I was thrilled to be planning a spring turkey hunt, scheduled to take place in Wyoming, in May 2024. Okay, I’m neither an adept nor expert turkey hunter, but I love it more all the time. I’ve been fortunate to hunt spring gobblers in several parts of the country. In Wyoming, the birds are Merriam’s turkey. I’ve hunted them before in southeastern Colorado, but this would be my first hunt for genuine mountain birds.

Thanks to Aimpoint and Benelli, the hunt was with a group of women, all involved in the outdoor and shooting sports industry in one form or another. I knew I’d be in some tough company. Was I intimidated? Maybe, but it didn’t stop me from saying, “Sure, I’m all in!” I had no clue who any of the other women were, but I found out soon enough.

During SHOT Show in January 2024, I connected with a few of the ladies going on the hunt. They were team members of ALPS OutdoorZ, Aimpoint, Benelli, and Fiocchi. Unsurprisingly, their equipment is what we would use on the hunt. I was pleasantly surprised to learn I was already acquainted with a few of the participants. My intimidation was gone; I knew this was gonna be fun.

Getting There

I arrived in Rapid City, South Dakota, on May 1st. I checked the weather, which, according to the Weather Channel app, was looking great. Not too hot, not too cold. The forecast was “just right” with spring days and cool mountain air at night. I was looking forward to a mellow hunt. Birds gobbling back to calls, strutting, and amusing behavior make gobbler season what it is.

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At Rapid City, I meet Lanny Barnes, three-­time Olympic biathlete. Barnes and I were the last to arrive. Through most of a long day, it was uncertain if I’d make it there at all. We rode together, about a 2½ hour jaunt to Trophy Ridge Outfitters in Carlile, Wyoming. Located along the Bell Fourche River, a tributary of the Cheyenne River, we hunted the western edge of the Bear Lodge Mountains. It was a beautiful backdrop for the hunt. Merriam’s turkey are also found out on the high plains, but this would be a real mountain turkey experience.

We unloaded and met up with the rest of the hunters: Andrea Cerwinske of Aimpoint; Diana Rupp, editor-­in-­chief of Sports Afield magazine; Rose Bier, NRA; Anna Eckelcamp of ALPS OutdoorZ; and Kim Calahan and Mark Sidelinger of Media Direct. Sidelinger billed himself as an “Honorary Woman Card Holder.” Excluding the guides, he was the only male in the hunting group. I was happy to be there.

Since Barnes and I arrived well after dark, there was no chance to confirm our zeros and pattern. We need to be afield before daybreak, so Sidelinger sighted in our M2 Compact 20 gauges on loan from Benelli.

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Shotgun, Sight, & Ammo

The M2 patterned well, and was zeroed using the new Aimpoint Acro S-2 9-MOA red dot for a sight. It was mounted to the rib.

Another hiccup: I’m a southpaw. The Benelli M2 Field 20-­gauge shotgun wasn’t available in a left-­hand configuration, so I used the M2 Field with a compact stock. They make a left-­hand M2 in the Field Classic configuration utilizing Benelli’s ComforTech stock.

American hunting has changed. In the 1960s, America’s turkey population was still in a comeback mode. There was less opportunity, few turkey hunters, and little thought as to what constituted a “turkey gun” or a “turkey load.” Benelli was founded in 1967, the year Bruno Civolani’s Inertia-­Driven System was introduced. It earned — and has retained — a reputation for being one of the most reliable semiautomatic shotgun actions ever developed. With spring gobbler season now a main event for millions of American hunters, the 2013 launch of the M2 Field shotgun was impactful to middle-­class America. Among semiauto shotgun enthusiasts, Benelli shotguns are revered for upland game, waterfowl, and turkey. With turkey hunting continuing to grow in popularity, chokes and ammunition got better. Not so long ago, turkey guns were at least 12-­gauge and hunters sought the heaviest loads, and only expert shooters would have considered hunting turkey with 20-­gauge guns. A Georgia bird using another 20-­gauge Benelli was my first experience with Tungsten Super Shot (TSS). It’s game-­changing.

Cerwinske and I hunted with Eric Dunn, our guide. The “get-­in-­the-truck” time was 3:30 a.m. (Ugh.) We needed to drive to another area in the mountains about an hour away. Dunn wanted to be in place an hour before the birds would come off the roosts. We loaded up and drove through an unexpectedly dense fog.

It took longer than expected to get there, so daybreak was just starting when we were in position. That wasn’t the plan, but that’s hunting. We silently navigated our way to a pop-­up blind and settled in. The fog changed the birds’ schedule, too. We called, sat and waited — the usual things you do on a turkey hunt. But the birds weren’t vocal. Apparently, they weren’t interested in what we had to offer.

Well, there were still another couple of days to hunt. When we got back to camp, three of the ladies had tagged out. Gorgeous Merriam’s gobblers with that breed’s beautiful white-­tipped tail feathers. Good for them! The rest of us looked forward to waking up for more brutally early mornings. Maybe I’d luck out tomorrow, I thought.

Not As Forecasted 

The next day, the weather refused to comply with the optimistic forecast. Cerwinske went with one of the other guides since some hunters were done, and Wyoming is a one-­bird state. The next morning was much the same routine: Up a little earlier in case of fog, and drive to the same area in the mountains. There was no fog, so that was encouraging. We actually got there with plenty of time, so we made our way hiking in pitch dark. After hiking up and down a few hills, we settled into a grove of trees. I was set up leaning against a tree trunk, feeling steady and ready. Daybreak started out calm and quiet, but the wind kicked up by sunrise, making sure we knew it was there. Sunshine never made an appearance, and I was downright flabbergasted when it started to lightly snow! The possibility of snow on a spring turkey hunt never crossed my mind. Sadly, conditions only got worse as the morning progressed. Even so, we stayed put, called and shivered for about 3 hours. Dunn made the decision to move; I was happy to get back to the truck to warm up.

