Other Hunting > Turkey Hunting

Two parts- Ethical and why

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robodad:

--- Quote ---Wouldn't shoot a running deer? Bad analogy
--- End quote ---



--- Quote ---if you feel you can take the shot and make it a good one,
--- End quote ---

Yeah this was my meaning, If you have the skills to make a clean kill shot at a running deer or elk then by all means go ahead, I have tagged more then one deer that a person shot at that was running and didn't even bother to go check to see if they hit it, I also ran into one of these hunters after the fact and he said "yeah I shot and it didn't even flinch so I figured I missed".

I just don't think it is a good shot to make !!

rainshadow1:
I'm hopefully a future turkey hunter, haven't done it yet. I've heard that the red is like flushing, when their blood is up for some reason. Maybe they're embarrased? Most likely rut or fight.

I'm curious about the flying thing though. I've been wing shooting since I was about 7. I've shot tens of thousands of rounds of shotgun at airborne moving targets. All other birds it's unethical to shoot unless they ARE flying. What's up with turkey? I'd be curious to know from guys who know turkeys. Is there reason beyond "you just don't do it" to not take a wing shot?

I thought about this a couple weeks ago, what if I roosted a turkey, snuck in the next morning, set up, and it flew down and gave me a crossing shot? Should I shoot? Why not? It's a big head and neck area. Like a greater Canada Goose. Should be a slam dunk, right?

Educate me?

tlbradford:
Here are a few reasons for not shooting a flying turkey.

1) If you walk into a group and flush them up, it is hard to distinguish the difference between a hen, jake, and tom, while they are flying and all hell is breaking loose.

2) Turkeys are notorious for setting their wings and gliding down a mountain, even after delivering a good shot that will have them dead shortly afterwards.  Since we don't hunt them with dogs, your chances of recovering that turkey are small.

3) Like Intruder said, they can absorb a lot of lead.  If you don't get a head or neck shot on them, and end up hitting them in the body, you may just wound them.  Even if you break a wing, they will outrun you once they hit the ground.  Unlike upland birds, they don't hunker underneath some cover and play invisible.  They keep going and going and going.

4) Most of us are set up with an extremely tight choke for turkey hunting.  This means you may only have an 8" cloud of shot at 20 yards.  That takes a real accurate shot at a moving target.

Rainshadow, in your example you have positively id'd the bird, you know the terrain, so I think that is up to you whether you are comfortable taking the shot.  However, once you start turkey hunting, you will find that the enjoyment is in calling them to you after they hit the ground.  Watching them strut, sound off, and fight with one another, or beat up your decoy is awesome.  Killing a bird is secondary.  To use an analogy, it is the difference between calling a yote into your lap vs shooting one that you spotted when driving along the side of the road.  It is the adrenaline rush that makes it worthwhile.

sisu:

--- Quote from: rainshadow1 on April 17, 2008, 10:28:18 AM ---I'm hopefully a future turkey hunter, haven't done it yet. I've heard that the red is like flushing, when their blood is up for some reason. Maybe they're embarrased? Most likely rut or fight.

I'm curious about the flying thing though. I've been wing shooting since I was about 7. I've shot tens of thousands of rounds of shotgun at airborne moving targets. All other birds it's unethical to shoot unless they ARE flying. What's up with turkey? I'd be curious to know from guys who know turkeys. Is there reason beyond "you just don't do it" to not take a wing shot?

I thought about this a couple weeks ago, what if I roosted a turkey, snuck in the next morning, set up, and it flew down and gave me a crossing shot? Should I shoot? Why not? It's a big head and neck area. Like a greater Canada Goose. Should be a slam dunk, right?

Educate me?

--- End quote ---

Some of the turkey taken on Mauna Kea are wing shot. The Filipino hunters I hunt with on the Big Island absolutely love it when we get a fog coming down off the mountain while pheasant, chukar, quail, and Franklin hunting. You see the fog drives the turkey down from the upper slopes of Mauna Kea. You can hear the wing beats in the fog, so the hunters try to position themselves to where they feel the bird will emerge from the fog. Once visible the wing shooting begins. I've seen this with my own eyes. It's absolutely amazing to see a big turkey tumble out of the sky and onto a volcanic wind carved slope.

BTW there are three species of turkey on the Big Island.

Skyvalhunter:
I have in laws over there and surprising havent seen any turkeys on the Islands. We usually stay up at Wimea and head down to the beach for some snorkeling.

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