Need 870 Wingmaster help

[WNC Man]

Hi, I have an opportunity to go turkey hunting this spring. I have a 1979 Wingmaster Police 2 3/4 with a 18.5" barrel. I have got a couple of questions:
Is a 2 3/4 shell OK for turkey hunting? If so which turkey load should I use?
Which Remington barrel should I purchase?
Which choke should I use?
Do I need to camo up/ cover the stock?
Any help from experienced Remington 870 turkey hunters would really be appreciated.
Thanks,
WNC Man

[Synchronizor]

You can certainly hunt turkeys with 2.75" 12ga shells, I have a young friend who hunts turkeys with a 20ga. I know of high-quality 1.5-ounce 2.75" turkey loads from both Remington and Winchester; that's plenty of shot to take a turkey with the right choke and proper shot placement.

Remington makes both vent-rib and rifle-sight turkey barrels for the 870. These are generally 20" - 23" barrels that are threaded for Rem Chokes. These will have 3" or 3.5" chambers, but they'll work on your gun with 2.75" shells just fine.

You'll probably want to start with a Full or Extra-Full choke tube. These are included with some turkey barrels, but they're also easy to find on their own. The most important thing is that you test your ammo and choke together in your gun, to make sure you have an effective combination.

Folks have been killing turkeys long before camo guns became popular. You can add camo tape or buy a camo-finished turkey barrel if you want, but I wouldn't consider it a necessity.

[gritz]

I agree. I first went turkey hunting with a 20 gauge. Got turkeys my first two seasons with no difficulty using a turkey choke and 3 inch shells. But in 12 gauge there are many more varieties available and choosing an effective round in a standard length should not be a problem. The real performance difference is going to be knowing your maximum effective range for whatever your set up is. There are plenty of people out there with different ways of doing this. I printed off a life size turkey outline and put it at different ranges to see how far I could get and still get multiple shots in the head and neck. I think both my turkeys were within 25 yards. Now if I had a 3.5 inch magnum 10 gauge with super good choke I could probably be confident out to 50 yards, but in my set up the extra power would not have done a thing for me because I purposefully set up were I knew I would be calling them in close. If you are going to go out and buy a new barrel already then a good choke and testing some different ammo shouldn't be much added expense. Really, these days, there are so many good rounds specifically for turkey that you should have no problem getting one that does the trick, within the limits of your effective range.
As far as camo goes, I did not camo my gun but it was a matt finish to begin with, and green synthetic stock. The shine from a blued barrel actually might ruin surprise (I have been seen by turkeys 150 yards away even with my camo because I moved). I wouldn't over think it though. Just try to limit moving around and you can always try some of that wrap on the end of the barrel. But it really comes down to how crazy you want to get. You can spend all the money in the world and still a blink at the wrong time or a cough, or even just a slip of your boot and you will have the same outcome. Personally, I feel like dedication and skill can overcome a lot of the things that companies would tell you that you need to buy your way out of. Good luck hunting and have fun with it.

[Timex]

Some great advice here.