How far guys, Really

[zelmo1]

I see tons of advertisements and people posting targets, counting holes and all. How far will you shoot at a turkey?, simple question. Mistakes happen I know, but what distance do you consciously set up to shoot? My sweet spot is 25-35 yards. I do a lot of patterning and choke work so I am prepared. Just curious. Z

[joey46]

25 with the .410.  An easy 35 with the 12ga. That allows for a spur of the moment bad guess  Since I generally always use a decoy I have a good idea of his range since I've stepped off the distance from the decoy to the setup tree

[mountainhunter1]

I personally set a limit not to shoot a turkey over 100 yards. To do so, I think is unethical because you have not really beaten him if he is beyond 100 yards.

All joking aside - and the above was a joke, if he gets inside forty, he has had a bad day. Have killed most of my birds over the years somewhere between 25-35 yards, the majority of which were 30-35 yards away.

[dzsmith]

40 is probably the most ideal range for my setup. I prefer 30ish simply because it will really powder there head there. I have plenty of margin to be wrong ... but personally do not want to go beyond 40.

[cannonball]

35 yards with a .410,
40 yards if using a 20 or 28 gauge. This is using a quality TSS load. I carry a rangefinder and will scan a few trees after getting set up if I have time.

[Shiloh]

Prefer 30, but 40 is my max and I make that a hard, non negotiable for my boys.  They have watched several walk away that I know they could have killed.  It's good for kids to have to watch one walk away every now and then.

[bbcoach]

I do my level best to keep it inside 40 yards with my 12 and Hevi 7's.  Personally I want them at 25 to 30 for optimum range.  Inside 25 and I have to really concentrate on Aim Small, Miss Small. 

[g8rvet]

My son in law is still mad at me because I said the bird was too far for me to be comfortable with the shot down in a swamp.  We paced it off and it was 43 yards.  Another time I told a nephew if that hen had been a gobbler, I would have shot.  Paced it off - 40 yards on the dot.  That is my limit.  Most are killed 25-35 over the years with a 12-47 yards range and the 47 being a misread of my marker bush I had paced off.  I killed one other bird at 41.  He was a big bird and I misread a bit, but he took a truck ride.   

[Gooserbat]

41...
...
...
...
+

[Lcmacd 58]

Inside 40 .... i pattern at 30
I only shoot a 20 since TSS

[Dougas]

No blinds and no decoys out to 40 yards.

[Dtrkyman]

Rarely shoot 40, probably average around 30.  Killed a couple in 30 plus years around 50.

Killed 7 last year, one at 40 the rest 20-30.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[richard black]

40 yards maximum. That's more than normal, most shots are 25-35 yards.

[FullChoke]

When I first started hunting turkeys many years ago, it was with an improved cylinder 12 gauge and 2-3/4" #6 lead duck loads. I had to train myself to limit my shots to around 30 yards. I now use a 20 gauge with a Super Full choke and 3" #9 TSS shot shells. I understand that I can certainly kill a gobbler out there quite a bit further with my rig, but I defer to my original 30 yard calibration that has served me well through the years. Maybe I have just gotten better at calling them in close...

Cheers 

FullChoke

[Tom007]

0-35. Outside this, he walks, but I'll be back!