We drove around and stopped. Dunn called while I thawed. We eventually heard a hen cluck back, so we decided to park and walk to an open meadow. The treeline was about 60 to ­70 yards. We anchored ourselves in a small group of saplings. Dunn was facing one way, and I another, back to back, but on two different small trees. It was snowing hard and crossways with fierce wind. After about an hour of freezing, while sitting still and trying to stay alert, Dunn tapped my shoulder. Turning around was a task, but I managed somehow and saw a nice gobbler strutting in the storm. He was 30 yards away, maybe.

All I could think was, How am I going to do this without spooking him? With not much cover, gradually, I got up on my knees and hid partially behind Dunn and the trees. Applying maximum effort to be motionless, Dunn called again to get the bird to move in our direction. I still needed to shoulder the Benelli with as little movement as possible. Luckily for me, the gobbler wasn’t focused on us. Steadily, I shouldered the compact shotgun and found the gobbler with the red dot. As the gobbler responded and came our way — gosh, they move fast — I kept him in my sight and squeezed the trigger. He dropped right there and didn’t move.

Field Tested

The Wyoming turkey hunt wasn’t my first experience using an Aimpoint red-­dot sight. I’ve used an Aimpoint on a rifle to take Cape buffalo — a big and dark target — and I’ve used them at the range on various pistols. The Acro S-­2 is a small design that will attach to most shotguns’ ventilated rib. The mount features interchangeable baseplates. The sight mounts very low. The idea is, once mounted, there is no change to how the shotgun feels or how you obtain a sight picture. When you mount the shotgun, instead of the looking down a rib to see bead, you only place the bright red dot over the target. Oh, yes, it’s bright!

Aimpoint’s previous shotgun sight, the S-­1, had a large 6-­MOA dot. The Acro S-­2 is even larger, featuring a 9-­MOA dot. With 10 settings, the highest, brightest setting is great for sunny days and bright-­white conditions. Using the Acro S-­2 on a turkey hunt made it much faster to acquire the big dot — despite the extended eye relief for being on the rib — place it on the target and get the job done.

More Testing

Unfortunately, the latest M2 Field shotguns are not available with a left-­handed action. (I hope Benelli comes out with one, though!) Still, I tested and shot the 20-­gauge M2 with and without the Acro S-­2 at the Cameo Shooting and Education Complex in Grand Junction, Colorado. The new stock features Benelli’s micro-­cell recoil pad, allowing adjustments for length of pull. The longer grip surface on the forend facilitates people of all sizes with a supportive grip. I also found the M2 20-­gauge easier to load due to the expanded port on the bottom metal.

Using the same Fiocchi Golden Turkey TSS shotshells I hunted with, I successfully confirmed zero and tightly patterned the barrel — with and without the red-­dot sight — from 20 to 40 yards.

It’s All About The Shot

State bans on lead shot for waterfowl hunting started in the late 1980s. That drove innovation for new types of shot. Today, there are various lead-­free options, several using alloys of tungsten, which is denser than lead. Fiocchi — and other firms — are incorporating Tungsten Super Shot (TSS). I used Fiocchi’s Golden Turkey TSS 3-­inch load in my 20 gauge, which sends a 13⁄8-­ounce payload of No. 9 out of the barrel at 1,225 feet per second (fps). It may be the deadliest bird-­hunting package ever conceived for a 20 gauge. TSS allows smaller shot sizes, more pellets in a pattern, and produces amazing penetration. Costing around $50 for a box of five, TSS is expensive. I validated the expense when considering the investment made to hunt spring turkey. You may only have a one-­shot opportunity, and I don’t want to trust that to an inferior shotshell.

Most upland bird and many waterfowl hunters consider TSS shells too costly, but turkey hunting is a different game. All that’s needed are a couple of shells to verify the pattern and zero, and one for the bird. A spring gobbler is more of a trophy hunt than a meat hunt, and some of us have to travel halfway across the country to for that one-­shot opportunity at a gobbler.

Dense, heavy TSS shot means that loads can carry smaller pellets, creating denser patterns than ever possible. The Fiocchi Golden Turkey TSS I used, killed my bird instantly. It was dead as any turkey I’ve ever seen. It went straight down without a kick.

This girls’ hunting trip ended with great success. Despite unexpected weather, six out of seven hunters had killed nice gobblers. All-­­around, the outfitter was good, the country was good, and we each had quality gear. That’s not to mention the skills of a lively group of ladies. 

Benelli M2 Field Compact

• Type: Inertia driven, semiautomatic
• Gauge: 12 ga. or 20 ga. (tested), 23/4- or 3-in. chamber
• Capacity: 3+1 rds.
• Barrel: 24 in., Crio chokes (IC, M, F)
• Overall Length: 44.25 in.
• Weight: 5 lbs., 11 oz.
• Stock: Black synthetic, compact
• Length of Pull: 13.125 in.
• Finish: Anodized (aluminum), matte blue (steel)
• Sights: Red bar (front)
• MSRP: $1,499
• Importer: Benelli USA, 800-­264-­4962, benelliusa.com