Retay Gordion Turkey Review | Outdoor Life

My excellent turkey gun could be gentle and useful; it could be appropriate with a crimson dot sight; it could have good ergonomics to advertise correct capturing, and it wouldn’t rock me too badly once I pulled the set off. Most significantly, it could shoot killer patterns. In different phrases, it could be rather a lot just like the Retay Gordion Turkey. 

This Turkish-made shotgun has many (however not all) of the contains a critical turkey hunter expects on a devoted gobbler gun. And it delivers these options and efficiency for below a grand. In immediately’s market of semi-auto turkey weapons, I feel the Retay Gordion Turkey is among the finest values obtainable. 

• Motion: Semi auto, inertia
• Capability: 4+1
• Gauge: 12 and 20 (examined)
• Weight: 6 kilos, 8 ounces
• Set off: 3 kilos, 3 ounces (measured)
• Total Size: 43.5 inches 
• Barrel Size: 22 inches (20 gauge)
• Choke: Interchangeable MaraPro chokes C, IC, M, IM, F
• Camo: Mossy Oak Bottomland, Mossy Oak Obsession, Realtree Timber, Realtree Timber
• Worth: $949

Key Options

• Snug pistol grip
• Dovetail and rail included for mounting optics
• Deep-bore-drilled barrel and lengthened forcing cone
• “Inertia-plus” semi-auto motion

Overview Highlights

• Glorious sample efficiency
• Factors and handles effectively
• Gentle and compact for carrying within the subject

Patterning the Retay Gordion

The very first thing I did after assembling this shotgun was throw a Holosun red dot on it. The Gordion’s receiver has a dovetail that accepts an included rail. I mounted the rail to the dovetail, mounted my dot, after which sighted the gun in with some goal masses. This straightforward course of took about quarter-hour. 

With the rig dialed in, I stepped again to 40 yards and shot two completely different turkey masses, three patterns every. I shot Hevi Shot Hevi 18 in each No. 7 and No. 9 pellet sizes. For information, I counted the variety of pellet strikes inside a 10-inch diameter circle over the core of the sample (as is the usual for evaluating turkey patterns). I then averaged the overall variety of pellet strikes contained in the 10-inch circle for every load.

As you may see from the information under, the No. 9s produced far more spectacular patterns (not shocking since there are such a lot of extra pellets per shell), however in addition they produced larger sample percentages. 

The outdated normal for efficient turkey lethality is at the least 100 pellet strikes inside a 10-inch circle (after all it’s as much as you to place that 10-inch core of the sample over the gobbler’s head and neck). Each masses could be turkey killers at 40 yards. I might even be very assured capturing the No. 9s at 50 yards. May I stretch the vary even farther? Most likely, however that may be pointless for my part. If you wish to shoot turkeys at lengthy ranges (first rethink) go for a 12 gauge and spend a number of time patterning it. 

To place the Gordion’s 40-yard efficiency in context, the No. 9 masses patterned on par with lots of the 12 gauge masses that we examined in our evaluate of the best turkey loads. It’s vital to notice that the 12 gauge masses had been filled with 2-ounce payloads (or heavier). 

For instance, the 12-gauge Hevi 18’s (No. 9, 2-ounce payload) single finest sample from three completely different shotguns was 253 pellet strikes. My finest sample with the Retay was 269 pellet strikes with a 1 ½-ounce payload. In brief, the Retay Gordion in 20 gauge shot higher than the three 12-gauge turkey weapons in our take a look at, at the least with the Hevi 18 load.  

For a extra apples-to-apples comparability, Scott Einsmann lately sample examined a Benelli M2 Turkey Efficiency Store gun in 20 gauge. This can be a $3,000 rig. His finest performing load (Apex No. 9s, 1 ⅝-ounce payload) averaged 285 pellet strikes for a sample proportion of 48%. Sure, that’s higher than what the Retay delivered, at the least with my take a look at masses, however is it $2,000 {dollars} higher? I feel not.  

Full Choke vs. Turkey Choke

It’s vital to notice that I used to be capturing these patterns with a manufacturing unit full choke, which was technically not rated for TSS. This predicament leads us to the one actual criticism I’ve for the Gordion Turkey: Retay doesn’t provide a turkey choke with this turkey gun. The Gordion comes with 5 chokes, starting from improved cylinder to full, however the IM and F chokes aren’t rated for TSS (or metal) based on Retay. So, if you wish to shoot TSS (and go by the e book) you should both run the Modified choke or purchase an aftermarket choke. In accordance with Retay, the one present possibility that matches the Marapro system is the Jebs Head Hunter, which can value you $100. 

Should you’re frightened about capturing TSS via a manufacturing unit full choke or for those who actually need to optimize this shotgun for final lengthy vary patterns, I’d advocate throwing down for the aftermarket choke. However since I used to be capturing small TSS pellet sizes (and this was a take a look at gun) I felt simply positive operating TSS via the manufacturing unit full choke. After capturing about 20 TSS masses via the total choke I’ve seen no points and am thrilled with the 40-yard outcomes.

