6 minute read
New firearms for spring turkey
HUNTING New Turkey Shotgun, Deer Rifles Introduced
Turkey season is dead ahead in California, with five-plus weeks of hunting opportunity. (GEORGE GENTRY/USFWS)
By Dave Workman
Spring wild turkey hunting is just a few weeks away in California, with the general season running from March 28 through May 3.
Since 1877, five subspecies have been released in the Golden State, and today Merriam’s and Rio Grandes are the most numerous. The thing about turkeys that drives me nuts is that I can drive just about anywhere, any other time of the year, and run into flocks of the buggers. But during the spring season, they can be as stubborn and elusive – or just plain hard to get – as any game I’ve ever hunted.
You’ve still got plenty of time to hone your skills with various turkey calls, and get your camo clothing all set. I know people who hunt turkeys the same as other folks wait all year long just to shoot prairie dogs; they hunt nothing else, and when the time comes, they go for broke.
ONE OUTFIT THAT is ahead of the game this year is Stoeger. At the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade, or SHOT, Show in January, Stoeger expanded its popular M3500 shotgun series with the introduction of the Predator/Turkey Special, a rocking semiauto chambered for the 3½-inch 12-gauge magnum.
Featuring a “SteadyGrip” pistol grip buttstock for a rock-solid grip while the ported barrel reduces muzzle rise and recoil, allowing shooters to get back on target quicker. It will take shells from 2¾ inches up to the big magnum loads without adjustment, thanks to the Intertia Driven action. The M3500 is drilled and tapped to mount the included Weaver 93 base. A fiber optic front sight sits atop the 24-inch barrel that is fitted with the Mojo extended predator and turkey choke.
With fewer moving parts, the Inertia Driven system is the fastest, simplest, cleanest, strongest and most reliable operating system in the world. While this shotgun is capable of holding four rounds in the magazine, don’t load up with more than three for bird hunting.
Stoeger finishes this scattergun with Mossy Oak Overwatch camo. It weighs 7.5 pounds and has an overall length of 46 inches.
Load up with No. 4 or 6 shot – you shouldn’t need a 3½-incher; most of
my turkey hunting pals prefer 3-inch magnums – and don’t forget a face mask or camo paint.
ANYONE FAMILIAR WITH the Benelli brand knows these folks build some simply awesome shotguns, such as the Super Black Eagle.
That said, Benelli has come forth with a new bolt-action rifle they’re calling the Lupo, which is the Italian word for wolf. Stoeger’s M3500 line of shotguns now includes the new Predator/Turkey Special, a semiauto 12-gauge chambered for 3½-inch magnum shells. (STOEGER)
Benelli has come out with a new three-round bolt-action rifle known as Lupo, Italian for wolf. It is chambered in .30-06 Springfield, .300 Win. Mag. and .270 Win. (BENELLI)
Loaded with innovative features, the Lupo is initially chambered in three of the most popular Western boltaction calibers (.30-06 Springfield, .300 Win. Mag., .270 Win.). The rifle features an alloy lower receiver and a synthetic stock and forend. The stock incorporates Benelli’s patented Progressive Comfort recoil-reducing system and Combtech cheek pad for comfortable shooting.
Benelli boasts three-shot subminute-of-angle accuracy, thanks to a Crio-treated free-floating barrel and secure bedding in the chassis receiver. There’s something else, too. The Lupo is rather modular by providing spacers to adjust the length of pull, and optional combs.
Barrel length in the .270 and ’06 is 22 inches, while the .300 Win. Magnum is 24 inches.
The double-stack box magazine holds three rounds. Benelli designed
New from Franchi is the Momentum Elite, chambered for 6.5 Creedmoor, .223 Remington and .308 Winchester. (FRANCHI)
the Lupo with a two-position, tangmounted safety, and the Airtouch Grip surfaces provide a firm hold on the rifle. It’s got an adjustable trigger (2.2 to 4.4 pounds) and the length of pull may be adjusted from 13.8 to 14.75 inches.
ANOTHER BRAND FAMOUS for shotguns is Franchi (I own an over-and-under in 20-gauge that’s a real grouse killer) and this company has also introduced a new rifle, the Momentum Elite, a follow-up to the original Momentum introduced two years ago.
Chambered for 6.5 Creedmoor, .223 Remington and .308 Winchester (depending upon version), the Momentum Elite has a detachable magazine, rifle stock finish options of Hunter Gray, Realtree Excape and Strata by TrueTimber. The butt is fitted with a TSA recoil pad, and there are sling attachment points.
The Momentum Elite features a one-piece bolt with spiral fluting and three locking lugs. The bolt handle is finished in Cerakote and the bolt has a 60-degree throw.
I MENTIONED OWNING a 20-gauge Franchi O/U, but there’s a little voice in my ear talking about a new smoothbore from Benelli in the same chambering.
Enter the Model 828U, which has been scaled down from the 12-gauge platform introduced earlier. The Model 828U allows custom drop and cast adjustments and the kind of ergonomic feel and balance to which Benelli users are accustomed.
This little beauty is available with 26- or 28-inch Crio barrels, so weights vary from 5.9 to 6.0 pounds. It comes with five Crio chokes (cylinder, improved cylinder, modified, improved modified and full) and an engraved nickel receiver. There’s a low-profile carbon fiber rib, and the stock is crafted from AA-grade walnut with a satin finish.
Benelli also designed the recoiltaming Progressive Comfort System into the stock to reduce muzzle flip. It has a fiber optic front sight with red insert. CS
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