Rifle Hunts?
 

Just curious how many people can hunt turkeys with a rifle in their state? Is this for fall season only, when you can shoot either sex? I've suggested this to the Missouri DNR for years, but they keep telling me that it would be dangerous with rifles. Oddly enough, for all the danger, they let us shoot at everything else with rifles. They already have rules about NOT shooting from or accross roadways or into the air, so I'm not sure why we can't do it safely. Gotta wear orange? No problem, I routinely get within easy rifle shot of turkeys on the ground while deer hunting.
The reason I am thinking of this again is that a friend of mine with a degenerative disease I can't even pronounce, has been doing some fundraising locally and had donated to him a New Winchester Bolt action Black Shadow, NWTF, 270 rifle with a 24" barrel. I have the gun now, because he wants me to raffle or sell it for him. It has a National Wild Turkey Federation medallion in the stock, which is the black synthetic stock. This of coarse got me to thinking about petitioning the DNR again to give Missourians the fall season to use rifles to tag our turkeys. It would make fall hunting way more popular here, and people would actually buy tags to do it instead of just poaching them with a rifle anyway. The new game warden tells me this is a serious problem.
If anyone hunts in a state with a rifle season I would like to know the state and how popular the season is.

Are you serious ?

Shooting roosted turkeys and now rifles for gobblers :rolleye0011:

Ok I'll speak my mined or my opinion on this issue. Rifles and turkey hunting don't mix. Yes there is States out there that does allow it like Florida but most turkey hunters don't except it because of the safety issues that come along with it like taking a rifle bullet while setup on a bird. Most turkey hunters are fround on if they use a rifle and 99% would not tell anyone they did it.

I would quit the sport if they started to allow rifles because once again that is not part of hunting its plain killing.
I could just see sitting at a tree with a decoy out and some so called shooting at the decoy from 100yards away and me beside the decoy.

One good article to read that is true is the accident last fall in Quebec with the Avery Outdoors staffer when he was hunting geese and setup in a field with a spread of decoys and he was in his coffin blind. A truck pulled up on the road out front and the guy took aim and shot a rifle from the road. As he noticed the geese did not fly he took off as soon as figured out it was decoys. Problem was the Prostaff could not chase him because he had a bullet between his eyes, yes died in his coffin blind. True Story and the exact reason why we don't need rifles in the turkey hunting world

Rifles are allowed in Texas.

I've shot a turkey with my rifle before. It was in the fall and the darn thing just wouldn't leave me alone and finally stood there with it's neck outstreched at 30 yards away from my blind and I shot it in the neck with my 7mm Rem Mag. Nearly took it's head off, but not quite. Didn't ruin any meat.

Texas also does not have a flourescent orange requirement during rifle deer hunting season.

In 2008 in Texas there were 6 fatal hunting accidents with over 1 million licenses sold. That is actually almost double the average for Texas, but I think it is really amazingly low compared to the number of licenses sold. None of the accidents related to failure to identify a target, they were all careless or even self inflicted accidents relating to just plain poor gun handling and safety.

Here's the report - pretty interesting reading - http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publicat..._1124_2008.pdf

P.S. - It is illegal to shoot a turkey off a roost in Texas.

P.S.S. - I don't hunt Turkey with a rifle in the Spring in Texas even tough it is legal. I think I will let my son start Turkey hunting with a .22 Magnum when he gets old enough though, it will be a lot easier on him than a 20 gauge with Turkey loads.

So a guy illegally shooting at geese decoys from a public road with a rifle is the "exact reason" why we don't need rifles in the turkey hunting world?

Probably should ban rifles all together if that is your reasoning.

Seriously? What kind of logic is that?
I'm pretty sure poaching is illegal, pretty sure you cant hunt geese with a rifle, and pretty dang sure your not supposed to shoot at people.

How about this for a story. Guy is in a treestand 12' up with blaze orange on. Turkey hunter shoots him out of his treestand with a shotgun killing him. Said he thought he was a turkey. Maybe thats the reason we shouldn't use shotguns?

Makes perfect nonsense to me! Bad guys doing wrong always equals good guys being penalized in this country. Yes, it is legal in some states and it is hunting and it is acceptable hunting to me and I'm interested in doing it. I believe most staes that allow it have safety rules like hunter orange, and you wouldn't set up and call them in, you would stalk and shoot them from a distance, using common sense and a good backstop, like the earth maybe. It would be a fall hunt for rifles only, either sex allowed, no decoys to shoot at and no hiding in the brush. If you wear a turkey decoy on your head you would be in danger, so I am sure that the law and plain old common sense might keep you from doing that unless you are suicidal.
And by the way, and again the game warden suggested this not me, Shooting roosted turkeys is legal and acceptable too, in my state and I'm going to do it at least once before I judge that it isn't for me.

Breaking laws like the goose poacher did, is why and how people get hurt. Which is why it is illegal and wrong. Taking part in a safe hunt, following the rules is ok. I would try hunting with a bazooka if it were safe and legal to do so. I think it would be fun, and as long as we keep the death toll to below say, driving accidents, it would be a perfectly acceptable risk to me. Safer than being on the hyway is pretty safe I think. And being accidentally killed by a bad driver, or a bad shooter is equal in my book.

Seems the logic of the story went right over peoples head. If you want to rifle hunt turkeys GO ahead boyz legal or not take it up. Feel good about it because the sport has failed the real turkey hunters.

Sorry I had an opinion on the issue...

Rifles are legal in SD and VA in the spring. Looks like it might be legal in FL too. Illegal in NC, NJ. Those are the states I have hunted.

I have to agree with Adrian on this one. Wanna shoot them on the roost go ahead if thats your cup of tea I don't agree and I'll add to that later. Wanna shoot them with a rifle? I think what Adrian was doing is drawing a comparison between hunting geese with a rifle and turkey with a rifle. In goose hunting the geese have good eyes and you need to hide from them to get them to come in. The same with turkey hunting. What is the difference between a guy getting shot hiding in coffin blind or a guy hiding in camo on the ground. Why not allow goose hunting from accross the next section with a rifle.

If I could hunt with a bazooka I would. Good logic I guess you wouldn't need to clean your game after or even have to eat it. Maybe with luck the rack would be salvageable to put on the wall.

If a guy shoots a guy 12' up in tree he must have been roost shooting. So you just gave an excellent reason that you shouldn't allow roost shooting, which I already don't agree with so there's the logic in that. And I thought you shouldn't allow roost shooting because there is no challege.

Not an excellent reason to not allow roost shooting, but an excellent example that people do stupid things/make stupid decisions and it doesn't matter what kind of weapon they are using.....did you miss the part about the person being shot wearing blaze orange?