Turkey Hunting with a rifle?

[rbernie]

Who's done it? What did ya use?

 

[CoRoMo]

Will use the .270, but prefer the .223

 

[alsaqr]

Usually a .30-06 with military ball ammo. The bullet hole is usually full of pieces of feathers.

 

[Bitmap]

.22WMRF works great.

.38 Special 158gr. LRN works great from a revolver. I think it would work great from a rifle, too.

I think a .30 Carbine would work fine, but I haven't tried it.

I would think a .25-20 or .32-20 with cast bullets would work great.

 

[Bearhands]

the turkeys in Texas or wherever must be the size of black bears! 270???? 30-06!!!?????

a 22LR will do the trick here in Pa..... a 22mag is very sufficient.

 

[skinewmexico]

I used a 17 HMR.

 

[Battlespace]

I used a .243

 

[AnthonyC.]

I used a 30mm round on my turkey last year

 

[dakotasin]

22-250 and 25-06.

 

[the lone gunman]

22 mag here in Pa. puts them down in a hurry.

 

[rbernie]

So I'm guessing that I'm not crazy for thinking of using a 223, eh? I would presume that a FMJ would be better than a SP, from a meat retention perspective - is that a valid assumption?

 

[paintballdude902]

gotta use a shotgun or bow here in nc


too bad i would love tog et a turkey with my ruger single six

 

[John4me05]

22 mag and 223 with Vmax tips.. Vmax only goes to a head shot though

 

[Rembrandt]

Alvin York took turkeys with a rifle......you need to wet the front sight first.

 

[ZeroJunk]

They will give you 30 days in the electric chair for shooting a turkey with a rifle in this state.

 

[BIGR]

Some states will not allow hunting Turkeys with rifles. Either you are in one of them and you use the rifle illegally or your state allows it??? Is it that fun to take them with a rifle?

 

[rbernie]

Best I can tell, Texas does't allow hunting Eastern Turkey with a rifle, but does allow Rio Grande turkeys to be hunted with any legal means (no restrictions).

I have both shotguns and rifles - I'm just curious as to which would be best. I probably shoot my 223 rifles as well as I shoot anything.

 

[22-rimfire]

If I were buying a rifle for turkey and varmints to yote size, I'd buy a 22WMR. I doubt you would be taking a shot over 100 yds on a turkey with a rifle, but it's possible.

 

[reppondj]

Can't hunt turkey with a rifle down here in Louisiana but; I did get to make a turkey hunt in South Dakota this past year. Used a .17HMR w/a 6.5x20 scope and it did really well. Although every time I pulled the trigger I was looking for the game warden, LOL...........

 

[XDKingslayer]

The dumbest thing they ever did was move turkey into big game in Pennsylvania and let them use rifles larger than .22. Guys blowing them to pieces with 30-06 and .270s.

I'd use a .22 for a good solid head shot and that's all the more rifle I'd ever use for turkey. I'll stick to the 10 gauge.

 

[Dallas Jack]

I shot my first turkey this December with a 130 gr 270 Winchester. Shot in the neck at 45 yds no meat was wasted.
Dallas Jack

 

[Bitmap]

Is it that fun to take them with a rifle?

Most people that I know that take them with rifles like .30-06 calibe do it as a break from deer hunting. I've also seen more than a few people say "That's an easy target" and then miss, sometimes more than once.

Seems to me the guys that shoot turkeys in the head with a .22WMRF or .17HMR are making the game a little more challenging than the guys that use shotguns.

Lot's of guys I know take their kids turkey hunting and use .22mags or other small caliber guns because the recoil is less than a big shotgun.

I like using an iron sighted handgun for turkeys, especially if I am hunting deer with a rifle. If I decide to shoot a turkey I switch to the handgun.

Shooting turkeys with a rifle can be as challenging as you want to make it.

 

[K3]

I can hit a turkey in the head with a rifle at 200 yards every time I shoot.

Wanna know how?

 

[41 Mag]

I used my 25-06 with 100gr BT for a head shot on the first one I got, I have also used my 243 with a reduced 90 FMJ load and my 12 guage.

As far as I am concerned if I ever get a chance to go again, I will use the 243 and reduced loads. It wasn't nearly the noise almost hardly noticed by the rest of the flock, had the one I shot not been flopping a wee bit, and I didn't have to pick shot out at the supper table. I shot one in the head and another through the breast and out the back both dropped with no major damage.

The shot gun one had a good amount of lead through out the breast, even though the majority took the head and neck. The 25 was simply a decap and game over, but the noise ruined the rest of the hunt.

Had a neighbor who shot them every year using 30-06 and 180gr Hornady Spire Points. He always waited until he could get a shot in through the top of the breast and out the back, his always seemed to be in pretty good shape other than the 30 cal hole, you couldn't really tell they were shot. There just wasn't enough there to really open the bullet so it seemed to just zip right through.

 

[Art Eatman]

For many years in Texas, there weren't all that many turkeys, and those which were shot were sorta add-ons to deer hunting. So, deer rifles are what were used.

Mostly head shots, or cross body shots behind the legs.

Then, with growing populations and the springtime two-week season, the modern camo/shotgun style has become a common thing.