Nitro Heavy Weight 4x5x7

[Gobble!]

Better lock down this one also.  I was just getting started.  Yes 70 was mentioned and it is all about ethics. 

Is your ethics standing that 70 yards is to far to shoot a bird, meaning its not allowed for a ture turkey hunter to shoot that far even if the gun/shell produces a killing pattern that far?

Or it is not ethical to shoot a bird a 70 yards if the gun/shell can't produce a killing pattern that far?

The second I understand completely but the first still confuses me, to each their own.

[coyotetrpr]

I would love to have a shotgun that would give killing patterns at 70. To all you self appointed ethical calling experts I have only one thing to say. I work a full time job to provide for a family and don't have a huge amount of time to hunt. This being said, I enjoy the hunt as much as anyone,  but harvesting a bird is the ultimate goal and things don't always work out. To let him walk and wait for another day is fine if another day is guaranteed. No caller can bring every bird in close every time. If the gun and shell will do it a long shot does not make a person less of a hunter, it makes them a better one.

[VaTuRkStOmPeR]

After all the comments in this thread plus all in the thread that is now locked and has happily disappeared we finally have one that says it all.  "harvesting a bird is the ultimate goal". That is NOT true for all hunters and hopefully never will be.  If  that is all it is for you then go ahead and shoot at 70 yards, or whatever range next years super load will claim to kill.  It won't be long until some money hungry manufacturer will claim 100 yards and a company like Cabelas will foolishly run the ad touting this in their catalog. Then any nit wit with an unpatterned gun and $25.00 will go out and "miss" one that was well out of range and it will run off and die.  If nothing else the buzzards will like all this long range shooting.  They will clean up on the ones left in the woods.   Three possible results for a long range marginal shot.  Two of them are bad.  Feel free to guess the three.  They are pretty obvious.

Youre making the mistake of conflating us with "nitwits" (although we all have our moments).

No one is infallible. Shooting errors occur every year at point blank and longer ranges with patterned and unpatterned guns.  That points to the human factor which cannot ever be removed from the equation.

Ultimately, guys with unproven, unpatterned guns and limited shooting skills will take them and shoot to 40 yards this and every season because conventional wisdom has established 40 yards as a community standard.

  Longer shots by qualified shooters and guns will be taken and missed as well.  All are ashame, unfortunate and inevitable.

I can't speak for all members here but will for myself.  I travel all over the country to pursue these regal animals and I have the highest level of respect for them.  Consequently,
I invest time and money into establishing and maximizing my guns' and my own capabilities in pursuit of the kill.

I also spend considerable time each day running calls and reading as much about turkeys physiologically and biologically to better understand how to be more effective killing turkeys each spring.

I am prepared and capable of calling them within 20 yards but prepared and capable to let the trigger break at 55 if hens or some other condition prevents a gobbler from closing the distance.  I am there with the intentions of harvesting.

I do not care if I shoot at 25 yards or 55 yards. I have prepared for both situations and consummating that preparation with a kill is always gratifying.  6 of the longbeards I killed last year were inside 35 yards. Others were farther.

Many members of this site prepare to
similar rigorous and obsessive extents.  Some to the point of insanity.  They are not nitwits. They are not unknowledgeable, incapable, or unprepared and you sir, continue to show ignorance in your consideration of the audience to which you speak.

Your ethics might better be reserved for "nitwits" but you will find few of those contributing to this section.  In fact, you may be falling into that category yourself with you continual defense of the 40 yard standard on all, regardless of skill, equipment and the shooter's ability to execute with such tools.

I digress.

[orion43]

My 2 cents..  The key is to know what your gun and chosen shell will do.  In response to the original question, I have taken a bird in each of the past two seasons at 53 yds using a SBE II and nitro loads.  The gun was set up by Rob Roberts of Gobbler Guns.  Don't intend to sound boasting, but I would not have taken either bird if I had waited  for a 40 yd shot.  Both birds came across open fields and were in process of moving further away.  I feel comfortable taking a shot at the 50 yd range if no alternative is available.

[Tom Foolery]

After all the comments in this thread plus all in the thread that is now locked and has happily disappeared we finally have one that says it all.  "harvesting a bird is the ultimate goal". That is NOT true for all hunters and hopefully never will be.  

Killing something when I go hunting is a goal.  I like to be in the woods, it's nice and peaceful, relaxing and pretty.  That said, I have a lot of time and money in equipment and I prefer to use it rather than pack it around.


When I go hunting I want stuff to die, if I don't want stuff to die I go hiking. 

