Mr. Longbeard, you probably shouldn't ask the question if you aren't going to like the answers.

I've never body shot a bird, except for one that I head shot too close (less than 5 yards) when I was new to turkey hunting and the wad struck him causing him to flop around but he still got up in flew so I made a rushed body shot mid-air because I didn't think anything of it.

Aside from that, I don't intentionally shoot bodies. There doesn't seem to be a need or reason to. I like the tail to be intact when I bring the bird home because I enjoy mounting them. All of them. I like the wing bones to be intact so I can turn them into calls. I like the spurs to not be broken (that flying body shot I took, busted his spur with the shot and ruined it). I like the beard hairs to still be attached to the bird. I don't want to have to pick pellets out of the breast. And, maybe it's just my personal opinion, I don't think I could call a shot in the ass, fatal or not, a respectable shot and kill. I just don't like any of it, and they're all things that can and probably will happen if you take body shots.

But in all honesty, I don't feel I've ever had a reason to take a body shot. If the bird is facing you or sideways, there's nothing stopping you from the headshot. If the bird is facing away, you can still head shoot unless his fan is up. If his fan is up, he's likely not spooked and will eventually turn around for you. Maybe in your case where you really wanted a double and you have to body shoot, I'd be alright with that. But had I personally been in that situation, I probably still would have waited.

And you mention ethically. Really, a well placed head shot or a body shot is going to be equally as fatal on a turkey. It only takes one properly placed pellet to kill, and a turkey is a small target that you're (usually) throwing a wide enough shot pattern with a lot of pellets at. Which is more ethical? Probably either or and you're going to find opinions for both. I think a head shot kills quicker, better chance of hitting the spine, brain, and trachea all in one go and any of those will shut an animal down quick. A body shot might just take longer since vital organs aren't usually insta-death (exception a turkey's tiny heart) and would require the animal to bleed out or suffocate. That said, this is the most appropriate shot for large game, so it probably isn't any less ethical to shoot a turkey in the body then it is say a deer. But then, the deer's lungs and heart aren't exactly surrounded by the majority and best meat on the animal.

I guess if your goal at the end of the day is to kill a turkey, by all means shoot it in whatever way you think will be a clean kill. I don't mind how someone does it, as long as they don't intentionally cause the animal unnecessary pain and stress by crippling it. But I personally will probably never body shoot a bird again, even if that means letting a big one walk. I, for one, don't hunt to kill a turkey. I hunt to get out of the house, enjoy the outdoors, and "play" with the turkeys. If I always hunted just to kill a turkey, I'd be done on the first day of the season every year. There's been more than one year I've called in a bird just to decide to shoot him with a camera instead of my gun. Maybe that sounds goofy but in all honesty, once I've got a turkey in to 20 yards, I consider myself as already having "won the game" of hunting. Killing the bird is just an added bonus at the end of the day. But if I only have one tag left, that means killing the bird will be the end of my season and I won't be going out again. Maybe I just enjoy being in the woods in camo too much, but sometimes I try to avoid finishing the season early.