Red dot for turkey gun?

Hem

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Decided to expand my arsenal for turkeys...but this time it is budget oriented.
Bought a Savage /Stevens 301 single shot 20 gauge
I want to go the route of a red dot scope.
Anybody have this shotgun scoped they can share some feedback?
Eventually upgrading the extra full choke for maximum performance with TSS.
Pretty psyched to hunt with this gun, though the trigger leaves a bit to be desired.
 
Sorry, no experience with this gun but I believe you will be very pleased with a red-dot, I know I sure am.
Also you might be able to have some trigger work done.
 
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I went the inexpensive route and bought a Truglo sight last year when I "built" an old 870 into my turkey gun. I had an older (8-10 years) Truglo that had seen better times. The newer one appears to be much better made. Under $100.00. I tagged 5 toms using it during spring 2022.
 
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I have that shotgun and love it. Does yours already have the optics rail on it? Mine didn’t so I had Sumtoy Customs make me a mount and I drilled and tapped the barrel to mount a Burris Fastfire III.

Opticsplanet has the 3moa Burris Fastfire III red dot on sale for $166 right now, which is an excellent price.

I patterned it the other day using a .555” Indian Creek choke and with handloaded 1 3/4oz TSS #8.5/9/9.5 and it put 322 pellets in 10” at 40 yards.
21E0CF48-E6D0-4C60-802D-37442F1608CF.jpeg
 
Vortex viper
Don't get a vortex viper, it's not sturdy enough to handle run and gun turkey hunting. Get a vortex crossfire, it can handle it all. Getting that red dot was the best thing I've done to increase my turkey set up ever. Love shooting with it, parallax adjusted and shooting with both eyes open is great
 
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Don't get a vortex viper, it's not sturdy enough to handle run and gun turkey hunting. Get a vortex crossfire, it can handle it all. Getting that red dot was the best thing I've done to increase my turkey set up ever. Love shooting with it, parallax adjusted and shooting with both eyes open is great
Can you explain why? I've been using it for the last 3 years beating the crap out of it and it hasn't let me down.
 
I went to a red dot a dozen or so years ago, best thing I've even done for turkey hunting.
Make sure you have an extra battery with you, I've had mine die at the most inopportune time, twice.
 
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Can you explain why? I've been using it for the last 3 years beating the crap out of it and it hasn't let me down.
It's pretty easy to see when comparing the two scopes side by side that the Crossfire is much sturdier and less likely to have the lens scratched. It's still a good option but the crossfire is clearly a better option in terms of build and the likelihood of not getting scratched. Crossfire is more expensive.....call and ask vortex, they will tell you the same thing which is why I went with the crossfire.
 
I have that shotgun and love it. Does yours already have the optics rail on it? Mine didn’t so I had Sumtoy Customs make me a mount and I drilled and tapped the barrel to mount a Burris Fastfire III.

Opticsplanet has the 3moa Burris Fastfire III red dot on sale for $166 right now, which is an excellent price.

I patterned it the other day using a .555” Indian Creek choke and with handloaded 1 3/4oz TSS #8.5/9/9.5 and it put 322 pellets in 10” at 40 yards.
View attachment 226238
This is the exact path I was thinking about. My shotgun has a rail but the question is will the Sumtoy mount using the same taps.
Alot of information on line pertaining to this shotgun. It would seem the trigger pull varies some. Haven't had mine tested but it certainly feels like 8 lbs or better. Curious how yours functions?
Thanks for the feedback.
 
This is the exact path I was thinking about. My shotgun has a rail but the question is will the Sumtoy mount using the same taps.
Alot of information on line pertaining to this shotgun. It would seem the trigger pull varies some. Haven't had mine tested but it certainly feels like 8 lbs or better. Curious how yours functions?
Thanks for the feedback.
You can mount the Burris onto the factory rail with the mount that comes with the Burris. It will sit really high above the bore but you might be fine with it. I wanted a low profile mount so I went a different route.

Take your rail off and see if it is mounted to a block that is welded onto the barrel (like the Model 301 410’s) or if the barrel itself is drilled and tapped.

