Originally Posted by Frankie
Originally Posted by poorcountrypreacher


Rifles in AL were legal until at least 1970. I'm sure of that because I remember a hunt very well that year when I carried 2 guns, a rifle and a shotgun. Most of the serious turkey hunters in our area then carried a rifle.

I think they must have been made illegal before the 1971 season; I don't remember using a rifle that year or anytime after. I remember being glad that they were illegal because it was too much trouble to carry 2 guns.


71 would be 4 years before i started bigger game and going out to hunt up until about that time it was smaller stuff around home . was 74 before i started hunting in a club setting and hearing others hunting stories .


You missed out on a unique era of turkey hunting. There had been no turkeys in our part of Perry county where I grew up for decades. We didn't know many people who knew anything about turkey hunting, but all of a sudden there were turkeys everywhere. My dad and a few other men really got after them in the early 60s, and it was mostly trial by error. They figured out that a rifle was a big advantage, and so they all started carrying 2 guns. Everyone used what they had, and my dad didn't have anything except a cheap 30-06 built on a Mauser action. He got a friend to load him some shells for turkeys. I think they ran around 2000 fps and wouldn't tear up a turkey as bad as a deer round.

When he passed away in 2000, I found one of the old turkey rounds in his hunting gear. I always thought I would like to shoot it someday. Maybe one of those full strut decoys would make a good target for it. smile

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