Anyone use a rifle for turkeys? I've only used shotguns and head shots under 30yds. If you have, where have you hit them? Seems like a challenging head shot at 100 yds with a rifle. The best part of a wild turkey (cooked) seems to be the breast (drumsticks a close second). Where do you aim if using a rifle when you don't want the meat damaged?
Rifles for turkey hunting?
- Thread starter James H
- Start date
I've found that the best place is where the wings join the body. It's a much larger target, albeit not a HUGE target, but much better than a head shot. A gobbler's head seems to be constantly moving and bobbing. Shot with a .22 Magnum and a 40 or 50 grain hollowpoint not too much meat is destroyed either. A lot of States don't allow for using a rifle on wild turkey so check your game laws.
Since deer and turkey season coincide where I live, most of the folks I know that have bagged a gobbler did it while deer hunting with a rifle.
If a turkey is in shotgun range, its also close enough to make a head shot with a rifle, especially if you have a support to rest the stock on.
If a turkey is in shotgun range, its also close enough to make a head shot with a rifle, especially if you have a support to rest the stock on.
My turkey gun is a Savage over/under .22 Hornet over 12ga. The Hornet barrel on that gun is not terribly accurate - certainly not enough for a head shot. However, the .22 Hornet bullet doesn't do a lot of body damage.
The main reason I use it instead of a regular shotgun is that you can never tell if a pig or coyote will walk out of the woods on you. Having the Hornet gives me the chance to reach out and take either up to about 100 yds.
The main reason I use it instead of a regular shotgun is that you can never tell if a pig or coyote will walk out of the woods on you. Having the Hornet gives me the chance to reach out and take either up to about 100 yds.
Doyle, you wont take a head shot on a turkey with your 22 Hornet? But you'll try to take a hog or coyote shot at 100 yards and believe that it will put them down? The hog will take a precise head or heart shot with that small bullet as will the coyote. If I'm doing that... I'm damned going to take a head shot on a turkey within 100 yards with it!
Rifleman1776
New member
Many states prohibit using rifles for turkeys. Turkey hunting is the most dangerous form of hunting in the U.S. Turkey hunters use camouflage and try to sound like turkeys. Some hunters, who are not as smart as turkeys, will shoot at the sounds. Scattergun pellets are a lot less dangerous than a bullet.
Legionnaire
New member
What Rifleman1776 said.
That said, if I could hunt with a rifle, I'd use my Savage 24 .22WMR/20gauge. Unlike Doyle's 24, the .22WMR barrel on mine is scary accurate; I'm talking dime-sized five-shot groups at 50 yards. I'd use it in a heartbeat.
That said, if I could hunt with a rifle, I'd use my Savage 24 .22WMR/20gauge. Unlike Doyle's 24, the .22WMR barrel on mine is scary accurate; I'm talking dime-sized five-shot groups at 50 yards. I'd use it in a heartbeat.
Rifleman1776 said:
Absolutely no argument with that. I live in a state where almost all hunting is on private land and so hunters pretty much know who else is out there. That's probably why Texas has relatively laissez faire rules about what gun you can use. You can't shoot deer with rimfire calibers and that's about it.
If you whisle real loud in a pen of domestic turkeys, the birds all get real quiet and freeze while sticking their heads up in the air as high as they can for about 10 seconds or so, then they gobble an "all clear" almost in unison.
I just wonder if that trick works on wild turkeys.
B.L.E....you can often get them to "shock" gobble with a crow call or something similar (maybe even a loud whistle)...at least when the tom's are really hot and bothered already. To my knowledge, I've never gotten them to freeze and stick their heads up for 10 seconds before an "everything is ok" gobble. Probably a bit of a difference between wild and domestic in that respect.
I've always used a 12ga for them because Wisconsin, where I grew up and hunted them, prohibited rifles for turkeys. I never thought about it in the safety sense where people might shoot at noise. I thought they were illegal because it would be too easy for people just to take general body shots on them out to a couple hundred yards. I always thought it would be a real challenge with a head shot at 100, so I was always disappointed that I couldn't take out my .22 magnum. (And during fall turkey hunting trips when the action was slow and I took the .22 out for squirrels and left the shotgun at camp, I always seemed to have close encounters with turkeys and couldn't do anything about it...go figure).
I've always used a 12ga for them because Wisconsin, where I grew up and hunted them, prohibited rifles for turkeys. I never thought about it in the safety sense where people might shoot at noise. I thought they were illegal because it would be too easy for people just to take general body shots on them out to a couple hundred yards. I always thought it would be a real challenge with a head shot at 100, so I was always disappointed that I couldn't take out my .22 magnum. (And during fall turkey hunting trips when the action was slow and I took the .22 out for squirrels and left the shotgun at camp, I always seemed to have close encounters with turkeys and couldn't do anything about it...go figure).
