Limbing one (etiquette)

[Missed mallards]

Is there ever a time when shooting one off the limb is considered "ok"? Like is there a time limit before you can rub the trigger?

I didn't. But man looking back, I wouldn't have been too terribly upset about ending that chase early.


I essentially have taken a 2 yr hiatus from turkey hunting. Life, family, you get it. First morning back in the woods and it was a fiasco to say the least. Public land. Had one guy stop and ask if I had planned to hunt "here". Told him nope that I regularly get up and stand out in the woods at 5 in the morning. Most of the time I don't even wear clothes, this morning I just felt like blending in. Never did see that guy again but anyway. Got to my old listening spot and as the sun broke the far eastern plain, there right above me sat Mr Tom. He'd gobble, his hens would cluck and purr and yelp. He'd gobble. And repeat. This started 6:20ish. He flew off the limb at 7:30. His hens hung around until 8. All the while I could have plucked him outta his perch.


I'm assuming they saw me in the moonlight and held fast. Never have seen turkeys hold that long to the limb.

I just knew he was going to pitch toward his ladies and do it right. In typical Turkey fashion, he flew to the next county to never be heard from again. So he won.

Gotta push as much paperwork as I can and get this little boy better and back in school so I can do it again. Really have missed the spring woods.


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[silvestris]

Out of his roost tree, NEVER.  If he flies to my calling and he lights on a limb within thirty yards. ALWAYS.

[ScottTaulbee]

Out of his roost tree, NEVER.  If he flies to my calling and he lights on a limb within thirty yards. ALWAYS.

I agree, in my state it is illegal to take one from a roost. So I haven't done that, but I did, once, when I was 13 or 14 shoot one that had flown up in a tree. He was gobbling, coming to my calling,working his way up this clearing,  and then the bottom fell out and came a duck drowner, he flew towards me and landed in a tree about 35 yards away. He sat there getting soaked about 10 minutes, as did I, and I didn't want to sit in the rain anymore than he did, so I shot him and we both went home.


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[GobbleNut]

In my opinion shooting a "roosted" turkey should be illegal. The sticky point is the question of what is considered to be "roosted".  My definition of "roosted" is a turkey being in the tree (or whatever object he spends the night on) during that time he has flown up for the night until he leaves that particular location the next morning.

The first questionable situation (in my book) beyond that is if a night-roosted gobbler flies from the limb he spent the night on to another tree above a hunter that is calling to him...and is obviously coming to the call. I haven't personally ever seen that happen, but I have heard stories that is does on rare occasions. I suppose someone would have to define whether that would be acceptable or not. I suspect some would say it is...and others would say otherwise. I don't think it is ever going to happen to me...so I am not going to worry about that dilemma...until it does, I guess. 

Daytime gobblers flying into trees kind-of fits the same dilemma for me. I have had that happen one time after a buddy shot one of a trio of gobblers that came to our calling. One of the survivors flew up into a tree about fifteen yards away and sat there confused while his unlucky buddy flopped his last on the ground below him. I looked that gobbler over and contemplated the ethics of the situation, deciding not to pull the trigger.

Now, had he had a twelve-inch beard and/or inch-and-a-half spurs, those ethical considerations I was having might have been contemplated more thoroughly and in a different light. Fortunately, he did not and so we sat and watched him until he sorted out his situation and flew off.  Based on those considerations at that moment, I suppose I am probably in the camp that daytime limb-sitters are up to the shooter to decide for himself.   

[10th Legionaire]

I agree with definitely not shooting him off his night roost.

I've never been faced with one flying up to a limb in front of me so have never contemplated that. Having said that my initial thought is that it would be akin to water swatting/skillet shooting a duck. No bueno IMHO. But, if you're good with it and it's not illegal do what you want. We all have different viewpoints.

[eggshell]

I bet that gobbler knew you were there and that is why he stayed up. He wasn't sure what you was but wasn't taking chances on the ground, I have seen it many times. I can tell you I have shot a gobbler from a tree mid morning before, it was a gobbler I shot at and hit and I was doing my best to recover a wounded bird. I am in the school that every shot at bird is hit to some extent and if you shoot at one you recover him by any means if you get the chance. Sometimes birds do fly up to look around and that is simply a choice if legal, but a bird on a limb where he spent the night is never ever in any way a target.

[Dougas]

When I first started turkey hunting long ago, I set up about 150 yards across a meadow from a group of toms one afternoon. It was raining and I wanted to see if I could get them to cross the meadow. It was working when from out of nowhere a coyote busted them and they took to the tree directly above me. I had a nice tom about 25 yards above me and out to my left. I thought why not?, so I shot him in the head. He tumbled forward and hit the ground with a loud thud. His breast meat was all black and blue from bruising when he hit the ground. After that, a tom in a tree is no dilemma for me. That has never set right with me.

