You guys out there are still hunting??....Lucky ducks!!

I'm sure plenty of them do get shot on the ground. Two years ago I was in Western Colorado looking for elk. I was behind a jeep with two fellas in it driving on a dirt road on a mountain ridge. Suddenly they stopped, jumped out, pulled out their 12 gauge pumps, loaded them and began blasting a group of young grouse that were feeding by the road. For whatever reason it took the grouse a while to figure out they were being assaulted with deadly force [] and these two guys wiped out more than half of the covey. I must say though even though the birds were on the ground these two guys didn't get very good hits.

As far as shooting the birds on the wing goes....First, especially on birds like pheasants it just isn't that practical. You are not presented that many shots on standing pheasants. Also there are some safety issues that could be associated with shooting ducks/geese on water. Second, when a bird stretches out in flight, its vitals are exposed for better penetration. Lastly, it has to do with giving the quarry a sporting chance. In the old days when supper could hinge on the success or failure of the shot, they were happy to get those standing shots. Commercial hunters using the old bunt guns took out thousands of ducks while they sat on the water. Times change and practices with it. There are now wing shooters out there that if a person in the group would shoot a bird (especially a grouse) on the ground, they would be royally scolded. If that ground shooting behavior didn't change, they would no longer hunt with that person.

I do think that a wing shooter should practice at sharpening his skills with a shotgun just like most of us do with a bow. Further, range and discipline are just as important when shooting a shotgun as it is with a bow...is the quarry close enough to make a killing shot, and/or can I make that shot without the result being a wounded bird? Sporting clays is an excellent way to develop a smooth swing and a good "shooting eye".

Actually there is a huge difference. The shear bulk of a turkey shields its vitals more than most people realize. Even in flight it would be very difficult to penetrate the vitals even at moderate ranges. Though a goose is a good sized bird, it cannot compare to a turkey in this department. While cleaning, I have found buckshot (illegal where I was huntng) in some toms that could not penetrate through the breast meat to get to the vitals. In many states the largest size shot that is allowed is No. 4 (of course there are some states that allowed them to be taken with a rifle which would not apply to our discussion). Geese can be taken with BBs and in some cases larger shot. All things considered, the turkeys size, and the firearms restrictions by law, the only real ethical shot is one that is close range to the head.

I guess the bottom line is, I don't see a contradiction. A shotgun was designed to take down moving game. If there is a problem, it is with the hunter not being proficient with his weapon or purely undisciplined. No different than what we sometimes run across in bowhunting.