Turkey Hunting: Shotgun or Rifle?

[Huntolive]

I have taken turkeys with arrows, shot, slugs and bullets.
I've eaten every single one.

I do somewhat frown upon hunting turkeys with rifles. Some people consider it down right un ethical.
I say it depends on the season.
It would be dangerous to hunt turkeys with a rifle during spring Gobbler, and also would take most of the fun out of it.

As I was heading in 5:15 in the morning on opening day in Virginia I was a bit taken aback to see some clowns going in with AR-15s with 30 round mags and other rifles with bipod s.
To me spring gobbler should be with a shotgun or bow.
How the hell would someone with a rifle know not to shoot my decoy and possibly me or my son?
The only times I've shot turkey with a rifle or slug was when I was deer hunting and turkey was also in season at the same time in the fall or winter. A well-placed shot across the back drops the bird and doesn't waste any meat.

Anyway what are your thoughts on this?

 

[earlthegoat2]

I have not bothered to research it but why do many jurisdictions specify no rifles?

I was always under the assumption that it was too easy to shoot them with rifles, even if it was a 22.

I suppose it could be a safety risk but I wouldn’t think it would be any more so than deer hunting.

However, I do understand turkey hunting involves a lot of moving around and calling which invites you to be noticed by other hunters as potentially being a turkey....

Also, I am not a turkey hunter. I will leave them for the rest of you.

Turkey hunters do seem to be a serious lot.

 

[troy fairweather]

If rifles were legal, I would not even think of using a shotgun. I hunt for food not long beards and spurs.

 

[buck460XVR]

I have not bothered to research it but why do many jurisdictions specify no rifles?

I was always under the assumption that it was too easy to shoot them with rifles, even if it was a 22.

I suppose it could be a safety risk but I wouldn’t think it would be any more so than deer hunting.

However, I do understand turkey hunting involves a lot of moving around and calling which invites you to be noticed by other hunters as potentially being a turkey....

Also, I am not a turkey hunter. I will leave them for the rest of you.

Turkey hunters do seem to be a serious lot.

Rifles not legal here. Biggest reason is safety as mentioned by Huntolive. Unlike deer hunting where hunters wear blaze orange, turkeys hunters wear camo and could very well be in a blind/sitting by a tree, behind live turkeys, in a field. Anxious turkey hunter hears turkey sounds, see movement in the brush a hundred yards away and lets loose on some other hunter calling.

In the sport of turkey hunting, the sport and the challenge, is in calling them in, not just shooting them.

 

[Ernie Bass]

If rifles were legal, I would not even think of using a shotgun. I hunt for food not long beards and spurs.

Hunt for food? Probably cheaper to hit the local grocery store. Shotguns only. And as the OP said, yes I have seen the guys with the AR's. And when I do, I just call the game warden, pack up my bags and go home.

 

[FL-NC]

It is legal to hunt turkeys here with rifles- on private land. There is also a fall turkey season, where they can be hunted with rifles. These turkeys are generally killed by people deer hunting and a turkey shows up. This is the same situation as Tn., at least when I lived there. To me, the "ethical-ness" of a particular style/method of hunting, the equipment used, etc. is in the eyes of the beholder. On one hand, someone could claim that shooting an animal at short range with a shotgun is cheating, and that it takes a different skill set to take an animal at distance with a rifle. On the other hand, someone else might maintain the opinion that the rifleman killing turkeys is "sniping" them, and thus using an unfair advantage. Then there is the argument about the rate of lost deer (or other game) when using a bow. Or baiting. In the southeast, many people hunt deer chasing them with dogs, which is legal. That's not my game- I prefer to sit in a blind or a tree stand, so that's what I do. In the end, what matters is what is legal and safe to do at the time and place where it is occurring, with the hunter operating within the limits of his/her skill and equipment. Regarding the original matter (turkeys with a rifle) I have found that 223 (specifically Hornady 75 grain BTHP match) is very effective on turkeys, and zips right through them nicely, resulting in a DRT bird with minimal damage.

 

[Huntolive]

Well I agree with buck 460xvr and Ernie bass

Hunting with rifles during spring gobbler turkey season is both dangerous and lame.
Hunters are in full camo and often directly behind their decoys so it would be way too easy for someone with a rifle to simply see a decoy and take a shot at it and then kill the decoy and a child or adult Hunter and usually children who are hunting are placed closest to the decoys to get the best shot.
I have friends who have had their decoys shot with rifles by other hunters while they were within 20 yards of the decoys trying to call in birds.

also definitely the point of spring gobbler season is The adventure of calling in the birds and seeing them interact with the decoys and other turkeys.