[Happy]

I would never even consider shooting one that is on the limb as far as roosting goes. I don't know if I would shoot a limb hopper or not. I have only dealt with 2 limb hoppers, and one half flew, half hopped his way in, proceeding to drop to the ground 15 yards in front of one of my boys. He didn't survive. The other one was a devil turkey that I messed with for a few hours. He would stay just out of sight and gobble his head off. I finally thought I had him and had managed to position and call him into where if he moved right or left, he was dead. Of course, the bugger flew into a tree 60 yards up and out and just stood there surveying the area. I just sat there and cussed him until he finally flew off. . That was probably the second worst turkey I ever dealt with.  I don't think I would have shot him if he was within 40 yards or closer anyway. Sometimes, you just have to appreciate a game well played. I wouldn't fault someone for it if they were in my shoes. Heck, in my younger days, I would have probably cussed him before I shot him.

[Upfold99]

If his feet are not on the ground, he's safe around me.

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[Zobo]

I'm with eggshell, the only time it's acceptable is to recover a crippled bird.

[GobbleNut]

I'm with eggshell, the only time it's acceptable is to recover a crippled bird.

This leaves me wondering just how many hunters that shot at a bird and had it fly up in a tree would jump to the conclusion that they had crippled it...whether they actually did so or not?  I suspect the "it was crippled" crowd would be significantly greater than the "I just missed him and he flew up into a tree so I'm not gonna shoot him" crowd. I could be mistaken, though...   

[TauntoHawk]

Last day of the season, chasing a bird I'd been after multiple times that season I pushed close to the roost and ended up sitting 38yds from him on the limb. At that time, he probably would have been my biggest spurred bird. He gobbled but was nervous on the limb, didn't look at me but must have heard me come in and he stayed on the limb until 8am. I thought about it but ultimately decided if he sails out of range then he wins and I get to play the game of trying to find him next year... He pitched clean down the mountain.

Don't regret it, I remember the battles we had and he won as well as a "successful" hunt so what did I really miss out on. I also wouldn't fault someone else for coming to a different conclusion.

Unfortunately they clear cut that section of oaks and put a road and parking lot in, the almost impossible to get to spot was now easily overrun and Im not sure I ever killed another turkey in that block of public.

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[Gobbler428]

Never off the limb, feet must be on the ground.

[eggshell]

I'm with eggshell, the only time it's acceptable is to recover a crippled bird.

This leaves me wondering just how many hunters that shot at a bird and had it fly up in a tree would jump to the conclusion that they had crippled it...whether they actually did so or not?  I suspect the "it was crippled" crowd would be significantly greater than the "I just missed him and he flew up into a tree so I'm not gonna shoot him" crowd. I could be mistaken, though...   

I imagine your right Gobblenut, that many would use it as justification. In my 50 plus years I have had this happen twice out of somewhere around 200 birds and it was obvious they were wounded. One fell out of the tree dead before I could get close enough for a shot and the other only made it to a low limb and was very wobbly, he got some help coming to the ground. I think most of us would know what wounded is, but I still assume every shot at bird is hit and I will try to get him. That may mean follow up shots on the ground or wing, if reasonable distance. Again that is a small percentage. My experience is that truly missed birds generally put a lot of distance between them and the hunter real quick. I draw my opinion from watching videos in the past. When you replay them and slow them down or pause them a large percentage of the claimed misses are partial hits. I have also seen it when a bird is shot out of a group. Now, I also assume a lot of those hits are survivable. Rarely do any of those birds land in a tree in range. However, in the fall it is almost an assumption that all the spooked birds will light in a tree somewhere. It is their most common form of self defense. Spring gobblers are a little more on edge. Final conclusion: limb shooting is going to be out of the question and unethical 98% of the time, so don't even look for justification to do it.

[Kygobblergetter]

Not on a roosted bird ever. My brother and I had some birds roosted for the Kentucky opener several years ago and were trying to double up the next morning. In the woods with no decoys it just didn't work out so I told him to go ahead and kill one. When he did, the other 2 flew off. We hung out for a while and one that flew off started gobbling. We circled around to approach from the opposite direction of where he had just seen his buddy die. I still don't know how we did it but we got set up and he was in a tree 80 yards away. After some scratching in the leaves he flew to a tree 30 yards away. I could've shot him and probably wouldn't have felt terribly bad about it but I decided to let it play out. He finally pitched in to the creek bottom well within range but a coon came out of the creek chasing him the second he hit the ground. I still killed him and then we just sat there laughing. I swear this story is 100% truth as hard as it may be to believe.


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