Turkey Hunting with a Pellet Rifle?

[mudhen]

Pellet guns in California are allowed mostly because of nuisance birds in residential areas...

Yes, they used to relocate, but since there is no EIR in place, this practice is pretty much illegal now...

While turkey hunters tend to treasure turkeys, the public does not always share the same opinion...

The few guys I know that do use pellets guns are crack shots...

I want to try the 20 gauge air shotgun, but the $5000 price tag is too much right now...

[eggshell]

Marc, I should have said my thoughts on safer down range was referring to use of a 22 rifle on the squirrels, sorry for the omission. I'm not sure the pellet would carry farther than a shotgun's pellets with any force. The energy drops way off fast past 40 yards. I too wanted less sound, as we have two gun shy dogs, but it is still louder than I expected. With that said your not going to wake anyone up or spook horses.

Here is the best article I've ever read on using an airgun. It will answer a lot of your questions.
https://www.crosman.com/get-hunting/airgun-ballistics

[fallhnt]

The last two years squirrels have eaten all my peaches. I decided, "no more" and last year I bought a ruger Blackhawk pellet rifle with a scope in .177 caliper. It also came with very nice fiber optic open sites that work well. My first impression was how heavy it was built. It only took me maybe 10 shots and I could group inside a half dollar at 30 yards off a rest. It is 35 yards off my deck to my peach tree. I sat on my deck in my porch rocker with a shooting stick and plucked squirrels out of my peach tree. Not everyone was a clean kill, but they didn't get away. A squirrel's hide is far tougher than a gobblers head I suspect. I would say effective range on a gobbler would be 20 yards with 25 being long range. I also think the heavier 25 would have a more severe arch, but don't know for sure. The .177 is fast. I bought mine as a cheaper, quieter and safer down range way to dispatch my problem, but I was surprised how loud this thing is. I also thought the wife could use it but it's too heavy for her. I say learn your gun and go for it if it's legal. Keep your range tight and have your gun sighted properly and I bet you'll have great results.

Interesting take...

As far as using an air rifle, my intention is not that it is safer, it is the noise pollution...   Hunting a 500 acre ranch, there are still horses, cattle, and houses around that ranch.  My pellet rifle is far more likely to carry further and injure someone than is my shotgun.  The shotgun is far more likely to generate complaints.

Same reasoning at my duck club with an increasing skunk population...  Late in the season the male skunks start fighting.  They make a hell of a commotion, and they spray when fighting.  While members in nearby cabins would understand why I fired my shotgun at 2 A.M (and have actually encouraged me to do so), it would wake everyone, and potentially negatively effect the duck hunting.

My primary personal incentive for attempting to hunt with an air rifle, is that I think it would be fun and challenging, and from what I understand quite ethical.

However, I would agree that the chances are as good or better that someone could be incidentally injured with a pellet rifle.  Partly due to the projectile traveling a further distance, and partly due to hunters having less respect for, and being less careful with where that projectile is fired. 

The foothills where I hunt, I would have to be awfully careless to make such a mistake though.  The hilly terrain pretty much prohibits a projectile from carrying long distances....

My impression of hunting with an air rifle, is that it will be more challenging than with a shotgun, and less difficult than with a bow.  There are aspects and learning to be done, and I look forward to that learning curve...  I will not utilize the air gun until I feel confident that I can consistently place the pellet...  I will take it out every trip and fire it, and tinker with it, even if I do not hunt with it though...  Probably attempt some ground squirrel control.

Use a bow

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[GobbleNut]

Pellet guns in California are allowed mostly because of nuisance birds in residential areas...
Yes, they used to relocate, but since there is no EIR in place, this practice is pretty much illegal now...
While turkey hunters tend to treasure turkeys, the public does not always share the same opinion...
The few guys I know that do use pellets guns are crack shots...
I want to try the 20 gauge air shotgun, but the $5000 price tag is too much right now...

Yes, it is/was my understanding that the law legalizing their use came as a result of the need to try to control turkey numbers in urban/suburban areas.  I was also aware of the laws/rules in place that prohibit the relocation of those birds within CA, or areas of it, as well.  However, I do believe there are places around the country that would welcome using those Rios for supplemental stockings to reinforce troubled populations.  Granted, I am speculating about that, but I wonder if that is even being explored.

I am sure the hunters that use pellet rifles for hunting pretty much all believe they are crack shots. ...So do most of us that hunt with shotguns that have 300 pellets in each round,...but still end up missing or not making a clean kill. 