Mine didn’t have a rail so I had Sumtoy make a mount to fit the contour of my barrel and I drilled and tapped the barrel myself. They should still have the CAD profile of mine to make another one if yours doesn’t have the block. The mount was $50.

If yours has the block then they can make a low profile one for that as well, but you might have to mail them your barrel for them to make it. They can make anything, but if it’s something they haven’t made before then they might need your barrel to make it.

My gun weighs 6 pounds exactly and I can pick the gun up by the trigger without it firing, so the trigger pull is definitely over 6 pounds! It’s heavy but it doesn’t have any creep so it doesn’t bother me.
40B85E06-8C2E-46D5-9F12-1ABA4CD484DA.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Decided to expand my arsenal for turkeys...but this time it is budget oriented.
Bought a Savage /Stevens 301 single shot 20 gauge
I want to go the route of a red dot scope.
Anybody have this shotgun scoped they can share some feedback?
Eventually upgrading the extra full choke for maximum performance with TSS.
Pretty psyched to hunt with this gun, though the trigger leaves a bit to be desired.
Quick follow up, maybe dumb question.
So I have a red dot scope fairly dialed in on this Steven's shotgun.
My question is as follows.
If I look through the scope should the red dot be centered in the vision, while also on target? Or, no matter where the red dot is in the vision of the scope it still is on target? Seems like it was shifting.
Don't know if this is a good explanation.
Help.
 
This is why I love my VORTEX! It's parallax free, meaning where the red dot is where the bullets are going no matter what your eye angle is to the scope. If your scope doesn't have this then you need to be right behind the scope.

Parallax free red dot: Aimpoint sights are parallax-free, which means that the visible dot remains parallel to the bore of your weapon no matter what angle your eye is in relation to the sight. This means you never have to worry about centering the dot inside the sight.
 
Some red dots advertise as parallax free when they really aren’t. Honestly all the lower priced ones are probably fairly similar in how much parallax you can induce.

For a shotgun, I doubt you’ll miss a turkey at 40 yards because of it.

To check it, put it on a bench in sandbags. Put a target down range at 40 or so. Stand behind the gun and move your head around, and watch what the position of the red dot does in relation to your target.

Make sense?
 
Can you explain why? I've been using it for the last 3 years beating the crap out of it and it hasn't let me down.
Thats first-hand experience can’t argue there. For the first time buyer, it’s pretty straightforward they go in order Id think?? from spotters to binos to rifle scopes… crossfire then diamondback then viper, then razor.. of course they have the in betweens for some setups like strike Eagle ect.. my point, crossfires at bottom of list. I’m curious too.
 
This is why I love my VORTEX! It's parallax free, meaning where the red dot is where the bullets are going no matter what your eye angle is to the scope. If your scope doesn't have this then you need to be right behind the scope.

Parallax free red dot: Aimpoint sights are parallax-free, which means that the visible dot remains parallel to the bore of your weapon no matter what angle your eye is in relation to the sight. This means you never have to worry about centering the dot inside the sight.
Thanks for that explanation. Mine must not be parallax free. If i center the red dot in the field of view and hold it on target...but then move my head to view the red dot off center in field of view the red dot is no longer on target. Maybe cutting hairs, but it was a bit disconcerting...having NO experience with red dot scopes.
 
Thanks for that explanation. Mine must not be parallax free. If i center the red dot in the field of view and hold it on target...but then move my head to view the red dot off center in field of view the red dot is no longer on target. Maybe cutting hairs, but it was a bit disconcerting...having NO experience with red dot scopes.
Need to do @JLS test in-store maybe setting propped on a counter with you’re target being a fishing pole 40 yards away, and see what happens? This is all new and interesting to me.
 
I did sight this scope in using a sled.
I think its a worthy experiment to run some cheap shells through viewing the red dot off center to see what the pattern does on target.
 
What kind if patterns are you getting at different yardage? I am considering buying the same gun with the red dot package as a lightweight backcountry turkey gun, but I've never used a 20 gauge for turkeys, and currently use TSS 9s in my 12 gauge. Did you end up changing the choke from what it came with?
 
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