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Henry’s Single Shot Turkey Camo Shotgun Review: Best Turkey Gun in Production?

I have been waiting and hoping for a company to build a gun just like Henry’s new Turkey Camo Shotgun. Specifically, I was looking for a 3 ½” 12 gauge single shot that was set up with several amenities engineered for our turkey hunting needs.  You may be wondering, why a single shot 3 ½” 12 gauge, and what are these turkey-specific designs? Well, my curious friend, read on because I will break it all down for you.

Specs and Design Features

Ironically, the first thing you will observe when you look at this gun is its amazing full-coverage Mossy Oak Obsession camo pattern, which happens to be the National Wild Turkey Federation’s official camo pattern.  Everyone I have shown my Henry to absolutely loves the quality of its paint job.  And underneath the camo is Henry’s beloved genuine American walnut wood.

Sitting on top of its camo, 24” barrel are a set of fiber optic sights that make me happy every time I look at them. The color pop’s in a way that will help your eyes catch the sights quickly to make accurate shots on your longbeard, even in low light situations.

If you want something a little more than fiber optics, it is drilled and tapped for a Weaver 82 base.  So adding a reflex sight or scope is an option without the additional cost of gunsmithing.

The turkey choke that comes with the gun throws a great pattern already (see the video under the third heading), but if you have a third party brand of chokes that you like, never fear because it is internally threaded in the Remington choke style, so the is a plethora of aftermarket options for you to choose from.

The rebounding hammer and interlock create two effective safety features without restricting functionality.

II. Why a single shot

You might be wondering, “A single shot, really?  With all the Tacticool pumps and Semi-autos out there, why would I want to go back in time to a single shot?” There are several advantageous aspects within the form and function of a single shot as it pertains to turkey hunting.  Many of those aspects may crossover to other shotgun platforms, but none of the other platforms contain all of these benefits. In the video below, I will explain five of the benefits, but for this article, I will mention three:

  1. Weight – Single shots are intrinsically lighter than their action-driven or multi-barreled counterparts. When you are hauling decoys, calls, blinds, and hopefully a dead turkey, you will appreciate a lighter gun. Now the weight is a two-edged sword as it pertains to recoil, but more on that later.
  2. Overall Length V/S Barrel Length – When you are in the tight confines of a turkey blind or nestles behind some brush, your gun-wielding space is limited, so a lesser overall length is an advantage. On the other hand, when you are shooting tight patterning turkey loads, a longer barrel is preferred. A single shot (or any break-action) conserves overall length through its lack of mechanical action (like a pump or semi), which provides an opportunity to add barrel length and still come out much shorter than pumps and semi autos. This Henry’s barrel is 3-4” longer than most of the production model pumps and semi-autos that were designed as turkey guns, yet at the same time, Henry’s overall length is considerably shorter.
  3. Safety – There are a few aspects to a single shot that make for a safer time in the turkey woods.
    1. Spent Shell in the Chamber – After you down a turkey, the safety protocol is that you should unload your shotgun before you exit your blind to check out your new prize gobbler. If, however, the adrenaline rush of downing an impressive thunder chicken causes you to forget that protocol, with a single shot, you have the added safety of having a dead chamber.
    2. Action Open Carry – Carrying a break action shotgun with the action open is not just an ergonomically pleasing and balanced way of carrying your firearm. Still, it is also an inherently safer mode. Whether it is carrying in the field or passing it to your hunting partner during a fence crossing, negligent discharges can be avoided by having the action open.
    3. Hammer Down Safety – Your manual safety is replaced by the hammer down potion of a rebounding hammer. If my hammer is down, I cannot fire the firearm. Another safety advantage of the hammer-down position is if someone else is using the gun (say a young apprentice hunter), I, as the mentor hunter, can look over and plainly see whether the gun is in a safe or fire-ready position.

Check out the video below for a detailed explanation, as well as my top two reasons for turkey hunting with a single shot.

How Does it Shoot?

At this point, you may be wondering, “All of those specs and purposes of use theories are great, but how does it shoot?”  Below is a video where you can watch it shoot as I compare five different turkey loads at 3 different distances.  But before you watch it, let me tell you a few things the video might not show you. 

  1. The Trigger– Because it is hammer-fired, the trigger is a light and crisp single-stage, single-action trigger. That is important when you are making precise rifle-like shots with your tight patterning turkey shot.
  2. The Recoil – It’s a lightweight gun that is firing 12 gauge 3 ½” Turkey Magnums, so it’s not going to be a gentle shove. The recoil pad helps manage it quite a bit.  I ran about 15 rounds through it in one range trip. To be honest, the first ten rounds weren’t bad at all, but the last 5 or so really kicked my butt.  The good thing is, I only plan on shooting it once per hunting day, so I think we are good to go in the recoil department.
  3. The Accuracy and Pattern – The video speaks for itself but let’s say I feel confident with any turkey loadout to 40 yards, and I feel confident with certain loads out to 60 yards.

Conclusion

Like I mentioned earlier in the article, I have been waiting for someone to design a turkey shotgun like this one and I glad that Henry did! You can check out this model at  https://www.henryusa.com/shotgun/single-shot-turkey-camo-shotgun/ and you can check out other Henry models  here  https://www.henryusa.com/catalog/

Feel free to follow me on my social accounts to see if me and my Henry get lucky this season.

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