HUNTING Turkey

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Turkey Hunting Shot Placement

Post your questions, comments or pictures relating to hunting shot placement.

Hunting Turkey
turkey-vitals-hunting.jpg

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Hunting Turkey
turkey-hunting-vitals.jpg

Anyone has the right to share, copy, distribute and transmit this image/work (but not to adapt it, or use it for commercial use).
 
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Most people I know that hunt turkeys head shoot them with a turkey load from a shotgun at 25 or 30 yards, Jerome. Not that there's anything wrong with your diagram, it's just the most common method of taking them that I'm aware here in Iowa.
 
Thanks stew31r! I added to the Turkey's image the head shot, it does make sense!
 
Body shots work, but the first shot that I've let off at one the two times I've hunted them and the first shot my friends fire is always at the head
 
Most people I know that hunt turkeys head shoot them with a turkey load from a shotgun at 25 or 30 yards

Absolutely.

As my Dad (a Turkey huntin' addict) used to say..."shoot 'em in the face"
 
Try this with your bow !


Glen
 
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My experience with these tough wily birds is a head shot with a shot gun works great. With a crossbow I want to prevent it from going far so the shot placement shown above is good. I also think a shot with a bow that hits the spine and the vitals (entry above the beard or in through mid back) would work although if they are facing me I suspect they would be able to see me. A friend of mine describes hitting the neck with a special guillotine arrow but you can't use them with a crossbow. Its amazed me to see how far and fast this fat, lumbering creature can go - a wounded or spooked turkey puts an enormous amount of distance between you and him in a hurray! If you haven't tried it they are a good challenging hunt.(y)
 
Greetings all, just wondering if there is any chance of getting a copy of that 1st. turkey pic up top, the one with the skeleton and stuff showing... but without the watermark ??
 
Greetings all, just wondering if there is any chance of getting a copy of that 1st. turkey pic up top, the one with the skeleton and stuff showing... but without the watermark ??
See mention below the picture in red: Anyone has the right to share, copy, distribute and transmit this image/work (but not to adapt it, or use it for commercial use).
 
Thanks, I saw that, and the Africa logo in the upper right is fine/great... it's just that watermark over the image itself of the turkey which is obstructive and offensive to the eye. I would be willing to pay to get the image without that watermark. :)
 
I have seen a lot of footage of hunters taking turkeys with pcp air rifles. Those platforms are so extremely accurate these days, with a good scope a turkey head is a large target. We easily take doves with head shots at 50m. This one was easy body shot at 100m.
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i love to hunt turkeys and limite my shots to 40 yards or less, and like to call them close. the new tss shotshells will put a super turkey killing patterern at 40 yards with ease.

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We have a lot of Rio Grande turkey in Texas and they can be hunted with a rifle and shotgun. Shotguns may be more common in the spring season, but since the fall season occurs during deer season, many turkey are take with rifles by deer hunters. Because of this, I recommend care when shooting for the heart with any cartridge larger than the .22 Hornet because a .243, .308 or larger cartridge can destroy a lot of good breast meat if not precisely placed. In fact, the last turkey that I shot in the breast with my .308 was totally ruined; jellied or blown apart.

So I learned where to shoot them in the lower back and not damage any breast meat. This is especially useful when a gobbler is running away and presents a good shot of the lower back just above the tail.
For dedicated use on turkey , I bought and configured this combo gun with a .22 Hornet barrel over a 12 gauge shotgun barrel. The telescopic sight features crosshairs and an aiming circle to help determine range and decide which barrel to shoot. This has worked well for many years and the .22 Hornet also doubles a a varmint rifle for coyotes and prairie dogs out to 150 yards. Here it is in a New Mexico prairie dog town. Notice how the camo colors blur the detail. Just the ticket when sitting in the shade while calling in a gobbler.
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I agree on the TSS shot. I switched to a light 20 ga and TSS and carrying it around sure beats the heavy 12 ga I used to use.
 

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