.224" Soft Point for turkey. Where to hit it and what bullet to pick?

[BigFatKen]

In Alabama you must use a soft point to shoot turkeys with a handgun and it must have iron sights.

I have an Encore .223 Rem. What bullets would fit the legal words "soft point" bullet but do the least harm to the meat.

I have heard to shoot at
A the head with a shotgun.
B center of mass with a bullet, but also that there is a deadly spot somewhere that hits the liver, I believe, and puts it down without much meat damage. Anyone have a link to this type of target?

I have seen this on TV but I just remember it was in the rear of the bird somewhere.

 

[308win]

I am not an expert on turkey anatomy but I believe the liver is located in the chest cavity probably near the backbone in the upper rear. A spire point would do the least damage. If it was me I would try to get the turkey as close as possible and try for a head shot. A turkey's head is about the size of half dollar or a little bigger and I would expect that a hit anywhere in the head/neck with a 45-50gr spire point would be fatal. At a velocity high enough to expand the spire point if you hit the turkey in the abdomen at open sight pistol range I would expect the spire point to do a lot of damage but the bird might still be mobile but would undoubtedly die quickly. On the other hand unless the bird were standing perfectly still hitting a turkey in the head will be a real challenge.

 

[BigFatKen]

a head shot

Thank you. With iron sights, a bobbing head, this would be a 10 yard max for me. I'll use my bow if I could call them to 10 yards.

 

[bakert]

Not a turkey hunter my self but a few friends are really into hunting them. The innards and vitals are farther back in the bird's body than most people realize.

 

[Art Eatman]

Best shot is sideways, cross-body. Aim for mid-body, right behind or right next to the legs.

With an '06, this takes care of field dressing as well as the killing. (Okay, okay. "Mostly")

A head shot is doable on an undisturbed bird, if he's pretty much in the open and you're patient. Lotsa "if", though.

Art

 

[A. Patriot]

The head or the neck.

My brother had a lever action rifle that shot 357 Mag. pistol ammo. The bullets would explode all the internal parts including the stomach and intestines. That made the birds hard to clean.

He froze some of them and when he went to cook them some time later, they smelled awful because of all the "intestinal contents" that had been on the meat. He threw them into the trash.

He never used a rifle again.

 

[BigFatKen]

Aim for mid-body, right behind or right next to the legs.

Thanks Art, that is what I waned to know. Now, if I only had a link to a printable target to practice on....

He froze some of them and when he went to cook them some time later, they smelled awful because of all the "intestinal contents" that had been on the meat. He threw them into the trash.

Thanks Just me and the Mrs. I will likely only keep the breast and the drumsticks, if they are not shot up.

 

[Crazy Uncle Al Gore]

Can someone explain why you have to use a shotgun or bow to hunt turkey in most states?

 

[308win]

BigFatKen, If you reload, Hornady makes bullets that have a thinner jacket and are suppose to be more explosive.

Hornady SP Super Explosive about a third of the way down the page.

 

['Card]

Can someone explain why you have to use a shotgun or bow to hunt turkey in most states?

I think safety is the most likely explanation.

Turkeys have such amazingly good visual acuity that it would be pretty much impossible to successfully hunt one while wearing blaze orange. The people who made the laws probably felt like if you were going to allow people to hunt in full-camo, you'd better limit them to a short-range weapon - meaning shotgun or bow.

Even in places where rifles are allowed, I think most hunters prefer shotguns simply because the odds of a headshot are much better. The feathers on a turkey are so thick and heavy they're kind of like body armor, and any rifle round big enough to reliably penetrate them will also tear up a hell of a lot of meat once it gets inside.

 

[BigFatKen]

Hornady makes bullets that have a thinner jacket and are suppose to be more explosive.

Umm. this is the opposite of what I had in mind. I was thinking about a bullet that:
Is 55gr or less to stabilize right.
heavy construction to avoid above.

 

[Geno]

Barnes X-bullet

I suggest the Barnes X-bullet. It meets the "soft-point" criteria, because it is technically an expanding point, yet it meets the "heavy jacket" criteria because it is "controlled expanding" round.

http://www.barnesbullets.com/prodtsx_new2006.php

Doc2005

 

[Art Eatman]

Historically, most gobblers shot in Texas were incidental to deer hunting. So, a lot of guys, if not sure of a hit with a head shot, did the rump-shot deal, or tried to hit sorta high across the back.

