Turkey with a .54...can it be done?

[strand]

I am wanting to hunt turkey with a .54 hawken and I am wondering if this is too big as I also have a .45 inline I could use instead. It is legal in North Dakota to hunt turkeys with a muzzle loader of .45 or bigger so I thought a new challenge to a wonderful sport might be nice. Also, if the .54 is a good choice should I stick with a round ball or switch to a conical to avoid such a large hole, or just what patterns best in my rifle? I am still going to be calling the birds into a close range because that is half the reason I turkey hunt so maybe a round ball would work nice.

Thank you

 

[bob1961]

i think the round ball would leave a round hole without any if no expantion compaired to the conical....if your sate has a game comm website it should tell ya there whats legal....hope this helps a little.......................bob

 

[Rat]

At 25 to 30 yards your .54 should be accurate enough to shoot it at the neck/body juncture, and not take a body shot.

You will also need very little power, so I would develope a very accurate, light target load, and again don't take the body shot. You are not speaking in terms of shooting a turkey with normal hunting loads....are you???

:nono:

If you MUST take a body shot, again a very light load should kill a Turk without much meat damage. But again again, any decent rifle should just about shoot one-hole groups at 25 yards.

Rat

 

[strand]

Thanks guys. Rat no I sure do not want to shoot a normal big game load at a turkey and yes I always take head and neck shots with my modern 12 ga, so now my next question would be, What ball park as far as the powder charge goes should I pattern my rifle at...50 grains?


Thank you

 

[Rat]

50 grains sounds reasonable...smallest rifle I have is a .58, and that's about what I'd be looking at if I was going to shoot a Turk with a ball. I would not be afraid to go down to 40 or 45, if your rifle allows that small of a charge. Ballistically that would still be in the ball park of a .45 Colt load.

By the way, I can think of no reason to use a slug, and, I believe that the ball will still be very accurate with a light load, whereas I don't think any kind of slug would be.

Good luck, I will be curious to hear your accuracy results. With light charges you will probably want a tight ball and patch combo.

Rat

 

[silverfox]

Ok guys turkeys with a rifle should be no problem. First learn where to shoot. Don't shoot low like you would on a deer. Thats were all the good meat is faceing shot neck body shot between the wings. Bullet misses the wish bone takes out the spine and lungs kills on the spot misses both breasts. Side ways go for the wing joint (not the tip) high and you still get the back or spine without hitting the breast and get a quick kill. So get out there and get a big old Tom for Christmas. Shoot in the top 1/3 for Turkey, and the middle to bottom 1/3 for deer.
Fox

 

[Bob J]

With light OR heavy load; from legs go 1/3 of the way up the body and several inches towards the rear. My brother shot a gobbler Thanksgiving weekend, out deer hunting with a .50 inline. Basically put a half inch hole thru it.

 

[musketman]

I am wanting to hunt turkey with a .54 hawken and I am wondering if this is too big

Nope, you can load it down in powder and in ball size... (using a smaller ball and a thicker patch)

You should be aware of the keen eye of the turkey, I would suggest you cover the brass parts of your Hawken with something, a flash of sunlight off the brass will send the turkey in flight...

 

[smokeblower]

My wish list for Christmas includes hope that one day the TWRA will allow us tenny-seee-uns to hunt turkey with a traditional rifled musket . I have pushed my political influence as far as possible to make this situation a reality. I then paid for my coffee and left the donut shope.

 

[strand]

Thanks guys I can't wait for spring now, as I didn't get drawn for a fall tag.

 

[Darkhorse]

Strand,
I have taken 2 Georgia Gobblers with a .54 and can speak with experience that you are not in the least undergunned. :crackup:
I always shoot half charges for anything other than big game. True, you will get at least a .530 hole through the turkey but at 1/2 charge velocity the expansion will not be that great. I want to know exactly where my gun hits at 50 to 75 yards because the advantage gained with a rifle is longer effective range.
Another advantage is this; Todays turkey hunter has been educated by TV shows that imply the only proper way to take a turkey is by calling it in close, and there IS a lot of skill involved in being successful on a regular basis. But in public woods today that means sometimes a lot of competition from other callers who have heard that bird from a half mile away. Even if you were the one who put him to bed the night before. And anybody who has tried it knows shooting a bird off the roost with a shotgun is not very effective.
But with a roundball rifle it is effective. And as far as hunting skills go just try crawling in the predawn dark close enough to a roosted gobbler to take him at first shooting light with a flintlock rifle, either on the limb or on the ground at flydown. Just try it sometime and then decide how sporting it "Really" is.
And rest assured that old David Crockett or Daniel never worried one bit about where that bird was when they shot it.
This spring I will be taking to the woods again with the .54 flintlock but I am planning right now my next rifle building project, a .40 flinter just for turkeys.
Time will tell if the increased velocity messes up more meat than the slow .54.
Also, I never try head or neck shots with a flintlock. And I don't much worry about where in the body I hit them. I have discovered that eating a "holey" bird is much better than trying to chew a "missed" bird.