Can you shoot, and kill a turkey with a rifle (30-30?). I know that people shoot turkeys in the head with a shotgun, but if you decide to mount it wouldn't it's head be allmessed up?

A 30-30 definately packs enough punch to kill a turkey, or a horse for that matter. Better check your state game laws before you start firing away though. In alot of states, its illegal to hunt turkeys with a rifle. As far as mounting the bird, your taxidermist would probably appreciate you using your shotgun instead of the rifle.#6 shot holes are alot easier to repair than a .30 caliber rifle hole is going to be. Many taxidermists use artificial heads, others will freeze dry the head and repair the tiny holes. Anexperienced taxidermist is used to this type of job and they can work miracles.

Hey thanks for the reply. What I thinking is wouldn't it be easier to shoot the turkey in the body with a rifle (beside the neck), instead of in the head with a shotgun?

Yes, that shot would be easier but most likely a 30-30 would blow the living hell out of a turkey and leave a huge hole that would be almost impossible to repair. If you have access to a .22 magnum, that would get the job done without tearing it up too much. {Check laws first}

I wish the notion of hunting turkeys with a rifle would go away. It gives me the heebie-jeebies to think that someone may be looking for a turkey to sneak up on and shoot when I'm sitting in the woods trying to act like one.

Hal

My friend shot a turkey with a with just a 22. LR and it got the job done nice and clean. He hit it right in the base of the neckand it died right away. But make sure u check ure state laws.

I agree hawg. Not much sport in it. I don't particularly care for fall seasons either. There aren't too many things that compare to the excitement of a longbeard coming in close, gobbling his brains out. It's a feeling that really can't be explained. Neither of the above practices do the sport, or the animal justice. But, I don't make the laws, so I guess my opinion doesn't really matter.

Don't care for fall seasons??? How else can you control the population?

I've killed turkeys with a rifle. Not the most challenging thing in the world, but to each his own.

i shot a turkey with a 223 and did thejob on it with out blowing the heck out of it

Unless that bird was very close, still, andwith head outstretched, you "might" make that shot if you were a Marksman. But if that bird acts like any other turkey walking through the woods, with it's head bobbing up and down, it would be futile at best trying for a head shot with a .30-30!!! That's why a shotgun works well in this sport, with it's many pellets inside a shell, you can harvest a bird clean with a head shot out to 40+ yards away. Here in NY it's illegal as hell to use a rifle!![:-]