the world's oldest gunmaker is to shoot straight when it's time to pull the trigger.

It also has a 1/4-inch stock spacer and an adjustable comb to allow hunters to dial in a proper fit. And with five Invector-Plus choke tubes (including an extended Ultimate Full Turkey and Spreader), an Inflex Recoil Pad, and steel shot performance capabilities (if you're hunting on public ground that requires such non-toxic shotshell loads), and this is certainly a springtime turkey woods winner from Browning.

CZ Reaper Magnum Turkey Over-and-Under

Put simply, the CZ Reaper Magnum Turkey shotgun is a stack-barrel swamp monster! What's more, it offers an option that single-barrel scatterguns cannot, since you can set up one of the 26-inch long barrels with one choke tube and the other with a different choke tube to maximize a follow-up shot.

A 12-gauge offering that shoots up to 3 1/2-inch shotshells, the twin-barrel shotgun has a Mossy Oak pattern on the stock, forend and barrels and a matte black finish on the receiver. Add in QD swivels front and back to allow for a sling, five interchangeable extended choke tubes (including full and extra full), and an optics-friendly Picatinny rail on top, and a turkey slayer can turn this into a tag filling machine.

Franchi Affinity 3 Turkey Elite

This shotgun from Franchi is where old-world Italian shotgun making meets up with the modern-day function and performance demands of today's turkey hunter. The result of this collision is the Franchi Affinity 3 Turkey Elite shotgun, an elite gobbler-getting shotgun for sure.

Starting with Sitka Gear's Optifade Subalpine camo and a Midnight Bronze Cerakote finish on the barrel and receiver, the concealment and looks of this shotgun are superb right out of the box. Add in a Steadygrip stock, hooded front sight, and a 24-inch barrel and the close-range handling of this shotgun is easier as Mr. Tom spits, drums, gobbles, and struts his way into range, even in tight settings.

And with Franchi's Precision Cone Patterning that lengthens the forcing cone, along with Rhino extended turkey choke tubes, and the result is a knock-out pattern downrange where Johnny Longbeard's lights get turned out once and for all at the simple pull of a trigger.

Mossberg 940 Pro Turkey

For an American shotgun maker that's been making scatterguns for decades, there's much to like about this Mossberg 940 Pro Turkey autoloading shotgun offered by an iconic American gunmaker who began its business back in 1919.

Tapped and drilled to make this hardcore turkey shotgun optics-ready, the 940 Turkey Pro 12 gauge comes with a five-shot capacity, an updated and cleaner running gas vent system, and reliable cycling of heavy magnum turkey loads. Believe it or not, it also has a self-draining stock if you're chasing longbeards in the rain or near a swamp, along with an adjustable length-of-pull and Drop at Comb/Heel to provide a custom level fit.

Coming in 18.5 and 24-inch barrel lengths, this shotgun also features a Mossy Oak Greenleaf camo finish, as well as an enlarged and beveled loading port and a quick-empty magazine release button for easy unloading at the end of a long day chasing longbeards.

Savage 301 Turkey

Perfect for new hunters, young hunters, or just turkey hunters looking to get into the TSS ammunition craze with a lighter recoil .410 model, the Savage 301 Turkey shotgun is perfect for all such gobbler getting efforts.

This is a simple, no-frills single-shot break action .410 shotgun model that offers powerful TSS patterns downrange at what once was considered an extreme range. Even so, it produces less recoil, is easy to handle thanks to a 26-inch barrel, and has a one-piece and removable rail that will help with optics placement. There’s also compatibility with the TruGlo sight system if a hunter wants to go that route.

Add in three-inch chambering, a recoil pad, swivel studs on the stock and forend to allow for a sling, an extra-full choke tube, a manual hammer blocking safety, and optimization for Federal Premium HEAVYWEIGHT TSS turkey loads and this simple shotgun delivers a deadly knockout blow. And with a Mossy Oak camo finish in either Bottomland or Obsession, it's hard to go wrong with this no frills and yet highly effective turkey slayer in the springtime woods.

