April Workbench
- Thread starter benp
- Start date
The ones we have that are laying are "mutts" but I know one has Americauna in its gene pool. She wants some cuckoo maran for those dark eggs.
James Boyd
Member
Very nice job!
I did the legs as well, have an old lathe that a guy from my work gave me years ago, used to be his dads.
Could fit a lot of quail eggs in that space.
Steve Sanford
Well-known member
Ben~
Nice work, but...they look suspiciously like eggs of the Common Barnyard Chicken - not ducks or geese.....
All the best,
SJS
I’m having trouble getting to the work bench. I’m in a weird place with weather, work, and ambition. I have two more hen redheads to take over the finish line then keels for everything I made this winter. I also need to completely redo my decoy storage I’m out of room after this winters efforts.
Capt Rich Geminski
Well-known member
Kevin, you not be mounting the gun well while sitting. Take your cell and do a video of yourself shooting. Also try a slip on pad. The pitch could also be a problem, pitch spacer in the slip on will work. Happy hunting...
It’s good advice as always. I’ve done a lot to try to make it work. In the end it just comes down to recoil tolerance. I had a great turkey gun until the stock split and action failed from the recoil. It was a Winchester sx3.
My problem is mostly “ off the bench”. Never feel it when there is a bird in front of me.
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When my oldest son wanted to shoot a turkey I used my brothers youth model mossberg he uses for rabbit hunting. Filled the stock full of lead from decoy weights, added about two pounds to the gun. Worked great for that, definitely wouldn't want to have to hold it for any wing shooting.
One thing to think about too, is if you are using the max load shells then it's going to kick hard. It's not a problem downsizing your shell power selection to reduce recoil, especially if using the TSS.
My 20 gauge does better than the 12 for turkeys so that's what I use, plus being gas operated helps in reduced recoil as well.
I’m going to try out a 20 guage auto loader. Unfortunately tss is all sold out around me and tariffs and seasonal needs will make it tough. I’ll have to use good old fashioned lead 5s. Hopefully I’ll luck into a good combo.
Dani
Well-known member
I like the Remington Nitro out of my 20 ga. I switch between a full or modified choke depending on how thick an area I am hunting. Both pattern well with my gun. Which semiauto are you shooting?
Ordered a mossberg sa20 for turkeys. I’ll look into the nitros. Thanks.
Speaking of 20 ga. I traded a carving for a 20 ga Savage over and under 22mag over 3" 20 ga. My wife wanted to go turkey hunting with me and we needed a pretty short gun, she's 5' tall. We got her some 3" #4 shot, I generally use #5 in 3" in my 12 ga.
After getting her through hunter safety with a bunch of youngsters we did a little shooting. We lived on the family farm at the time and just had to step out the back door to shoot at a target about 20 yards away. The iron sights on the gun were a benefit for her. She had never shot a gun before. I had her shoot the 22 mag, figuring the kick wouldn't scare her and it didn't bother her a bit. She asked, "is this what I'm shooting a turkey with", I told her no and I really didn't want her to shoot a magnum #4 lead her first time out, but she demanded she get to shoot what she was going to shoot at the turkey with, so I loaded up a #8 quail load. She fired it and it did get her attention, but not serious. Once again she asked if that's what she was going to shoot a turkey with and I said, well no, once again she demanded to shoot the real thing. I relented in a kind of I told you so manner and loaded up a turkey load, she fired and gave me that look of why didn't you tell me it would kick so hard. I figured she would flinch like none other when faced with a big tom, but she stayed pretty level heads when we finally got a lonely tom in the afternoon and hen less to cross the creek after a lot of coaxing and she absolutely smoked him.
She's only hunted with me one more time over 30 years ago at the Kansas Governors One Shot Turkey Hunt and was one of the first people to tag out that year. This photo is of me and my wife on the left and our guides on the right who didn't even bring a call, so I voice all all four birds that day. All but my wife's bird were shot after lunch. There was an old saying that if you can get a tom to gobble after 10am, you might as well light the stove, you'll be eating turkey that day. That's not far from the truth. On the farm we waited till late morning after we fed livestock to go hunting and toms were pretty needy by then.
After getting her through hunter safety with a bunch of youngsters we did a little shooting. We lived on the family farm at the time and just had to step out the back door to shoot at a target about 20 yards away. The iron sights on the gun were a benefit for her. She had never shot a gun before. I had her shoot the 22 mag, figuring the kick wouldn't scare her and it didn't bother her a bit. She asked, "is this what I'm shooting a turkey with", I told her no and I really didn't want her to shoot a magnum #4 lead her first time out, but she demanded she get to shoot what she was going to shoot at the turkey with, so I loaded up a #8 quail load. She fired it and it did get her attention, but not serious. Once again she asked if that's what she was going to shoot a turkey with and I said, well no, once again she demanded to shoot the real thing. I relented in a kind of I told you so manner and loaded up a turkey load, she fired and gave me that look of why didn't you tell me it would kick so hard. I figured she would flinch like none other when faced with a big tom, but she stayed pretty level heads when we finally got a lonely tom in the afternoon and hen less to cross the creek after a lot of coaxing and she absolutely smoked him.
She's only hunted with me one more time over 30 years ago at the Kansas Governors One Shot Turkey Hunt and was one of the first people to tag out that year. This photo is of me and my wife on the left and our guides on the right who didn't even bring a call, so I voice all all four birds that day. All but my wife's bird were shot after lunch. There was an old saying that if you can get a tom to gobble after 10am, you might as well light the stove, you'll be eating turkey that day. That's not far from the truth. On the farm we waited till late morning after we fed livestock to go hunting and toms were pretty needy by then.
Ronald Bock
Active member
I've been using 12 guage O/U's for 20+ years. Last year I switched to a 20 gauge Weatherby O/U. It is much lighter than the 12's. When you use a 3" shell for ducks and geese you really feel it. A 20 gauge semi auto with a gas system should definitely take the bite out of the lighter gun. For light loads the 20 is a delight.
RM Anderson
Well-known member
My turkey shotgun is a bit of an oddball but it is a sure performer and really tames the 12 gauge Long Beard XR that I shoot. My only regret is not going with 20 ga as it gets quite heavy carrying it on the long hikes of South Dakota's Black Hills.
RM
savagearms.com
RM
212/220 Turkey | Bolt Action Turkey Shotgun | Savage Arms
The 212/220 Turkey offers unmatched accuracy with its proven bolt action, a blued 22" barrel, AccuTrigger, AccuFit, and Mossy Oak Obsession camouflage stock.