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?

Im going to have to say that rifle hunting turkeys shouldn't be allowed. First of all it takes away half of the challenge. In my opinion, i have more fun going out and attempting to call a bird in and see how close i can get it. Also its way more dangerous with a rilfe. The point Adrian was making with the gentleman being shot was the fact that the person thought the decoys were real, failed to check the surrounding area, and ended up killing an innocent man. At 100+ yards, even looking through a scope, it is hard to see what is behind the animal. Chances are if your about to take the shot, your not going to be checking every inch of the background for someone who is in full camo trying to be out of sight from everything. And even if you do check the entire background you may make a mistake and overlook someone in the background. IMHO one person getting shot and killed is one too many. In the case of the 6 people being shot in Texas, thats 6 families that are now without their loved ones. I dont care how many tags were sold, 6 people is too much. Rifle hunting turkeys and shooting birds off the roost is not for me.

Also i would like to add that in the link that npaden has provided gives another example of why rifles shouldn't be allowed. Take a look at it and i think you will see what i mean. It is near the bottom of the document.

What is the difference between rifle hunting a turkey and rifle hunting a deer? To me the only difference is that it is harder to mistake a person for a turkey then a deer...

And how is saying that someone doing something that is illegal is the reason for something unrelated to be banned? Rifle hunting geese is illegal because your shooting into the air 9/10 times. Rifle hunting turkey would have a similar rule (dont shoot a bird in the air with a rifle).

Personally, if i could i would rifle hunt turkeys, As would my dad. A rifle only gives someone who uses it and is accurate with it a better chance. At 100 yards, on a bobbing head, i doubt half of you would be able to hit the bird, so your just saying you want to take the easier route, by getting the bird in closer and shooting it with a shotgun, which gives a margin of error.



And, by the way, I love how someone asking a legitimate question about different state laws instantly gets torn into. Shouldnt you all who hate people who hunt differently just form your own quasi-PETA forum? Because all you are doing is showing that hunters are not even united amongst themselves, remember all "united we stand, divided we fall" does not just apply to the nation

Oh, and here in Cali it is illegal to shoot them with a rifle

Bad Idea
 

IMO, hunting turkey's with a rifle is a bad idea. As previously mentioned, it takes away from the challenge of getting them close unless the hunter plans on shooting them in the head (which would be much more challenging than hunting with a shotgun). More importantly, the combination of public land, high-powered rifles and well camoflauged hunters sitting yards away from very realistic decoys is a recipe for disaster. The only way to make turkey hunting safe with a rifle would be to require hunters to wear orange and not allow decoys, exactly like deer hunting. That would ruin turkey hunting for most people that do it and will (thankfully) never happen for most states. That being said, I might go for hunting turkey's with a rifle during the fall deer season with the hunter orange and no decoy rule in place.

I think most of you missed Adrian's point of his post; he was pointing out the danger of mixing high-powered rifles and hunters in close proximity with decoys. It just happened to be a poacher shooting at (what he thought) was a goose and a well camoflauged hunter who was close to the decoy was tragically killed. I can imagine a similar scenerio in Turkey hunting if rifle hunting was allowed with decoys and camoflauge with everyone being on the right side of the law.

I understand Adrian's point. I was trying to point out the lunacy of him saying someone doing something illegally was the reason we should not be able to use rifles during turkey season.

For everyone that is saying it is so much more dangerous using rifles during turkey season I would like you to back it up with facts. Compare the number of deaths by shooting in the states that dont allow rifle seasons to deaths by shooting in states that do allow rifles during turkey season...might be interesting...might not.

I don't exactly know the facts but in my opinion it just takes a away from the fun of getting a bird in close. Also, requiring hunters to wear orange will basically force people, such as bowhunters, to use a rifle. I think it would be almost impossible to get a bird within bow range while wearing orange.

Huntnteen gets it! Good! finally informed discussion on a sport that exists whether anyone knew it or not. Turkey hunting with rifles should be safer than deer hunting with rifles, simply because a man in blaze orange is much more visible and harder to mistake for a turkey than a deer. Even if you are totally color blind, the size difference should give you a hint. As for the Guy being shot from a tree while wearing blaze orange, it was deer season, in Missori I believe, and we're just talking about an idiot in low light conditions trying to shoot a turkey. He was breaking many laws, and thats why that accident happened. Anyway thanks to those who actually provided info without slamming a sport that exists. And to those who wouldn't make the change if it were offered, no problem, stick with what you like, just don't knock what others want. I like the challenges of turkey hunting too, thats what I do, but I'm open minded enough to try new things within the law. Another thought is this, not everyone who hunts, hunts for challenge, or sport or a trophy for their wall. Their is still a much larger segment of folks than most would believe, who hunt for survival, and are not playing games. I think we need to get to know those people and how they live, want to understant the survival hunting our ancestors did and especially how it works in the 21st century.

If you are referencing the story I put out there it actually was during turkey season in Florida, and yes the idiot broke many laws, and I do not understand how you can mistake a person for a turkey. Just goes to show bad decisions are made no matter what type of weapon a person may have.

I would like to apologize for not staying on the subject for the situation and for possibly offending anyone with my previous posts. Its just how i felt on the situation and i dont think its much of a challenge to use a rifle while hunting.
I just read a post under the Big Game Forum, its at the top ofthe page about how hunters should stick together, even if we wouldn't agree with a certain practice(ie. turkey hunting with a rifle) and it really changed my thoughts. So, once again i'd like to apologize for my remarks that i have recently posted.

Apparently this happens more than it should. I just searched for fatal hunting accidents in Missouri, and found a man age 34, in 2003, who had just shot a buck and was then shot and killed while still in a tree stand 18" in the air. So anyway we both were onto different stories, but were both correct. There is no doubt that education and training are important in todays world. I got mine passed down from my father, but hunting traditions, like teaching your kids right and wrong while taking them hunting are not practiced as widely as they once were and so public education has to do the job. We all have our own opinions on how well public education works so I won't start that discussion.

I do think forums like this one are important education tools that new hunters should use, but they must decide for themselves how to use the knowledge gained. Not everything said here will be correct or desireable to some individuals, but they should get a good education anyway, even if they only learn that they don't agree with me.

EK buckmaster, no appologies needed as far as I'm concerned, you have every right to your own opinion and may say what you feel. That's what makes this country and this forum great! We can all share our feelings and experiences on a wide variety of hunting subjects and find common ground to bond. Nobody is forcing us to agree in every respect, and that is a good thing because I don't agree with everyone all the time. I am happy to see that you've become more tolerant of other folks views, but it isn't nescessary to change if you don't want to. Strong individuals standing up for what they believe in should be applauded in this country. Whether right or wrong they have a right to be.

We accept that the kkk, the natzi party, and democrats have a right to exist and speak their minds in this great Republic of ours, our Republic even uses the democratic system of voting, so why not allow hunters with differing opinions to speak?

Everyone is intitled to an opinion ? Bull crap, there is some many professionals on this forum that when someone replies an opinion they twist it around to suit them. At the very lease one member understood where my opinion was coming from.

I'm wasting my time here...

I like shotgun's for turkey because it is a CHALLENGE yeah it would be a challenge somewhat to kill a turkey with a rifle but just.....IMHO I think turkey hunting should stick with shotgun's and turkey load's