It seems I might have lost control of my surroundings. The other day my wife Drema told me she wanted to go turkey hunting. As you can imagine I was perplexed, even more so when she said she wanted to use a shotgun!
I told her the little Mossberg MVP I had barreled for the .25-45 Sharps and now call CUR II would be perfect for turkeys. She said, “But my friend Linda uses a shotgun. I want to use a shotgun.” Obama has been president for seven years and now folks don’t know which bathroom to use, and my wife wants to hunt with a shotgun. Dylan was right, “…times they are a changin.”
So, I decided to do the proper thing and I ordered up a Mossberg FLEX model 500 Turkey in 20 gauge. Why the FLEX version? Well now, I’m glad you asked. I may not like shotguns but that does not mean I don’t know anything about ’em. You see with the FLEX system I could opt for a butt stock with a shorter length of pull; Drema is only five feet tall. It also allowed me to install an optional higher comb.
The higher comb was needed because I wanted to give Drema the best tools at her disposal and that means a red dot sight. With the FLEX higher comb she can maintain a good cheek weld, to keep from getting smacked in the face, while her eye aligns perfectly with the red dot. If my son Bat wants to use the shotgun he can swap out to the original stock – and lower cheek piece if he desires – in all of about 30 seconds.
Why a 20 gauge? Well, thank you for asking about that too. Turkeys are not prehistoric dinosaurs requiring T-Rex type firearms to kill them. They are simply stupid birds and if you can shoot – Drema can – the 20 gauge will deliver enough pellets and enough wallop to put down even the most massive of turkey birds. The idea if you’ve forgotten, is to call them in close and blow their beaks off, not to pound your shoulder to mush while you shoot all willy-nilly because you flinch like you’re going to be kicked by a Renaldo. (If you don’t know who Cristiano Renaldo is you don’t have an All-State Soccer player living with you.
I installed one of the new SIG Optics Romeo4 red dot sights on the Picatinny rail that comes with the shotgun. This new red dot has really impressed me. It weighs only three ounces, has a dual reticle and is even dual powered. (It runs off solar power and / or battery power.) And, it can be mounted very low or at AR heights. Both mounts are included with the sight, which sales for about $ 270.00.
After zeroing at 30 yards I pattern tested the combination on a Thompson Targets Big Tom Target. The pattern was even and well dispersed and placed 151 pellets inside a 13.5-inch circle. (If you can’t kill a turkey bird with that, you can’t shoot.) For what its worth, I don’t subscribe to turning a shotgun into a rifle with ultra tight chokes. They idea is to throw a consistent pattern with as few voids as possible.
Bottom line is that without the Mossberg FLEX system Drema would have been regulated to purchasing a shotgun that only fit her and was not adaptable to different sights systems or one of our kids down the road. It would have probably cost more too. And, there are FLEX accessories to turn this rig into a well equipped home defense shotgun. Suggested retail price: a staggering $ 484.00. I’ve got boots that cost more than that!
You could say this has taught me something; when your wife demands to do the unthinkable, you gotta be FLEXable. Well, at least when it comes to hunting. And, by the way, no smart aleck comments from the peanut gallery; I still don’t like shotguns and just might take my MVP in .25-45 along as a backup…just in case. You never know, my turkey calling prowess is at such a high level we might be attacked by a flock of jacked up gobblers, wearing leather, and riding motorcycles.
