Shoot or not?

[wisconsinteacher]

After yesterday's miss at 40 yards, I question what we did in the woods.  If you have a tom come in and skirt you at just at your limiting range, do you take the shot or let the tom go and reset up on him and try it again?

[chatterbox]

For me and my setup, I'm pulling the trigger.
Now, for what your shooters were doing with full chokes and #4 lead, no way in heck would I even attempt it!
They need to get to the range, and find a combo that will get them at least 100 evenly spaced pellets in a 10" circle at 40 yards.

[ccleroy]

I called in three longbeards for a Dr. This am and he flat out missed at 38 yards, shooting a bps and 3" #6 lead out of a standard full choke. I didn't pay much attention to his gun configuration beforehand but if I did I would have handed him my Rig. People really need to spend more time with their gun and know exactly what it will and will not do. I do not advocate standard chokes for hunting unless its and out of the norm great pattern. It was a great hunt and he enjoyed it and at-least he didn't cripple the bird which was what I was most worried about.

[DMP]

Get a good quality choke and and some good quality loads and do some pattern testing.  Figure out which combo patterns the best and figure out its effective range and go from there..

Today's chokes and loads will level at tom at 40 yds with no problem

[guesswho]

I pass and try him from another spot or on another day.

[Turkey Havoc]

If he is within 45 yards for me I am taking the shot. The key is knowing what your limits are, what you feel confident in making the shot. This comes from goinge to the range and shooting. If I was going without shooting at the range 20-25 yards would be my limit. I could probably make a clean kill out to 50 yards, but I know without a doubt I can out to 45 yards!

[matchbook454]

People really need to spend more time with their gun and know exactly what it will and will not do. I do not advocate standard chokes for hunting unless its and out of the norm great pattern. It was a great hunt and he enjoyed it and at-least he didn't cripple the bird which was what I was most worried about.

Problem is that a lot of people think they don't have time to shoot and pattern their gun / setup.  Where I live I have to drive an hour 1 way to go somewhere to pattern my gun.  I went out this year and fired 1 shot just to make sure I was still on.  I'm not going to cross my fingers and hope to risk missing a bird that I've waited a year to call into range.  Not to say I won't miss anyway! lol but at least I'll know it wasn't cause my scope's off or I ddin't know the effective pattern and range of my gun.

[wisconsinteacher]

So, if you let the tom walk, have you been able to call one back in.  My gun is good to 45, so if a tom is at 55, I am not going to shoot.  What do you do next?

[DMP]

Yes, sometimes you can call him back...  If he want come back then let him go and move to get back in front of him and try again....

[guesswho]

So, if you let the tom walk, have you been able to call one back in.  My gun is good to 45, so if a tom is at 55, I am not going to shoot.  What do you do next?

As long as you just let him walk off you stand a good chance of calling him to a better location.    I'd try to stay close to him and when I found a killing spot I'd give him another try.  It not unusual for me to have to pass a time or two before finally dropping the hammer.

[redleg06]

If i was in doubt then I'd pass. I hate to cripple one or, at the very least, scare them that bad.   

If you dont scare them when they walk off then you got a pretty good shot to get back on them later the same day...maybe  pretty quickly in the same day.

[fsu33952]

So, if you let the tom walk, have you been able to call one back in.  My gun is good to 45, so if a tom is at 55, I am not going to shoot.  What do you do next?

I shot and killed a gobbler one morning and the gobbler that was with him flew across the holler and started back gobbling before my ears quit ringing. I am talking within 2 minutes of the first shot. The gobbler didn't fly but about 75 yards. He was spooked and wouldn't come back but he was looking for his buddy. I guess he thought lightening struck his buddy. No idea. Years ago on a youth hunt my dad called up a gobbler and my nephew who was about 10 at the time missed. The turkey flew across the holler and start walking off clucking really loud. My nephew was mad and crying and all upset. They  waited till he walked out of sight and moved down the hill and started back to calling and called the same gobbler back up within just a few minutes. So the moral of the story is to not give up when you miss one clean because he might not know what happened. They are smart but sometimes do some thing which certainly defy logic.

[dirt road ninja]

If you have to think about it, your better off passing the shot and trying again later. I've passed a few birds that lots of folks would have shot at and maybe killed this year all inside of 45 yards. If I'm not sure of the results I don't shoot. Because of this, I miss very few and hadn't lost one in years. Once you shoot there are "take backs".

That being said, If he's 40'ish from me with nothing between me and him but air, I'm shooting. Got all the confidence in the world at 40 +/- in my rigs.

[WyoHunter]

If he's in the clear at 45 yards I'll shoot but if you have to think about it then let him walk and hunt him another day.

[jakebird]

Turkey hunting in this way is no different than bowhunting, or even rifle hunting. Each one of us owes it to the critters we pursue to know the limitations of our skills and our equipment. I arrowed a doe at 53 yds last fall. I knew i could do it, no prob. I know for a fact my turkey gun and loads will level a tom to 50 yds. I will never shoot past that mark and "hope" for the best. Ive only ever lost one turkey in my younger days and it still haunts me. I really dont ever care to feel that way again. If he hangs up at sixty yds, he has won for now. We'll play again later or tomorrow, or next year. Hopefully your buddy learned a valuable lesson. Forty yds isnt range for everyone. My son's twenty gauge is only good to 25 with his loads. We have to stick to that range.