question 1
has this ever happened to you
Saturday I was calling for a friend. I called a mature tom in to around twenty five yards and told him to fire when ever he was ready. At the shot the birds head snapped back and he pitched sideways. After a couple of "flops" the bird comes to its senses and starts running away. After getting to his (the shooter's) feet, my friend tries to shoot him again but I don't feel like he hit the running bird. The bird then runs into a cut bean field about 125 yards away and squats down. We were able to catch up to him and finish the job. This was a 27 1/2 pound tom with one broken spur and the other measured an inch and a half. He was as tough as leather and took the pounding to prove it.
#2
is their something different I could've done to prevent this.
I do think a person needs to know the limitations of both themselves and their equipment. That can only come through experience, which of course means practice, preparation, and participation. A twenty-five yard shot should be "money in the bank!" However even then there are no absolutes.
I wasn't there, I don't know what happened on your partner's shot.
Here is what I think happened to my friend when he shot.
I have seen him shoot pheasants so I know he can shoot a moving target. However, we were laying on our bellies on top of a ridge in an alfalfa field with no cover to get to in any direction (a long story). If the alfalfa was four inches in length, it was long, I would have had more cover hunting on my front lawn. At any rate because of the position his body was in, I feel it affected the way he lined up his gun (the gun he was shooting carries only a single bead without the benefit of even a rib). Thus I think he caught the bird with just the edge of the pattern.
#3
do you think this turkey will live.
Hard to say without being there and even then it would only be a guess. I have found buckshot in a turkeys breast before and he was doing just fine.