Compromise is difficult. So are finances. You want to buy a new turkey shotgun, but you also yearn for a gun to hunt whitetails and other big game. While buying multiple firearms is never a bad thing, sometimes budget dictates finding one gun that can serve multiple purposes. 

Sure, we’d like to recommend some fine antique Drillings and Cape guns, but let’s be realistic in terms of availability and appeal for the masses. Because it’s not legal to pursue gobblers in most areas using rifles, we’ll focus more heavily on shotgun options here. So, let’s talk combinations. 
 

Winchester SXP Buck/Bird Combo

Winchester’s SXP pump-action shotguns – short for Super-X Pump – have a reputation for reliability and practicality for both hunters and sporting shooters. The platform also offers a dual-barreled purchase that targets both winged creatures and deer-sized game with ease. 

The SXP Buck/Bird can be had in either 12 or 20 gauge with a choice of 26- or 28-inch barrels. With turkey hunting in mind, we’d opt for the shorter, more wieldy option for thick spring woods or tight hunting blinds. The bird barrel comes with interchangeable chokes while the 22-inch deer option is rifled with fiber-optic sights. 

The gun comes dressed in either black or camouflage synthetic furniture, both with 3-inch chambers. The SXP has been proving itself on both types of game for years, so there’s no good reason not to snag the combo as a one-gun rig. 

Mossberg 500

Mossberg’s Model 500 pump-action shotguns are some of the most reliable, affordable, and readily available of any such hunting arm on the market. While separate models are built for birds, clays, deer, defense, and everything in between, the company also markets several combo packages. You can opt for the Turkey/Deer Combo, Field/Security Combo, or the Field/Deer Combo. So, there are options for hunters looking for a gun ready to shoot clays or fast-flying birds, deer, and even for home defense. 

The combos come with a smoothbore, ventilated rib barrel – with most accepting interchangeable chokes – along with a Slugster barrel, usually with fiber-optic iron sights. Swapping is quick and easy. Most models offer either 12- or 20-gauge bores. There are black synthetic, camouflage, and even wood-stocked choices. The company even offers a 20-gauge Bantam version with length-of-pull-spacers allowing the gun to grow with the hunter for an ideal fit. 

Want the same look and feel but on a magnum platform launching the heaviest hunting loads? Then step on up to the Mossberg Model 835 Ulti Mag, the company’s 3.5-inch chambered 12-gauge pump action. Like the 500, the 835 is also available in a Turkey/Deer Combination. The camouflaged version even includes interchangeable comb inserts for added comfort and eye alignment when scoping the barrels. 

RELATED: Mossberg 500 – Loved for a Good Reason

Savage Model 24

The Savage Model 24 over-under combination gun is one of our favorites, not only for hunting but collecting and just plain shooting as well. While it may not be the ideal selection for any one type of hunting, the Model 24 break-action rifle double guns do a little bit of everything. 

Since we’re talking deer and turkey hunting, we’d gravitate to some of the heavier-hitting combos partnering a centerfire rifle round with a larger shotgun bore. Think .222 Rem/20 gauge or .30-30 Win/12 gauge. Other rounds, like .223 Rem, .357 Magnum, or .357 Maximum are also sweet. 

Because these are long out of production – other than the current .22/.410 Savage Model 42s – hit the used racks to find a Model 24 and thank us later. This is one of the coolest guns we can think of to hunt both gobblers and bucks, in unique style, while acquiring a firearm that continues to appreciate in value. 

RELATED: The Old Do-All Combo Gun – Savage Model 24 Review

Thompson Center Encore/Pro Hunter

Single shots make barrel swapping – and caliber or bore changes – quick and easy. That’s especially true on one of the most well-known of such platforms – the break-action Thompson Center Encore and Pro Hunter lines of long guns. Hunters can choose from almost any centerfire rifle round they desire for deer or other big game. Then, with only a bolt and a few pins, swap that barrel out for a shotgun version, though the corresponding forend will also be required. 

The T/Cs provide the greatest degree of modularity, allowing shooters to purchase all types, calibers/bores, and styles – even including muzzleloaders – on one serialized receiver. Stock types are varied as well, with synthetic, camouflage, wood, and thumbhole styles. 

When opting for harder-recoiling rounds, the company’s FlexTech stocks are a wise choice. Unfortunately, T/C firearms are not in current production at the time of this writing, but they were produced for so long that it’s not uncommon to find a plethora of lightly used singles or barrel combinations on the secondary market.