Regardless, anybody that follows the anti-hunting sentiment in this country knows that California is ground zero for that movement.  My concern is strictly about the impact that hunter-crippled turkeys running around in front of the general public is going to have,...not to mention the impact if someone gets shot.   I just wonder if that potential impact is worth the risk. 

My final "wondering", if you will, is why hunters feel the need to kill turkeys in places where those birds are obviously conditioned to people being around?   They are not "hunting",...just killing turkeys.  If someone feels compelled to do that, why not save the trouble and just go by a ready-to-eat turkey at the grocery store? 

As I stated before, sometimes we hunters are just determined to shoot ourselves in the foot....

[fallhnt]

Pellet guns in California are allowed mostly because of nuisance birds in residential areas...
Yes, they used to relocate, but since there is no EIR in place, this practice is pretty much illegal now...
While turkey hunters tend to treasure turkeys, the public does not always share the same opinion...
The few guys I know that do use pellets guns are crack shots...
I want to try the 20 gauge air shotgun, but the $5000 price tag is too much right now...

Yes, it is/was my understanding that the law legalizing their use came as a result of the need to try to control turkey numbers in urban/suburban areas.  I was also aware of the laws/rules in place that prohibit the relocation of those birds within CA, or areas of it, as well.  However, I do believe there are places around the country that would welcome using those Rios for supplemental stockings to reinforce troubled populations.  Granted, I am speculating about that, but I wonder if that is even being explored.

I am sure the hunters that use pellet rifles for hunting pretty much all believe they are crack shots. ...So do most of us that hunt with shotguns that have 300 pellets in each round,...but still end up missing or not making a clean kill. 

Regardless, anybody that follows the anti-hunting sentiment in this country knows that California is ground zero for that movement.  My concern is strictly about the impact that hunter-crippled turkeys running around in front of the general public is going to have,...not to mention the impact if someone gets shot.   I just wonder if that potential impact is worth the risk. 

My final "wondering", if you will, is why hunters feel the need to kill turkeys in places where those birds are obviously conditioned to people being around?   They are not "hunting",...just killing turkeys.  If someone feels compelled to do that, why not save the trouble and just go by a ready-to-eat turkey at the grocery store? 

As I stated before, sometimes we hunters are just determined to shoot ourselves in the foot....

Not conditioned really. Naturally stupid. I've seen this first hand out west. I've also seen what hunting pressure does to them. Even Native American Warriors wouldn't hunt them. That's why I laugh at that painting with the two warriors turkey hunting.

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[GobbleNut]

screwed this post up,...see below  (smiley face)

[eggshell]

Regardless, anybody that follows the anti-hunting sentiment in this country knows that California is ground zero for that movement.

California is ground zero to a lot of things and none I can think of are good. A couple years ago they threatened to succeed from the USA, man someone missed a real opportunity there! I can see it, President Nancy Pelosi and Vice president Shiff. Surely the world would beat down the doors of nirvana.

I wouldn't do it in an urban area either, but the OP is talking about real hunting ground on a ranch. I can see trying it under his circumstances. Your right it would be more prone to errors, but it all comes down to knowing you and your equipment's limitations/skill levels.

[GobbleNut]

My final "wondering", if you will, is why hunters feel the need to kill turkeys in places where those birds are obviously conditioned to people being around?   They are not "hunting",...just killing turkeys.  If someone feels compelled to do that, why not save the trouble and just go by a ready-to-eat turkey at the grocery store? 

Not conditioned really. Naturally stupid. I've seen this first hand out west. I've also seen what hunting pressure does to them.

Yeah, living out west, I have seen it as well,...and what happens with some hunting pressure.  It is not just a western phenomenon, though.  It happens anywhere in the country where the conditions that cause it exist (just watch some of the YouTube videos).  Some folks declare that turkeys aren't capable of "learning",....total BS! (but that's a different topic altogether)

[GobbleNut]

I wouldn't do it in an urban area either, but the OP is talking about real hunting ground on a ranch. I can see trying it under his circumstances. Your right it would be more prone to errors, but it all comes down to knowing you and your equipment's limitations/skill levels.

Yeah, Marc's motives are a different story.  If someone wants to challenge themselves under those conditions, have at it.  Just be certain of your skill level and shot selection.  For me personally, crippled animals weigh on my conscience a lot more than the desire to challenge myself.

[strum]

if you can hit a turkey in the head at 25 30 yards then thats an accomplishment .  Its not like they stay still .
I see nothing wrong with it . I do see frustration in you're future.

[Marc]

Thank you all for the replies!

I am now waiting for everything I ordered to come in...  Got some good advice on scopes, pellets, etc....