If anyone is seriously hunting just for food they're probably wasting a lot of time and money I'd say get a job at a convenience store or paper route and you'd make more money to buy food faster

Nothing wrong with shooting a turkey during deer season with a rifle though because folks are wearing orange and are not using turkey decoys most of the time.
Whenever I've killed the turkey weather rifle or slug gun in the fall or winter it's always been when I was deer hunting and turkeys just happened upon me as a gift from the Almighty Creator

 

[Patocazador]

The only time I ever shot a turkey with a rifle was in Texas in the fall. It was legal but my soft-point bullet blew the turkey into a mess. If hunting turkeys with a rifle, I'd suggest using a .22 magnum or fmj bullets where legal.

There's an "aura" about turkeys with some (most?)turkey hunters as if they are spirit or magical birds. Gobbler hunting is almost a religion to these people and killing a hen or using a rifle is an anathema. That's fine but some of these same people use ultra-full chokes and tungsten shot to extend their range to 80+ yards. What's the difference between this method and using a rimfire magnum?

To me it's whatever floats your boat as long as it's legal.

 

[FL-NC]

The only time I ever shot a turkey with a rifle was in Texas in the fall. It was legal but my soft-point bullet blew the turkey into a mess.

See my post about the 223 HPBT match, above. With this or even 223 ball, the bird won't blow up, in my experience.

 

[PapaG]

Wish we had a choice in IL. I'd use my Savage 24V, 222/20

 

[Laphroaig]

To me it's whatever floats your boat as long as it's legal.

I guess that's the bottom line. Rifles are illegal here in the spring season, and I think in some management units in the fall too. But to me, calling in a bird, whether a gobbler in the spring or a hen in the fall after breaking up a flock, is the most exciting form of hunting I have done. Turkeys aren't necessarily that smart but can see incredibly well. Getting one within shotgun range is an accomplishment.

 

[buck460XVR]

To me it's whatever floats your boat as long as it's legal.

....and when it comes down to it, that's where any of us should be with it. I might add tho, as long as it is safe.

There's an "aura" about turkeys with some (most?)turkey hunters as if they are spirit or magical birds. Gobbler hunting is almost a religion to these people and killing a hen or using a rifle is an anathema.

I might fall into the above category other than I have no problem shooting hens in the fall. I've done it many times. Like I said, if rifles are legal where you are at and you practice safe hunting procedures, I don't have an issue. I get up at 3:00 a.m. to get ready and walk across 480 acres in the dark, to sit in the cold and wait for the sun to come up(today it was 17 degrees), for one reason....and it ain't to shoot a turkey. I love the hunt. I love to call. I love to read their patterns and then make a guess where they will be next. The four farms I hunted today I've been hunting for 20 years. I know 'em as well as the land owner. Today I shot my tom where I've shot several others. They ain't there every year, but I know they might be. We had snow on the ground. It makes so the birds can see your shadow coming a mile away, especially when the moon is bright like it was this morning. The snow was crunchy and noisy. It meant I had to stay back from where I thought they were roosting so I wouldn't spook them(wind was strong outta the west last night, they roosted over the ridge....Worked out very well. I've waited all year to watch the dance my Tom put on today as he strutted across the soybean stubble with two hens in tow. When it was all over, I was actually disappointed because I was done. I had three more calls to try. I had built a half dozen other blinds during the late winter and spring to get ready for this week. I actually stopped on the way out and worked a coupla other toms still in the roost across the valley. Coyotes had kept them up in the trees and they were anxious to get down. As I called to them 4 coyotes came into my calls and I thought I would have a shot till one winded me and they were gone. They hadn't hardly disappearance when the two Toms made their appearance on the opposite hillside. 10 minutes later I jumped up and said "BOO" when they were 20 yards away, both in full strut. I got more thrill outta that set-up than the one I got my Tom. That's why I hunt with a shotgun(I have also hunted with a bow and/or crossbow) The shotgun I used today was my dad's model 97 that was built over a century ago. no Tungsten, no super-full strut-stopper super chokes. Not even a three inch shell. Tomorrow, I'll probably go back with the camera since it's supposed to be nicer, and try to get some video, because I don't want to miss out on what could be one of my last Springs in the woods. Some of my best memories Turkey hunting is those Toms I didn't get. They were the ones that taught me the most. To me, shooting a turkey at long range with a rifle is no different that ringing the steel gongs at my private range, might be fun, but it ain't a hunt. Not to me anyway. Others are free to feel differently. If I was starving, I might feel differently also.

 

[jmr40]

GA is basically shotgun only. You can hunt with archery and muzzle loading rifles, but I've never seen anyone do it. There are several reasons why.

DNR doesn't want hunters in the woods with centerfire rifles outside of deer season. Too much temptation to shoot a deer out of season.

It is safer. Turkey hunting is statistically more dangerous than deer hunting. Most turkey hunters are dressed in full camo trying to sound like another turkey after all. And often carrying decoys. I've got a lot better chance of surviving a load of #6 shot at 40 yards than a rifle shot at 40 yards if someone screws up.

Tradition.

To be honest I wouldn't use a rifle even if I could legally do so. At the ranges where I see turkey I feel a shotgun aimed at the head and neck is going to be more effective and ruin less meat.