Next Question - Wing shooting

[kytrkyhntr]

 First shot? No, follow up shot? Yep.

[eggshell]

.there is the "sure kill" period and then there's the "maybe" period.  Hunter's need to know which is which and curtail their shots once a gobbler gets past the "sure kill" stage of flight.  If there is a question in anybody's mind about when that is, they should not be pulling the trigger.

That is exactly right. THe shots I would never take are:

Anything over 30-35 yards
going straight away
tree top High and crossing side to side.
Heavy brush or canopy

The shots I have taken :
Crossing at an angle
going away but at least quartering
shooting down on a bird.
In every case I have to see the head and neck completely

I am not talking about jump shooting, I am talking a called in bird that's been shot at or spooked from close range. As for the bird filled with shot. All 4 I killed on the wing never had a pellet in the body. You swing into the head and upper neck and with tight turkey tubes he is really exposed and your eating him up. Before I ever hunted turkeys I hunted Ruffed Grouse with a passion. I learned quick reaction woods shooting pretty young. Like Gobblenut said, "know yourself your gun and the capabilities of each".

[greencop01]

Wayne Bailey, an author and one of the biologists that pushed hard for wild trapping and transplanting wild birds, wing shot many a wild turkey. And he was a fish and game biologist. Read his book "Wayne's Turkey World:60 Years of Hunting." That being said I would not do it. If it's legal, OK for you, but not for me.

[Sir-diealot]

Nope, not a high percentage shot and the toughness of a turkey's wings has been known to deflect shot and I do not want to leave an injured animal.

[guesswho]

Not a chance.   I know he was just a tab better than me that day, so a tip if the hat and a verbal warning to not ever get that close again.

[howl]

I shoot well enough that a limit of doves doesn't take more than a box of shells. That's not great but it's better than most. There just aren't enough gobblers around to take anything other than a sure shot. So, if I'm shooting at a flying gobbler it is because I think I wounded it on the first shot. Otherwise I tip my hat and try again later.

[Kylongspur88]

With a crossing shot give him a lead and shoot. Going away shot pass.

[bbcoach]

NO  NO  and NO!  This isn't wing shooting.  We are shooting guns that have very tight patterns, at a very BIG bird, with thick feathers, THICK breast meat and they fly very fast.  The percentages of a CLEAN kill is probably 10% or less.  You may break a wing if your lucky but that bird will get on the ground, get away from you and end up as coyote or fox food.  Respect the ANIMAL and get him tomorrow!  Last thing while I'm on my soapbox, why is it as ethical hunters do we try to get these birds inside 40 yards and shoot them in the head and neck?  BECAUSE THEY ARE A TOUGH BIRD TO KILL!!!  Period!!!!

[GobbleNut]

NO  NO  and NO!  This isn't wing shooting.  We are shooting guns that have very tight patterns, at a very BIG bird, with thick feathers, THICK breast meat and they fly very fast.  The percentages of a CLEAN kill is probably 10% or less.  You may break a wing if your lucky but that bird will get on the ground, get away from you and end up as coyote or fox food.  Respect the ANIMAL and get him tomorrow!  Last thing while I'm on my soapbox, why is it as ethical hunters do we try to get these birds inside 40 yards and shoot them in the head and neck?  BECAUSE THEY ARE A TOUGH BIRD TO KILL!!!  Period!!!!

I don't disagree with this at all.  We turkey hunters hold a reverence for "our bird" that is unique in the wing-shooting world, it seems.  The thought of crippling a gobbler weighs heavily in most of our minds. I am right at the top of that list.

I do find it curious that it seems that the same level of concern is much less apparent with regards to other game-bird species.  I wing-shoot a number of game-bird species each year,...and I know that I occasionally hit a bird that either flies on off or eventually dive-bombs off in the distance somewhere and I can't find it.  That seems to happen pretty regularly with the big waterfowl (and similar,...sandhill crane, for instance) species. 

Yet, my level of remorse with those birds is nowhere near what I have for the thought of crippling a gobbler and letting him get away.  I sometimes wonder why that is?  I also wonder if others feel the same way? 

....Just a thought from a wandering mind....

[Marc]

First turkey I killed was during the fall season while hunting quail (after my first unsuccessful season of spring hunting).  I would never take that shot today...  The birds flushed to a tree, and when they flushed again, one came my direction, and I had a crossing shot (that was honestly a bit too far)...  Luckily I crushed the bird and was very pleased with myself.

Couple years ago, I had some birds fly over to me from a high ridge, and honestly, did not recognize them as turkeys immediately, causing them to see me, and continue flying...  They flew over at 20 yards, and I still regret not killing one of them.

I have killed several birds that were running and booking out of town with their heads up...  Honestly, probably more difficult shots than many flying shots...  My first spring bird was a bird that came in from the "wrong side" and was leaving in haste when I pulled up and shot him.  Shooting a running bird is very similar to wing-shooting.

To answer the question, I am a wing-shooter first and foremost...  I hunt ducks, dove, quail, and pheasant.  I would never, ever take a quartering away shot at a turkey (that had not yet been shot or shot at)...  Too much chance of crippling the bird.  I would take a crossing or incoming bird under the right circumstances....  If the head is up, with a clear view, I will take a bird in good range "booking out of town, running on the ground."

[TravisB]

I'll shoot them out of the air, out of the tree, off the ground. I'm there to kill a turkey, not play a game.


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[LaLongbeard]

I'll shoot them out of the air, out of the tree, off the ground. I'm there to kill a turkey, not play a game.


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Lol. When you learn how to kill them it becomes less of a desperate struggle.

[guesswho]

It is a game.  Enjoy it.

[bbcoach]

I'll shoot them out of the air, out of the tree, off the ground. I'm there to kill a turkey, not play a game.


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Lol. When you learn how to kill them it becomes less of a desperate struggle.

WELL SAID!!!  Lalongbeard!  As you age, it becomes more about the hunting experience then the kill or bragging rights.

[TravisB]

I'll shoot them out of the air, out of the tree, off the ground. I'm there to kill a turkey, not play a game.


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Lol. When you learn how to kill them it becomes less of a desperate struggle.

Cool.


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