TriStar Viper G2 Turkey

A specialty semi-automatic turkey shotgun that has a payload of five three-inch shotshells, the TriStar Viper G2 Turkey model comes with a 24-inch 12-gauge barrel and different camo options. That makes it easy to maneuver as a gobbler makes those final few steps in-bound to a decoy, juking his way back and forth at full strut.

Turkey hunters will be able to use this good-looking camoflauged scattergun to track those final woodsy moves thanks to the Viper G2 Turkey scattergun sporting a durable injection molded pistol grip stock complete with a soft rubber gripping compound. With a chrome-lined chamber and barrel, the vent-rib and matted sight plane is capped off with a fiber optic sight, giving a solid aiming platform to center a load on Mr. Tom's dancing head.

Ready to use straight out of the box, or easy enough to mount the included Picatinny rail for a more robust sighting system, and this TriStar shotgun comes with a five-year mechanical warranty. When the trigger is pulled, the gas-operated system will cycle smoothly and the shotshell pellets will come through a Beretta Mobile style turkey choke, delivering a deadly swarm of shotgun energy downrange. After that, it's time to start planning when you'll serve this wild bird heading for the dinner table.

Weatherby Orion SXS

Remember the nod to traditional side-by-side shotguns at the beginning of this story? Well, the engineers at the Sheridan, Wyo. based Weatherby must have been thinking the same thing as a sort of side-by-side shotgun renaissance seems to be taking place in recent years.

In fact, Weatherby has come out with a nod to granddaddy's old side-by-side shotgun that downed many a turkey in years gone by, except this time in a traditional looking but modern built scattergun package that comes with a straight English stock, a splinter forend, and double triggers to complete the classic look.

Thanks to the new Weatherby Orion SXS shotgun's modern barrels, handling high-energy 3-inch loads is another plus of this modern side-by-side. Along with an ambidextrous tang safety, a swamp rib, and five Yildiz extended choke tubes, this extractor shotgun and its three gauge offerings (12, 20, and .410) are certainly not an ancient family heirloom that has to be babied in any sort of way. Even so, with a matte finish, this shotgun and it’s 28-inch long twin-barrels is a modern classic that promised years of service in the spring turkey woods and uplands each fall.

Winchester Model 101 Ultimate Field

turkey shotguns — Winchester Model 101 Ultimate Field shotgun.

Right off the bat, some of today’s turkey hunting crowd might wonder about this one. After all, the Winchester Model 101 Ultimate Field over-and-under has no barrel porting, no fiber-optic sights, no Picatinny rail system, and no camouflage. For crying out loud, it's even got an engraved image of two bobwhite quail bursting forth from heavy upland cover!

So why is it included? Simple – because a Winchester over-and-under has been the tried and true gobbler getting scattergun for none other than 97-year old Col. Tom Kelly, turkey hunting's widely acclaimed poet laureate and its inspirational Hall of Fame leader of spring turkey hunting's Tenth Legion.

In fact, when asked by Mobile Bay Magazine author Danny White a couple of years ago about his own personal turkey gun, the legendary gobbler getter told White about his beloved Winchester over-and-under.

“The National Wild Turkey Federation has got a Tom Kelly Room at its headquarters in South Carolina,” explained Kelly in his southern Alabama accent. “And they got pictures of me in there, they got clothes, they got my gun, they got everything else. On occasion, when I’m leading a hunt or when I’ve been invited to a hunt, I will ask them, “Can I borrow my gun back?” And they loan it to me and make me promise that I’ll bring it right back as soon as I get through."

If you'd like to follow in the steps of Col. Tom Kelly, get a copy of his famed Tenth Legion (the book was written in 1973 and has remained in print ever since) and read it this spring. Better yet, get a Belgium made Winchester Model 101 Ultimate Field stack barrel complete with its low profile steel receiver, Invector-Plus choke tubes, back-bored barrels, chrome-plated chambers and bores, and a checkered walnut stock and forend.

With its traditional Model 101 design, a Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad, and three choke tubes, this 12-gauge stack barrel with its 28-inch tubes and three-inch shotshell capabilities will have you smiling as big as Col. Tom Kelly when you hear a gobble.

And a card carrying member of the Tenth Legion after you've put another quarter in the woodsy juke box and invited a gobbler to the springtime dance.