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bamaranger
New member
fall turkey hunts-rifle
I'm not certain how many, but I some states that allow fall turkey hunting, also allow use of a rifle.
When I was a kid, fall turkey hunting was a big deal with some of the men in that state, and the and old ctgs like .22 hornet, .218 Bee, and 25-20 were all thought of as good turkey rifles. The .22 mag was thought of as a bit light. the std aiming point was the butt of the wing.
In the spring, I'm pretty sure a rifle is universally illegal for turkeys. Toms are in the open, vocal, and exposing them selves easily to rifle fire. Sniping turkeys in the spring is pretty low, but not uncommon by outlaws here in AL.
I'm not certain how many, but I some states that allow fall turkey hunting, also allow use of a rifle.
When I was a kid, fall turkey hunting was a big deal with some of the men in that state, and the and old ctgs like .22 hornet, .218 Bee, and 25-20 were all thought of as good turkey rifles. The .22 mag was thought of as a bit light. the std aiming point was the butt of the wing.
In the spring, I'm pretty sure a rifle is universally illegal for turkeys. Toms are in the open, vocal, and exposing them selves easily to rifle fire. Sniping turkeys in the spring is pretty low, but not uncommon by outlaws here in AL.
When deer hunting in South Texas with a bunch of hunters from Michigan and Wisconcin I noticed that they would take a rifle, shotgun and a .22 Mag with them to the stand. I asked them why and they said "Well, if we see a turkey!". Rifle for the deer and the shotgun and rimfire were for turkey (depending on the distance).
My hunting buddy and myself took one firearm each and that was our deer rifle. We saw the turkeys come in and we shot them. We both aim right above the legs on turkey. We try our hardest at keeping the breast meat in tact. Generally when the bullet hits above the legs with a rifle the meat damage is minimal. We each shot two turkeys that weekend and the Northerners were amazed that we used our rifles.
The funniest thing we noted was that when the Northern fellas did shoot turkeys it didn't matter what they used (rifle, shotgun, rimfire) it seemed as if they were trying to see how much of the turkey breast they could damage. It was like they aimed for the breast. I couldn't believe it. They ruined a bunch of meat on every turkey they shot.
Happy Thanksgiving to all, I am marinating my spring turkey breast right now for this afternoon.
My hunting buddy and myself took one firearm each and that was our deer rifle. We saw the turkeys come in and we shot them. We both aim right above the legs on turkey. We try our hardest at keeping the breast meat in tact. Generally when the bullet hits above the legs with a rifle the meat damage is minimal. We each shot two turkeys that weekend and the Northerners were amazed that we used our rifles.
The funniest thing we noted was that when the Northern fellas did shoot turkeys it didn't matter what they used (rifle, shotgun, rimfire) it seemed as if they were trying to see how much of the turkey breast they could damage. It was like they aimed for the breast. I couldn't believe it. They ruined a bunch of meat on every turkey they shot.
Happy Thanksgiving to all, I am marinating my spring turkey breast right now for this afternoon.
ARG, my 100yd groups are about 3". That is good enough for a head shot on a pig, but not enough to hit a turkey's head. My logic is that this 3" at 100 yds translates to about 1.5 at 50. Well, anything more than 50 yds an I'm not convinced I'll hit a turkey's very small head with a clean kill. Anything less than 50 and I'm getting into shotgun range so no need to use the rifle.
However, at the range that turkeys frequently hang up (70 to 80 yds), that 3M0A should easily do the job on a body shot.
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
I've never really been a turkey hunter. Only killed one big gobbler. Snap-shot him behind the legs at about 125 yards with my '06. Killed and field dressed in one swell foop.
Didn't hurt the breast at all.
My father killed a few with head shots from his '06.
Didn't hurt the breast at all.
My father killed a few with head shots from his '06.
Uncle Buck
New member
My buddy and I were shooting targets at 100 yards when my domestic turkeys started to gobble like mad. All of a sudden, out comes a strutting tom.
My buddy shot him in the head at a little over 100 yards with a scoped .243. He tagged it and said he would have to come back during deer season.
I have seen him do some amazing shots consistently.
My buddy shot him in the head at a little over 100 yards with a scoped .243. He tagged it and said he would have to come back during deer season.
I have seen him do some amazing shots consistently.
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