[HogBiologist]

The goal of hunting is to harvest an animal that meets your standards for taking.  If harvesting an animal is not a goal in hunting then you are not hunting, you might be a hunter, but not hunting. 

[stinkpickle]

...What is everyone's best guess before a 100 yard turkey load is advertised?  My guess two years...

Don't worry.  The price of tungsten and depleted uranium will take care of that.   

[Longshanks]

The comments that i have made with regard to shooting 50+ yards on this website are strictly from my own experience of hunting, guiding, filming and watching hundreds of turkeys either die in front of the gun or seeing the mistakes that are made. Hevi 13 and Nitros didnt come out last year..its been around a long time.  In guiding we have folks pattern their guns before hunting and i have seen amazing patterns on paper at 60yds.  I also witnessed the same folks try to duplicate that shot in the field with terrible results.  I guess something that has been lost over time is what was taught to me.  My dad taught me to never take a shot that wasnt a "for sure kill".  Long shots produce more misses and cripples than letting the bird get within 40 yds. In 40 years of turkey hunting ive watched technology develop amazing things with shotguns/ chokes/ shells but ive also seen folks push the envelope in shooting long distances more and more with terrible results.  Respect for the wild turkey has been eroded by ego and this "must kill" attitude. People mess up one turkey and then go to another one as if it didnt matter at all.  There are few people that seem to be concerned about what we are teaching the next generation of turkey hunters but there are some of those special people still out there.  I watched Michael Waddel tell a whole convention center and hundreds of kids sitting in front of him wide eyed that he would never shoot a turkey over 40yds.  "Leave things better than you found them in the turkey woods" was what Tom Kelly told me one time. People that think turkey hunting is just about  killing the turkey..were never taught what the sport is all about and most are so closed minded they will never learn.  Turkey guns are one thing but if you want to learn what turkey hunting is about i would suggest reading some books from some of the folks that care about the future of this sport and the future of the wild turkey. If you dont think the quality of the turkey hunting has been negatively effected by this new wave of turkey hunters..you havent been hunting long enough to see it.

[bird]

I gonna tell ya all a quick story and let's see if ya all pick up on it. 

When my boy was in high school a bunch of his buddies came over so they could go out for the evening. While they were waiting in the living room for JJ to finish getting dressed. One of his friends was sitting at the couch and put his feet up on my coffee table. I don't have many rules in my house but one rule I do have is keep your feet off the furniture. I asked this friend to please remove his feet in my own way and left the room. I returned to the room to find that he decided that it was more important to rest his feet on my table.  This is when I told him again to get his feet off the table and then I think the kid must of had a case of brain farts or something because he thought it would be wise to argue with me about the matter. He was immediately ejected from the house and told to never return, EVER.

The moral of the story is never go into another mans house and disrespect him by trying to bend the house rules as ultimately the man that owns the house can and will remove all guest he deems fit based on their behavior.

I do believe that Shannon has made it very clear. OG is not the place to discuss long or questionable shots as this is considered shooting and not hunting. And I see several people that feel it is OK to put their feet up on his coffee table while disrespecting his House Rules.

Very simple to understand isn't it.

Al

[Longshanks]

Thank you

[bird]

Thank you

You're Welcome..... But I think the person that truly needs to be thanked is Shannon since this is a private site and he allows us to hang out here for free to talk turkey hunting.

Al   

[coyotetrpr]

In the past I have seen members get kicked off this site and wondered how it happened. I now know how it happens. Shooting is part of hunting. If harvesting the animal is not your objective then you are not hunting, you are observing. That is simply how it is. Some poeple want to preach ethics to others and condemn them for admitting that the harvest of the animal is the main objective. To those people who say that the harvest is not important I would chalenge them to get rid of their guns and take a camera instead. Photos will last a life time and if they are going to preach to me that it is all about the hunt and nothing about the harvest, than I think if they are not hipocrits they will accept this challenge. As for the story that Bird shared, in my case I did not realize that I was in a house that did not think shooting was part of hunting. If I am asked to leave that is fine because I want to be no part of what I percieve to be politicaly correct, say the right thing and forget what is real hunting. I have learned many things from this site, some good and some bad. My time here has been fun.

[bird]

Long Distance Shooting Is Not part of turkey hunting and Does Not and Will No Longer be considered acceptable on this site.

[Javi]

Interesting discussion.

[Longshanks]

Thank you

You're Welcome..... But I think the person that truly needs to be thanked is Shannon since this is a private site and he allows us to hang out here for free to talk turkey hunting.

Al   

Thanks to Shannon as well, have allot of respect for guys putting your foot down about all this long range shooting promotion.