What makes 40 yards “ethical”?

[JohnSouth22]

What has made the 40 yard shot the line when determining an ethical shot vs not? In the day of high brass pheasant loads the ethical shot range was 25 possibly 30 yards tops so is it not due to semi recent technological  advances that has allowed for these what were once thought to be unethical shots past 30 yards to be taken? My point being that those that refuse to shoot tungsten yet shoot these modern shells that allow you to shoot well beyond 25-30 yards seems somewhat hypocritical from what I've seen. If you still shoot high brass #6-4's, I tip my hat

[Happy]

I can't answer for anyone else but to me it really doesn't have much to do with the ability to make a kill at longer ranges. With the advanced shells and guns we have they can be killed further. For me its the distance at which I feel I have called the turkey in and won the match. I have killed some in the last 3 or so years with these modern tss shells and my longest shot to date is 37 steps. Just cause I can doesnt mean I am going to. I do enjoy pulling the trigger and knowing that it is a clean kill with ammo that is more than adequate for the task.

[Gooserbat]

It's just a number.  For myself it's when I know I've won and I can cleanly kill the bird.  I've killed birds at about any distance from 2 steps to 70.  To be honest, all felt good to me, but the closer ones felt better. 

[FullChoke]

Through many years of hunting, I have a predetermined "Red Zone" that once Tom steps inside of it, his fate is up to me. That "Red Zone" is 40 yards due to the limitations of the shells and chokes in the past. I now shoot TSS because of the superior density of the shot pattern out to the perimeter of the Red Zone and not because the shot can kill out past 60+ yards. Ethical doesn't have anything to do with that part of turkey hunting for me.

[Greg Massey]

I agree it's just more satisfying to myself knowing i won the game and called him into my setup as close as possible. Regardless what gun or shell i'm using i just like those close and personal shots. I don't get up at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning thinking that i'm not going to kill a gobbler today.  But i can tell you the turkey wins most of the time and it's so gratifying on that days i'm successful in killing that gobbler.  If he lives today, i just hope i get to hunt him again tomorrow.  I guess you could say i just like looking eye to eye with him for that close shot. it's mostly out of respect to the gobbler for me to do my job and kill him under 40 yards or less regardless of the equipment i'm using.

[joey46]

Since I almost always set one decoy at a predetermined distance range is seldom a consideration for us.  Pick a set up spot,  pace off 25 steps give or take,  place the decoy.  If a bird shows up we'll have a very good idea how far he is.  Even after playing this game for 40+ years in the excitement of the moment they always seem to look closer than they are.  Today's ammo is superior to what we once shot but it is so expensive very few new hunters spend much time patterning it.  Too bad since even some of the super ammo patterns poorly with some gun and choke combinations.  I can't remember the last time myself or my usual hunting buddy shot a bird at over thirty.  When I pace off the walk to the dead bird I've counted 28 yards so many times it's almost weird.   

[Howie g]

IMO , 40 and under keeps the crippling to a minimum/ keeps the hunt a challenge on my end / aids in the enjoyment of actually getting to watch him approach/
   I hunt for me , myself and I .  This means I do it " my " way , and my way only .  Yelp him to the gun fair and square with out visual aids , make him look for me , keep my shots close . Anything else again IMO , your cheating yourself and even more important, the resource we all " supposedly" respect .

[fallhnt]

Its  a no Biden for me.(no brainer) I use 3in 5 or 6 upland game loads,iron sights or bead sight,depending on the gun I use.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

[ChesterCopperpot]

My state has no shot requirement. None. No minimum. No maximum. Just shotgun only. I could carry a tuned rifled barrel shotgun with a scope and take field turkeys at 200yds legally. That's not the game for me. That's not fun for me. Turkey hunting for me is about feeling them in my chest. I want the drumming to raise the hairs on my neck. That's the game. That's why I do it. 40yds is great, but I sure like 25yds better.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Hobbes]

My two cents, maybe three....

I doubt in the "early" modern times, folks even talked about it.  They killed turkeys to the effective range of their equipment and probably took shots farther than they should have as much as anyone.  Ethics in hunting were slowly developed and that wasn't until states put an end to killing whenever, however, and as many as you wanted. 

I suspect "40 yards" came about in the 80s because when I started in 90, it was already an accepted ethical distance once you patterned your gun and saw it's capabilities.  It may have been earlier but too much earlier than that and it was likely a rare gun and shell that could reliably do it.

