Best Turkey Shotguns of 2025

There’s something special about spring turkey season. Early mornings, crisp air, and the adrenaline that hits when a gobbler sounds off close. For the first time, we’re breaking down our picks for the Best Turkey Shotguns of 2025—based entirely on shotguns we’ve personally reviewed in the field. While this list is smaller than some of our other “Best of” categories, it’s a starting point, and we plan to expand it as we review more dedicated turkey guns in the future.

Instead of separating by action type, we’re focusing on what matters most for turkey hunting: reliability, recoil management, practical features, and real-world performance. We’ve broken this list into three categories:

• Best on a Budget
• Best Value
• Best Overall

Let’s jump in.

If you have experience with any of these shotguns, please share your thoughts in the TFL COMMUNITY!

BEST ON A BUDGET

🏆 Winner: Mossberg 500 .410 — $697

When we first reviewed the Mossberg 500 .410, expectations were modest—but that didn’t last long. The more time we spent with this shotgun, the more we appreciated it. The .410 platform offers a smaller package that is easy to tote around the woods and has extremely manageable recoil.

The Mossberg 500 has proven reliable, simple, and effective over the years. In fact, when it came time to choose a turkey gun for the season, this was the one that made it out of the safe. If you’re looking for an affordable, fun, and capable turkey shotgun—especially in a sub-gauge—the Mossberg 500 .410 is hard to beat.

BEST VALUE

🏆 Winner: Mossberg 500 — $633+

When it comes to the best value turkey shotgun, the answer is simple: the Mossberg 500 platform. Not because it’s flashy or new, but because it flat-out works—and it’s been proving that point for decades.

The Mossberg 500 lineup offers turkey hunters plenty of flexibility, depending on how they hunt. Whether you’re looking at a traditional full-size turkey model, a compact Super Bantam setup, or a .410 option for reduced recoil and lighter carry, the core strengths remain the same: reliability, affordability, and simplicity. Many of the turkey-specific variants are optics-ready, pattern well with modern turkey loads, and hold up season after season without complaint.

It’s not the softest-shooting or the most refined shotgun on this list—but when you factor in price, durability, and how many different turkey-focused configurations are available, the Mossberg 500 delivers one of the strongest price-to-performance ratios in turkey hunting today.

BEST OVERALL

🏆 Winner: Mossberg 940 Pro Turkey — $1,260

When money is less of a concern, and you want the best all-around turkey hunting experience, the Mossberg 940 Pro stands out. This semi-auto manages heavy turkey loads exceptionally well, thanks to its excellent recoil control and gas system.

The ergonomics are solid, the controls are intuitive, and the platform pairs extremely well with a red dot—something we strongly prefer for turkey hunting. Simply put, the 940 Pro makes precise shots easier and more comfortable, especially during long sits and quick opportunities in the woods.

You might notice a pattern here: every pick on this list is a Mossberg. That’s not by design—it’s simply the result of what we’ve reviewed so far. Mossberg has been more than willing to send us shotguns to review. As more turkey-specific shotguns come through for testing, this list will continue to grow.