Idaho Turkey Hunting with the Savage Renegauge Turkey
Jake Dahlke 07.16.24
This past spring, I was invited to a turkey hunt in the mountains of Idaho near the Payette National Forest. I’ve now chased gobblers in 10 different states and experienced just about every weather pattern a spring hunter can encounter, but this trek out west though had more of an elk hunt feel (and we saw plenty). Throughout this trip, we experienced rain, snow, sleet, graupel, wind, and even bouts of sunshine. We hiked miles up and down mountainsides, covered extensive ground by machine, called in countless birds, and glassed up even more.
On this hunt, we had a crew of 8 different turkey hunters and we were all using the Savage Reneguage in both the Reneguage Turkey Bottomland and Reneguage Turkey Obsession models. Not only was I able to bag an Idaho Merriam’s longbeard myself, but our group ended the hunt with a total of 10 birds. It was a bang-up trip, but although I’ve made it sound quite glamorous, our success did not come without struggle. The unpredictable elements, the terrain, and fairly quiet birds combined forces to make us work for it. These same variables made this the perfect turkey hunt to put the Savage Reneguage Turkey to the test.
Savage Renegauge Turkey Specs
Here are some key specs for the Renegauge from Savage Arms:
- D.R.I.V. gas system
- Mossy Oak Bottomland camo
- Adjustable stock for length of pull, comb height, and drop & cast
- One-piece, chrome plated action bar assembly
- Drilled and tapped for turkey optics
- Chrome plated reciprocating components
- Stock rod buffer to reduce felt recoil
- Fluted barrel with melonite finish
- Carbon steel ventilated rib with red fiberoptic sight
- Competition-ready easy loading magazine port
- Oversized controls
- Includes Extended Turkey, Full, Improved Cylinder, Modified choke tubes (Beretta/Benelli Mobil)
- 3″ Chamber
The Savage Reneguage launched in 2020 and has since won many awards. It’s built around a Dual Regulating Inline Valve (D.R.I.V.) gas system, which means less recoil and consistent shell ejection.
This feature saved me from tag soup on this hunt as I had to take not one, but two follow-up shots on my bird as he ran straight at me after a rushed, sub-par first shot. A failure of ejection or hindering recoil likely would have resulted in a wounded or lost turkey. Or worse, a spur to the face.
The Renegauge Turkey is built with chrome-plated components intended for durability. On this hunt, I was not nice to my shotgun. I crawled through the mud with it, set it against trees and in the rocks, used it to bust brush, and not once did I go out of my way to protect it from the rain and snow (sorry Savage). After four days of being abused, my shotgun was as good as new and ready for another hunt. The gun is tough as nails, and if it can withstand the Idaho mountains, it can withstand any other turkey terrain in the country.
Above all the other features built into this shotgun, what might be most important to a turkey hunter about the Renegauge is the ability to customize it to all shooter types, shapes, and sizes. The stock is completely adjustable allowing you to manipulate:
- Length of pull
- Comb height
- Drop
- Cast
This gives you the ability to form fit the Renegauge exactly to you or anyone else in a quick manner simply by popping on different cheek risers and butt plates.
What I Love about the Savage Savage Renegauge Turkey
I typically take a handful of different people out turkey hunting each spring, often brand-new hunters. What I like most about the customizability of the Reneguage is that it allows me to manipulate my gun for whomever I’m taking so that they can shoot comfortably and in turn, accurately.
The last thing you want when taking someone new turkey hunting is to have them miss their first bird because of a shotgun they aren’t comfortable behind. On our Idaho turkey hunt, all 8 hunters had a Reneguage form fitted exactly to them and it only took a few minutes to set them up.
The Renegauge is also drilled and tapped so that you can add a red dot or any other optic to it. On this hunt, we had a Bushnell RXM-300 red dot and after a patterning session, we had all 8 shotguns confidently dialed to 40 yards. I won’t be the guy to recommend shooting turkeys this far, but paired with TSS loads, a proper choke, and a red dot, this shotgun can throw turkey-killing patterns at 60-plus yards. One of the hunters on this trip paced a kill shot on a bird out to somewhere in the avenue of 70 yards.
After my escapade in the mountains of Idaho chasing Merriams, I can say two things with confidence. First, turkey hunting in Idaho is awesome. At least from the little bit I saw, the turkey population is thriving and the habitat is great. With millions of acres of public land opportunities available, if you’re a traveling turkey hunter, you ought to add Idaho to your list. Second, the Savage Reneuage is a bad-to-the-bone turkey-killing tool. It’s built tough and you won’t have to worry about it as you drag it through the turkey woods. It’s also packed with plenty of features ideal for turkey hunting that you just don’t get out of any old shotgun.
For more information on the Savage Renegauge Turkey visit https://savagearms.com//content?p=firearms&a=product_summary&s=57606