Either way, it's best to go on and butcher out the breast and drumsticks instead of freezing the entire body. That gets the great majority of worthwhile meat, anyway.

Art

 

[308win]

Pictures of anatomy of a turkey. It appears the liver is toward the rear of the abdoman and is located near the backbone.

 

[BigFatKen]

thank you all for the ideas

Now I just need to get the heavy jacketed bullets with exposed lead to be a "soft point" as per Law, and practice, practice, practice. I have tried 40 shots in one day and, Oh my poor arthritic right hand the next day.

Next practice day, I will break open the pistol in alternate hands. I hope it breaks in to be a little looser.

 

[jcord]

I use my M6 scout in 22 hornet with 45 grain winchester hollowpoints. Aimed low on the back broadside shot bird was DRT. Not too much damage.

 

[buck460XVR]

Can someone explain why you have to use a shotgun or bow to hunt turkey in most states?

saftey is the # one reason, the second is unless you hit em in the head or break the neck/spine of a wild turkey they can still run/fly a considerable distance before dying.....and it's hard to follow the blood trail of a flying bird. I have seen birds shot by idiots with long guns during the gun deer season with half their breast shot off and they were still alive and suffering.

BTW...I learned a long time ago that for the most part, unlike their domestic cousins, that the drumsticks of a wild turkey aint worth the effort to save em unless you're making soup base.....too tuff and too many tendons. I basically fillet the breast meat off the birds I get without even guttin' em out. Unlike domestic birds, wild turkeys carry their breast meat on each side of their breast bone so it comes off in two large sections.

 

[marksman13]

+1 on leaving the drumsticks on the bird. Super tough. I think MS requires you to use a shotgun or bow because popluations were so low at one time. It's a whole lot easier to pick off a turkey standing in an open field than it is to call him into shotgun range. Think this might have been the states way to ensure a healthy population. I don't know any of this to be fact, it's just what I've heard a time or two. Makes sense to me.

 

[Picknlittle]

I've never turkey hunted before, but plan to start this spring. Tennessee allows only shotguns 20ga or larger usign #4 or smaller shot, or bow and broadheads. I reckon I'll be using a 12 ga, but I wish I could use a .22 and depend on a head shot.

I have as many as thirty turkeys in my yard nearly every day. These birds aren't for huntin, but I do like to watch them and learn from them. A .22 would be perfect for minimalizing damage to the meat. Sorry the state doesn't agree.

 

[BigFatKen]

Sidebar:
The first turkey I cooked I overcooked it and the drumsticks were tough. The reason is I forgot the recently alive meat was about still 95 degrees so it needs way less time than room temperture bird.

Next legs were fine.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

You're dead on in selecting a bullet that, while soft pointed to comply with the law, will not open up explosively. I've hunted turkey with the .22 WMR and the .22 Hornet. In the latter like a stout bullet at moderate velocity(2,000 fps or so).

On a broadside shot, aim for the wing root -- this will put the bullet through the vitals and anchor the animal. It's the same shot you'd make on an elk. If the turkey is coming toward you, aim for center of mass of the body (discounting head and neck.) On a going-away shot follow the same rule -- try to break the spine, about midway down the body.

Most shots will be at less than 100 yards -- often much less -- and the turkey is a much larger target than the usual ground squirrel or crow.

 

[BigFatKen]

It's the same shot you'd make on an elk.

Thanks. Now, that I understand.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I once had a conversation with a genuine Alaskan Sourdough, who had killed many a bear (both black and grizzley) with a .30-30. His advice was, "Break a bone. You always want to break a bone with your first shot."

Good advice for elk and turkey, too.

 

[BigFatKen]

practice

I shot one of my few UMC boxes yesterday. I broke the gun with my left hand. It is opening easier now. My groups are getting better. Now maybe 140 shots through the barrel. Any corolation?

My main problem may be the fact that I have been shooting deer from a rest with a scope on a rifle under 170 yards for 18 years now and I have not been target pistol shooting. My handgun shoting has been limited to keeping "good enough" to hit a body size target or paper plate at 7 yards with a .45

I am going back to the basics. It has been suggested I get a bipod for the front and I want to do this as I have been canting the gun. The ENCORE grip is a monster in my hands and I may have to get a smaller grip.

Tanks to all.