I don't expect all to understand. Turkeys are just different with me. I won't shoot one I don't call up. Many times I have been walking out of the woods and come upon a gobbler strutting in a roadbed or just standing there. I've never shot one like this and never will. I'm not much into decoying either. Back in the day, if you didn't call them up and kill them, you were known as a bushwacker. Nobody wanted to be called that. Things change, and that's fine. I'm not going to question or be critical of someone who does it differently, just not my cup of tea.

I'll take em by any means legal. Playing the game is fun, and I'd rather every hunt go that way. With that said, I EAT turkey and like putting them in the freezer too.

Seems like a thread like this comes up every year, and I normally stay out of the argument but I am going to chime in. Turkey hunting has a great and rich history that i consider part of what makes this sport what it is. Legends like Tom Kelly have managed to put into words what separates a turkey hunter from other hunters. I read The Tenth Legion every year before the season to prepare myself and get fired up for opening day.

With all that being said, you stubborn traditionalists make ZERO sense. The old days of give me an 870 and full choke with some number 4s is gone. Technology has lead us to this great thing called heavier than lead loads. It allows us to much more efficiently and effectively harvest turkeys. I know it is hard to fathom but 9 shot TSS will kill turkeys just as dead as 4s.

As far as shooting range goes, it's none of your business how far I shoot my turkeys. As long as I am following state laws who cares. If you prefer to shoot your birds at 20 yards then good for you. I've shot birds at 7 steps and I've shot them at 57 steps. Guess what, I got the same satisfaction and happiness out of each one.

So, with all that being said, if you old timers are so hard and think htl shooters are outlaws then just keep on thinking that way. Time has probably passed you by anyway

Don't make turkey hunting as complicated as deer hunting.

Good thing I don't shoot those evil Nitros or TSS. I might be tempted to shoot one over 40.

I thought you got some.

I'll bushwhack the hell out of one,If they won't come to the call,I'll crawl,it's a challenge to crawl into shooting distance on one.I prefer to call them in but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do with an ole stubborn or crazy bird

jmj120 the patterns the denser than lead stuff will give you are the reason I and most people shoot them. Back when I was using lead I cannot tell you how many different chokes and shells I tried in 4 different guns attempting to get what most consider a good pattern at 40 yards. Maybe I was just unlucky but I never found a number 4 or 5 shell that threw a good pattern to that distance. I found one lead shell (Win Supreme 6's) that would consistent put around 100 pellets inside 10 inches at 40 yards but lead 6's are really running out of steam at 40 yards.

Now compare that to the Hevi-13 6's I use now. They consistently put at or above 200 pellets inside ten inches at 40 yards. That's twice the pattern density of the lead shell. And they are definitely not on the fading edge of their killing power at that distance either. Worth the extra money to me for that much difference in performance. You betcha. It's not like I'm going on a dove shoot with them. If I limit out in a turkey season that's 5 shells.

Thanks.. I may have to give them a try. Give me a little credit, I did buy one of them fancy Rhino chokes...
I'm going to pattern it next week if the weather holds.
I'll say again, if any of ya'll get the chance read: "The Old Pro Turkey Hunter" by Gene Nunnery. I read it before every season. It explains best what I'm trying to say.

would you shoot one off the roost limb if he didn't fly down and you were close enough.....?

Sounds like he would. The only thing worse than a bushwacker is a roost shooter.

Not going to say I wouldn't. Would depend.

I have had several birds fly from roost tree to other limbs and trees in search of the "hen" on the ground. THAT bird I'm killing every day. I still called him up, be it from the ground or tree tops.

Having this discussion is pointless. It is almost like saying that unless you kill a 140" buck from the ground in carhartt coveralls with a recurve bow then you are a scumbag hunter that never deserved to kill the buck anyway. If it is LEGAL who cares?

Some people get satisfaction from legally killing anything. It doesn't have to be done your way to bring satisfaction. If only hunting a certain way brings you enjoyment, then only hunt that way.

I think it's ok to bust one off a limb as long as you don't go over and step on his neck afterwards. That would be disrespectful.

LOL

Im with Matt on this one! Ive been turkey hunting now about 40 years..Ive got tons of respect for gobblers. I outfiited for Osceolas for a decade, as well as easterns for 15 years...and we killed them anyway you could!
Ill ambush em, stalk em , low crawl hundreds of yards to them...and shoot them at 60 yards if I cant get em closer!

Believe me..nothing better then calling them in and having them strutting and gobbling at 15 yards...but Im there to HUNT a TURKEY..and I will HUNT them using every legal method I can...however I do frown on shooting them with rifles...even where its legal.

I honestly don't care how anyone else wants to kill one. It's supposed to be fun for you, so do what you want as long as its legal. But, I have no desire to shoot one that I haven't called in. I enjoy the challenge of the hunt. I figure if I don't shoot him today I just get another chance at him another day. Kind of like catch and release, haha. It is a challenge though to hunt those gobblers that have been crawled to, missed, and otherwise spooked
etc.

I have read on several different post about calling being such a small part of killing turkeys,then get on this post and see nothing but contradiction,I will tell you I have called in hundreds upon hundreds of gobblers,so calling is the easiest part of killing birds,I will still say good woodsman ship is the key,A man that can stalk up on a mature gobbler,and kill him has done way more than the man who called one in,and don't think for a minute I wont put a stalk on a bird if I get the rite ground.


I have been at this for a long time and enjoy sitting down and working a bird,and don't care to sit with him all day if need be,I love it.So I can see these guys point,but that is not all there is to turkey HUNTING,if you sit down and work that bird in and 50 yards is all he is gonna come,and you got the gun/ammo to get it done,then I say lay him out.Some people don't get to hunt everyday for what ever reason,and I am one of those guys,and I do want to fill my tags just as much as the every day hunter.....

To each his own. Sneaking up on a bird and shooting him, to me, just gives me a dead bird, no memory. I've taken into the 3 digits of gobblers, so just a dead bird means nothing to me. I've called and had them run dead to me from a couple hundred yards away and not shot them, just because there's no memory. Again, that's just me, to each his own.

I know last back in the year 1203 if you had walked up to a bunch of Indians that were fixing to go on a Turkey hunt and offered to trade them a 10 gauge that was 70 yard capable. They would not not have traded because thats not how hunting is supposed to be LOL

That was EXACTLY what I thought when I read the posts by a few on here. But, I try not to wade into too many stupid arguments these days so I just let it go.

Although my dad started taking me hunting when I was very small, he wasn't really one of my first hunting mentors. I already knew a lot before ever getting to go by watching Elmer J. Fudd and Yosemite Sam. Although I was only 5 or 6 years old, I soon figured out that Elmer was incompetent and I didn't wanta be like him.

But Yosemite Sam had a strategy that I always found appealing - any time he got the chance he was blasting something. "OK, Rabbit! If you ain't out of that hole by the count of 3, I'm a blasting you out!"

So any time I am faced with an ethical dilemma while turkey hunting, I revert back to my younger days - I'm a blasting him.



Just make sure you can kill him and not wound him.