In those days, I recall few patterns from a 3" number 4 turkey load that looked like a sure thing at 40.  #5s put me a little closer to my comfort zone, but I really needed to shoot 6s to feel like I could put enough shot in a birds head at 40 to reliably kill him.  Lead 6s struggle past 40 yards in my opinion to have enough umph.  It wasn't until I jumped to 3.5" turkey loads at 1300 fps that I felt like I could slip up and kill one at 50.  Even then it wasn't uncommon for him to still look like I better get my hands on him quick if I shot him 40 plus.

"40 yards" was a balance between pattern density and the shot's lethality, so it's stuck.  40 yards always seemed far in the woods so I didn't feel like I'd actually gotten the bird to commit.  In a field, that same 40 seemed a whole lot closer, and he sure as heck seemed committed since I didn't have a decoy out and at that point he knew darn good and well that there wasn't a hen there.  Luckily I seldom hunted fields.

Nowadays, I know I can effectively floor him at 50 yards and likely farther, but at that point I believe I'm nearing just shooting turkeys and not calling them in.

[BBR12]

Talking ethics only not why i want them at 40 or less.

Bottom line is this. MOST people go in the woods without a clue what there gun will do. I have spent a many a day patterning guns and anything past 40 (less with some guns) is when a pattern can fall apart in a hurry. That can be with copper plated lead or tss or anything in between. Everyone throws out tss will kill them X-yds away. Yep may be right but have you shot your gun on paper enough times to KNOW that at X-yds away it will kill one clean every time. I don't know many folks out there burning 2-3 $5-10 shells through there gun at every range to verify that. I load my own and have a trap so I know where I can kill one, but most folks don't. They shooting apex or whatever and they MAY shoot one or two at paper at 30 or 40 yds and call it great. I have seen pretty remarkable patterns at 40 that may put one or two in the kill zone at 50. I know it may sound crazy but it's the truth and I've seen it many times.

2nd. I have killed a couple birds at 60+ on mistake. Not proud of it probably missed or peppered some too. Each time was an optical illusion  and thought the bird was 40 maybe 45 until I stood up after the shot. So if I can mistake yardage by 20 so can most everyone else especially all the new hunters. If I think he is at 60 and I mistake it by 20 now he is at 80 that a whole lot of difference.
I no longer pull the trigger anymore if I don't think he is less than 40. I will stretch that to maybe 50 but only after verifying it with a range finder and I know what my gun will do.

[Treerooster]

I think a lot of it has to do with a turkey's defenses. Turkeys just haven't evolved to worry about predators far away. They can fly. They just need enough time to react from a predator and that "comfort" range is probably right around 30 or 40 yards.

Turkeys scrutinize their environment more at close-in ranges because that is where the real danger to them comes from. This is how they have adapted over the long term. So by shooting further away a hunter doesn't have to defeat their senses quite as much than if the birds were in close. The closer range gives the birds a fairer shake in other words.

And of course it can take a bit more skill to get a turkey to come in those last 10 to 30 or so yards.


I have seen a flock of turkeys in a cut corn field, with deer, and with 2 coyotes. The yotes were over a 100 yards from the feeding turkeys and deer. The turkeys appeared to not be threatened by the yotes at all, but I am sure they kept an eye on them. If the yotes charged, the turkeys had plenty of time to take flight into nearby trees. The deer seemed more nervous and I believe that is because 100 yards or so was more of a threat to them, although the deer did not leave the field either, just kept their heads up more than they would have if the yotes weren't there.

As for me. I like stuff close, it's just more exciting. 20 to 25 yards is where I want my turkeys...and ducks...and big game (archery mostly)...and upland birds. 40 is about my limit for all those but I strive for 20 to 25. Sometimes it happens even closer...that's just more excitement.

I have rifle hunted big game a little, but most of those shots have been 65 and under. I have shot 1 Deer and 1 Antelope at 125 yds, and 1 Bighorn Sheep at 170 yds.

[Dtrkyman]

I have only killed a few over 40, none over 50.  It is personal, years ago 40 was a stretch for effective patterns, no longer the case.  Is 50 the new 40?

Hell I don't know but if someone takes a longer shot at a distance they know their gun provides a killing pattern I have no issue with it!

I chased a bird all over hell one morning, had him inside 40 multiple times with no shot, I never actually even laid eyes on em.  I made a move and he happened by me at 47 or so wide open, I felt nothing but pure joy when I smashed him!

That was my longest shot for sure!

[bowbird87]

To me 40 yards is a number for patterning. Its all about your comfort level, pattern density and pellet lethality. If your shooting heavier than lead pellets and the pattern holds up I have no problem with shooting past 40.

[Tom007]

I pattern all my guns at 30 yards. My comfort zone is 30 on in. Have I harvested a few at 35, yes but 30 on in I got em. I mark stuff with a rangefinder when I can. Works great. I play a lot of golf in the off season, that helps me figure yardage too....