Turkey hunting with a AR-15??

C

chevydriver

Inactive
Anybody have an experince? How about a .22 mag?

The only shotgun I have is a 18" Mossburg home denfense type.

Thanks for any info.

Mark
 
ck with your state to be sure its legal first but the federal 54 gr hp ought to do the trick.you might also try the black hills moly match in 52 or 68 gr.there is also a balistic silvertip out from winchester thats got turkey written all over it.i know a farmer that got permission from the wildlife people to thin out turks on his farm and he has had great success with the 22 mag.good luck
 
If you're a good enough shot, the head would be the primary target.

Otherwise, if a turkey is standing crosswise to you, shoot the butt out of him. A main-body shot is a waste, as that bullet will blow up and ruin the breast...Yuck.

If you handload, use a quality bullet and load down to around 1,500-1,800 ft/sec. The bullet won't expand and ruin meat.

You could consider having your shotgun muzzle threaded for screw-in chokes. Then, use the new "turkey choke" which folks are raving about. It's "ultra full".

FWIW, Art
 
A little friend of mine (he's nine) just took his very first gobbler the other day for Texas's spring turkey season. He held high on the back and dropped him like a sack of dirt from 100 yards with a .243. I personally looked at the dressed bird, having been curious about the results. Surprisingly mild! Bullet was a 100g SP. All of the breast meat and the legs and thighs were salvaged. I was most impressed, and would not be afraid to do it with my .257 Rbts. .223 should be fine, especially loaded the way Art sez. Remember, though, that a shot through the breast means no breast meat at all, and that there's a LOT of good meat on the lower back of the average turkey.
 
Ditto on any possibility of screw-in chokes. If you can use 'em, go for an "extra full"-type and do some patterning to ensure best patterning at 40 yds. Use the best for density. I use Federal Premium, 2oz #4 shot = smokes 'em. YMMV. I patterned several loads & just found the mentioned one to work very well. Active has the Penetrator load 2-1/4 oz #4 that should be very good - if it patterns in your shotgun. Heavy shot is better & the bigger payload the better. Again, YMMV. You want shot density at a given range.

First turkey I ever shot was with a .22 mag pistol at 60 yds. = through both breasts & no meat damage whatsoever. Clean hole straight through & was a hollow point WW.

If using a .223, go with a hard ball bullet & I'd take 'em low in the chest to avoid possible meat damage.

Even though they're big birds, turkeys are still just birds and a full metal jacket design won't have very much resitance to do much of anything as far as expansion or blowing 'em up, etc.

If you reload, do download some - you really don't need the velocity to bag a bird.
 
Illegal in WI

It's illegal to shoot any birds with a rifle in WI.
Turkey is shotgun only here.

While I don't disagree with shooting turkey's with rifles in principle[1], keep in mind that turkey hunting has one of the highest injury rates of any type of hunting... People in full camo, trying to sound like their prey is a recipe for problems in densely hunted wooded areas.

If you're going to hunt turkey with a rifle, PLEASE be **ABSOLUTELY** certain of your target...

Just a friendly reminder! Each incident makes us look worse in the Media's eyes!

[1]: being on private land, I'd probably do it if legal
 
Oh yeah..

I think a .223 is totally overkill for turkey, unless you REALLY want the flat trajectory.

A single #6 lead pellet at 30 yards can kill them if a good shot... their necks/skulls are really soft, and you just need to penetrate the spinal cord or brain..

a .22 short would do fine, if you shoot well enough!
 
As a bit of a follow-up.

I've seen first-hand that .22LR (in a rifle) body shots at 10 yards will not reliably put turkeys down. No, I won't go into details, but the results seen were abysmal & unpleasantly surprising. They may break 'em down some but I guess there's a reason for minimum calibers for turkey shooting (works out to 110 ft/lbs at 100 yds/.22 mag in a ~>6" pistol min for CO & that only in the fall).

Thinking that a .223 hardball body-shot at close range woudn't be condusive to "bringing home the game."

Seen quite a few turkeys at ranges the .223 would be just right for - using appropriate bullets & velocity.

A hard-cast/FMJ bullet loaded down to about 2000 fps or so could be just the ticket.
 
I just nailed a 29 pound Merriam gobbler 15 miles south of the the BC border in Eastern WA State. He was strutting for 6 hens in a farmer's pasture so I circled around the harem onto public land and gave some dominant hen calls. The hens came and he trolled behind. Once the hens got into the woodline with me, I aggressively yelped to the tom and he started strutting. One hard CUTT and he extended his neck. Bang. 30 yards. Clean kill. He dropped hard. He tasted great - turkey fingers!

I used a Rem 870 with a 28" barrel with a Rem Super full choke.

I think using anything other than a shotgun or a bow is unsporting and risky. There are too many leaves and branches to deflect your shot.

Most turkey hunting is in the woods in a clearing or on the edge of a field. Shotgiun shot loses its energy quickly. And it takes at least three beads to the neck and head area to drop the gobbler.

A single shot with a .22lr is a joke. And .223 is too powerful and will travel well through and out of the gobbler's head. Handguns and rifles for turkeys are ilegal in WA state.

Use your shotgun and just buy several brands of #6 shot and pattern it. You'll probably just be limited to 15-20 yard head and neck shots on the bird. If you can pattern 8-12 shots to the neck and head, use it.

You'll just have to call them in real close. No 45 yard shots for you! But I think you can do it!
 
jtduncan, different styles, different laws in different places. In Texas hunting, it is common that turkeys are incidental to deer hunting.

Of hunters I have known, those who are not sure of the precision of their capability pass the shot. Others take head shots, or "almost miss" across the back or shoot the rear out, if the bird is standing crosswise.

OTOH, the spring season is almost exclusively calling and shotgunning...

FWIW, Art
 
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