Rifle vs. Shotgun...

[Pro-Line]

I' ve never killed a turkey with a rifle...but this year in my camp, the 3 guys with me had Savage O/U rifle shotgun combos. They all killed birds...as they were ROUGH AS HELL to call in. It was harded than it has been in 10+ years to call a bird in close! I called in 2 birds to 75 yds that STOPPED.

I was just wondering your' alls thoughts on using a rifle to kill a spring gobbler.

Does it give a hunter too much of an advantage??? (And YES...a rifle is legal where I hunt)

[sour01]

It is illegal here in Alabama. I would think it would give the hunter WAY to big of an advantage. With the loads and chokes of today and with what I have read about Hevi-Shot---you can kill a turkey 60-70 yards---maybe more. What more would you want---not that I am advocating taking those shots.

[MOTurkeyTamer]

It would be absolutely no challenge at all around here to kill gobblers in the spring with a rifle. I think it would take all the fun out of the sport. I mean, seeing and shooting one at a hundred or two hundred yards can' t be as exciting as having one just a few steps from you strutting and gobbling! If you' re just out to put meat on the table then I guess it would be alright, but I' m betting the vast majority of hunters on here would opt for shotgun only seasons like we have here in Missouri.

[Goodguy]

Shotguns, long bows & cross bows only in Ontario. Using a scoped rifle here would be like shooting fish in a barrel. gg.


Sorry about all the editing. Experimenting with inserting a picture....because this weekend I hope to shoot this years gobler and if I do will no doubt want to show it off

[Antler Eater]

If they didn' t come in close enough to close the deal with a shotgun then it just wouldn' t be that much fun for me.

[benhuntin]

How about video taping or using a camera to get a shot at them at 75 yards and shooting them with a shotgun at 35yards. That way you get the bird and can still hunt him next year. I have been doing this for 20+ years and have accumulated a large library of stubborn birds fanning and drumming just out of range. But the joy of reliving those experiences through the videos is alot more satisfiing to me than the memory of shooting one. If the season is winding down and you feel you desperatly want some breast meat and a fan on the wall then I think its fine to use a rifle.
If everyone used a rifle for turkeys I think it would have a very adverse effect on the population. Just my opinion.
You also might try a few more different tricks to see if you can draw those birds in closer. Flap a turkey wing, scratch the ground, use a decoy spread with a small jake and give the decoys some movement.Have a hunting partner sneak off away from you and the gobbler, calling a little as he goes. I have used this method successfully at least once every season to get those stubborn birds in. Good luck[:-]

[TomC]

[:' (] Just would not be as challenging. These birds are too grand to snuff out so easily.


Yesterday AM I was listening to a gobbler (and working on him) I thought I heard a .22 go off nearby --just one shot. The gobbler stopped gobbling and I ran out of time--had to leave for work --sheesh! I' m hoping he didn' t get shot!!!

[mauser06]

i dont think it would be much of a challenge either....i really dont care if i kill a bird...its all about the thrill and excitement for me.....i like em close...and the days they come in but not close enough or the times its to thick to shot i still love them days....a rifle would be nothing to wack on i dont think....im probally going to use my bow more then shotgun after i get good enough to take a turkey with it....but if thats what floats your boat go for it...it just doesnt float mine....

[snowdog2]

I agree 100 % with what MOTurkeyTamer said. In fact, some of the old time western deer hunters who have shot turkeys in the fall with rifles that I know have a really hard time understanding what all the thrill and fuss is about when I tell them I' m an addicted, passionate spring turkey hunter. I get a " What' s the big deal?" type of response from them, because they have easily whacked a turkey at 100-200 yards with their scoped rifles. If that were the way I did it in the spring, I guess I would find a lot less thrill in the hunt, as well. (In fact, I don' t think it is legal--I think it is shotguns only. I have never actually looked into the rifle option because I never thought of doing it any other way than with my shotgun.) But as mauser06 says, whatever floats your boat. I think its kind of like the question of shootin' ' em out of the roost.

[trapper T]

I didn' t know many States offered rifle for Turkey? The only thing I thought of when I first started, was I hoped to be able to use my .22. I know @ 40 yards I could head shoot a bird easily, do it all the time w/ Grouse. Never crossed my mind of extending the range like yall are saying. Guess I thought of it from a sporting stand point?