Deep-Bore-Drilled Barrel

The truth that the Gordion patterned so effectively is very notable when in comparison with a number of the different Turkish-made shotguns on the market, which frequently ship positive however not stellar patterns. So, what’s the key? 

In accordance with Retay, it’s all concerning the barrel. The corporate makes use of a drilling course of for producing barrels (versus cold hammer forging). 

“A deep-bore-drilled course of includes taking a tube of bar inventory, minimize to the specified size of the ultimate barrel, inserting the bar inventory in a lathe and manually drilling out the barrel from the middle and contouring and profile the barrel with lathe cutters,” says   Rus Hinkle, a service lead at Retay. “This leaves the bar inventory in its unique, homogenous kind because it was forged or cast from the manufacturing unit.”

Having a extra homogenous, constant barrel contributes to higher patterns general, says Hinkle. “With particular regards to shotguns, the extra uniform the vibrations of the barrel [as the shot is fired] correlate to much less destabilization of the pellets as they exit the muzzle.”

Initially, Retay went with a deep bore drilling course of out of necessity (as a result of it was extra reasonably priced to start out up). In accordance with Hinkle, many Turkish arms firms are wholly or partially funded by the Turkish state via grants, which is among the main causes different Turkish producers are in a position to hold product prices low. 

Nevertheless Retay was not supplied such assist. So the deep-bore-drilling course of was a extra reasonably priced possibility for making barrels out of the gate, albeit a slower one. Now Retay stands behind its barrel making course of as a market differentiator and one of many keys to their weapons’ general efficiency.

Retay, Breda, and Fabarm all use a deep-bore-drilling course of for making their barrels. Retay additionally lengthens the forcing cones of its barrels, which helps additional stabilize the shot because it strikes down the barrel, based on Hinkle.  

Looking with the Gordion Turkey

I took the Gordion searching through the first week of the turkey season and I discovered the gun to deal with properly within the woods and steadiness effectively because it rested on my knee. 

Pistol Grip

The Gordion Turkey has a husky rubbery pistol grip that I favored very a lot (although there are pistol-grip-free choices). For grips on bows and rifles, I sometimes like a slim, agency profile (which is the precise reverse of the Gordion’s grip), however a shotgun isn’t a precision instrument. Turkey hunters need to have the ability to level and shoot rapidly — which I used to be in a position to do comfortably with the Gordion. 

Inertia Plus Motion

Should you’ve shot Benelli’s, then the Retay motion will look very acquainted to you. Retay says that it has optimized its motion in order that even once you slide the bolt ahead gently, it’s going to nonetheless go into battery. 

That is truly an enormous deal for turkey hunters, who may not need to begin their morning by loudly slamming a shell into the chamber for each roosted tom to listen to. Actually, this is among the causes I sometimes go together with pump-action turkey weapons. They permit me to very quietly rack a shell, plus I do know that so long as the pump is locked ahead, the gun will go bang. 

Fortunately, I can report that I had zero points with the Gordion. Even once I slid the bolt residence gently, the gun would hearth. Nevertheless, I did discover that if I attempted to deliberately cease the bolt simply wanting sliding into battery, I might get the shotgun to misfire. So, it’s not completely foolproof.

As for reliability, I’ve put about 50 rounds via the gun with out problem. Turkey weapons aren’t sometimes high-volume instruments. Maybe extra notably, we had a typical Gordion in our evaluate of the best shotguns and burned lots of of rounds via that take a look at gun with out cleansing it — we by no means had a hangup. (We ended up selecting it as our Nice Purchase award winner).   

Efficiency When It Counts

On my second morning of searching I used to be arrange in a subject nook with a pair of gobblers roosted close by. A couple of minutes into authorized gentle I yelped softly to get their consideration and never 10 minutes later a longbeard flew down, proper into the decoys. 

Accurately, the shot itself was anticlimactic. At 27 paces the No. 9 Hevi Shot load hit him completely and the gobbler was useless as he hit the bottom. Whereas the outcome was utterly predictable, it did make me just like the Gordion Turkey just a bit bit extra.  

What the Retay Gordion Turkey Does Finest

This rig is a turkey killing machine. It shoots nice patterns, runs reliably, optics set up is straightforward, and it appears to be like cool — all for below a grand. I feel this is among the finest offers on the market within the turkey gun market.  

Learn Subsequent: The Best Turkey Hunting Shotguns of 2024, Field Tested and Reviewed

The place the Retay Gordion Turkey Can Enhance

The corporate wants to start out transport its turkey weapons with a turkey-specific choke. In any other case they’ve acquired a near-perfect setup. 

Remaining Ideas

Many critical turkey hunters are swapping their 12 gauges for sub-gauges nowadays, and the Retay Gordion is an effective instance of why. It’s gentle and useful, and nonetheless delivers sample efficiency that’s on par (and even higher) than what some 12 gauges are producing with TSS. In order for you a high-performing devoted semi-auto turkey gun, however don’t need to drop two grand (or extra), you then’ll be arduous pressed to discover a higher possibility than the Gordion Turkey.