I have had the opportunity to shoot some air rifles at target ranges, and I have been extremely impressed with how accurate they are, and how easy they are to shoot...  For me, I tend to shoot them more accurately at similarly close ranges (i.e. 20-50 yards) than I do traditional guns...  Possibly due to reduced sound and/or recoil, I shoot these guns better than standard rifles....

There are several videos of guys shooting flies with these guns at 20-30 yards...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ddswd0Oquo

I know that shooting on paper will not translate to game, especially a bobbing turkey head...  But turkeys usually do give you that moment where their heads come up, or they are in strutt...  And it is a fairly "still" target.

As to hunting around houses, to me there is a vast difference between shooting a "porch turkey" and shooting that bird in the nearby woods.  It seems to me that birds become conditioned towards areas of safety, rather than people very often...

Walk towards a bird in the garden, and they might move to the other end of the garden...  Walk towards that same bird in the woods near by, and they leave with haste...  They are not contending with predators in that garden (generally) whereas they are in those near by woods???

I am excited to put a new twist to turkey hunting as soon as I feel prepared and confident to do so...  If/when I do hunt this way, I will post as to my success or lack thereof....

I appreciate all of the replies.

[Marc]

Got the pellet rifle put together, and have been able to practice in the yard (cause it is fairly quiet and safe).  I am getting dime-sized groups at thirty yards, and and can consistently hit a quarter at 40 without much drop... 

So, today was the opener, and I hunted with the pellet rifle.  I learned some things.  (I did Not hunt from a blind)

It is considerably more difficult to get a shot with a pellet rifle than with a shotgun.  Not as tough as with a bow, but tougher than I thought it would be by a considerable margin.

That leafy material with netting is a horrible choice.  It got caught on everything, and had one of the jakes been a tom, it would have prevented me from success.

Had a lot of jakes come in to range today...  Six different groups, and tried to get the scope on them for practice.  I was never able to do so...  Could have killed them easily with a shotgun.

I did have some toms come in, and could not get the gun on them...  I managed to call them back (after a quick, short move while calling), and was able to get a perfect shot...  Things happened so fast I did not really get nervous or "shakey."   But I also (somehow) dislodged the bolt, the air escaped from the side of the gun (producing a loud sound) when I shot.  I then had to take part of the barrel apart to safely get the lodged pellet out...  I would have easily killed a bird the first time they came in with the shotgun.  The second time would have been a "gimme," had I somehow not fired the first time.

The primary difficulty is having the gun positioned in the right direction, and having your head down on the stock, and then finding the bird in the scope quickly (rifle shooting is completely new to me).  I am shooting with a bipod (attached to the gun), so when a bird comes in to the right or left of where I thought it was, I have to reposition the whole setup...

The bird I did get the shot on, had his fan up coming in, and I put the scope on the fan (even though I could not see his head due to brush).  When he got close, I clucked, and he put his head up, and then when behind some brush...   When I could barely see the top of his head, I clucked, and his head went up, giving me the prefect shot opportunity...  Which I completely destroyed.

If/when I am successful, I will likely post on the main forum...  At some point, I will likely switch to the shotgun if I am not successful...  There is a huge proportion of jakes to toms this season (the likes of which I have never seen).

[eggshell]

I bet you'll do a lot better on your next trip. You have learned a lot so far and experience is a great teacher. If I tried this I may just stay with the fiber optic open sights on mine. I can shoot almost as well with them and pick up my target faster. Is your gun a break down or cartridge air?

[strum]

 I have to say this sounds challenging which steps up the game quiet a lot. Here we all are complaining we only getting 235 shots in the 40 yrd. and you got ONE.. I hope you make it happen.

[Marc]

I bet you'll do a lot better on your next trip. You have learned a lot so far and experience is a great teacher. If I tried this I may just stay with the fiber optic open sights on mine. I can shoot almost as well with them and pick up my target faster. Is your gun a break down or cartridge air?

Mine is a PCP (pre-charged pneumatic).  It has a reservoir tank which is filled to 3000 lbs, and I can shoot about 20 times without pumping or refilling.  It has a 10-shot magazine with a bolt-action, and shoots quiet enough, that a second shot will likely be an option (the sound of the pellet strike is louder than the sound of the gun).

I will be practicing getting those jakes in the scope for a kill...  I saw a lot of jakes, and very, very few toms...  Spent a lot of time chasing gobbles that turned out to be jakes.

I will say that the airgun makes me far, far more aware of which direction I should set up...  I realized yesterday that there are three directions for turkey hunting...  The direction you want them to come from, the direction you "think" they will come from, and the direction they do come from...  All too often the first two do not coincide with option number 3....