Where to Aim
 

I have never turkey hunted. An avid turkey hunter invited me to a spring hunt so I am starting from scratch. The what to bring post below was a big help even tho some of the jargon and product names were greek to me. I have been asking around where to aim and get two answers, the head and the neck where it joins the body. What is your choice and why?
Any Other Hints so I don' t Look stupid. I do a lot of deer hunting so I have some woods and hunting savy.

One Shot One Kill Striper Phil

RE: Where to Aim
 

Since only pellets that hit the head or neck count, I aim for the neck where the feathers stop at the wattles. That way my pattern is centered below his head. If half your pattern that goes over his head, your wasting pellets. Also if I screw up and hit a lttle high, I still got him.

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RE: Where to Aim
 

I actually have to aim a couple of inches above the head because of the way my gun patterns. This puts most of the pattern in the head and neck and keeps pellets out of the body especially on longer shots. If you havent patterned your shotgun,
aim a couple of inches below the head.

RE: Where to Aim
 

First pattern your gun, try to use a turkey head target. Many companies make them, or you can download one from www.remington.com . Then adjust your sights or sight picture to try to put the head in the center of the tightest portion. I liked to aim at the middle of the neck. That cut down how many pellets I put into the breast area, annd centered the skull in the pellet swarm. Try to not shoot if the bird is tucked in a strut. This decreases your target. Wait till it extends it' s neck if possible.

RE: Where to Aim
 

This is tricky to say without causing a lot of consternation, but don' t forget that a turkey also has a spine along its back. The object of the shot is to strike a vital area, generally the spinal column, with a sufficient number of pellets as to fatally wound the bird. Since other vital areas (heart, lungs, e.g.) are not easily or accurately accessed by shotgun pellets, most shots are centered on the head/neck area. However, I' ve seen many turkeys killed where, typically due to the angle of the shot, the fatal pellets actually struck the spinal cord along the back of the turkey, not the head or the neck. (In fact, most back spinal cord shots produce an " instantly dead" bird, rather than the " flop around dead" bird hit in the head/neck area.) The problem with shooting a turkey in the back is that you are also very likely shooting it in the body, and potentially ruining/placing shot in the meat you want to eat!! Secondly, of course, is that a full body shot (rather than a shot that is centered on the back/spine) will not likely kill a turkey, but will only wound it. My point is to be aware that if you do not have a good shot at the head/neck area (for example, if your only shot is of a tom walking away from you), you can still kill a turkey (if it is in range) by aiming at the top of the back/body (in the area where the wings join, near the area where the neck joins the body), but be aware there is a price to pay, potential spoilage of the delicious turkey.

RE: Where to Aim
 

Generally my primary " aiming point" is exactly as the others describe--junction of red neck with feathered body. (Unless the turkey is less than ten yards away, when I [wrongly, I suppose] tend to aim a tad more directly at the head, due to the constricted pattern.) Also, as noted, pattern your gun with the shells you' ll be using in the field. Know your gun' s aimpoint, know the pellet distribution/pattern at various yardages. Know if your gun has any " drop" at 40 yards that would require you to adjust your aimpoint.

Then have fun this spring!!

RE: Where to Aim
 

I aim slightly above the mid point from the head to where the neck joins the body. The way my gun patterns, allows me to put a good two-dozen pellets in vital areas on life size head targets.

RE: Where to Aim
 

I aim dead on the head. My shotgun shoots where I aim and I don' t like spitten out shot when dining on the bird.:D

RE: Where to Aim
 

I' m in total agreement with Wingbone also.