What is the reasonable distance to quickly kill a turkey with a muzzleloader?

[Trigger]

5 yards makes a big difference in pattern..

I'm ok at judging distance but hey 5 yard I'm not perfect judge of distance.

 

[Trigger]

I've just seen it to much... they shoot max and to be nice it's 50 50 odds.

It's no good. You either learn before or after missing one

I'll say I new better took a max shot with cyl.. and you know if I didn't I would have had another chance but I tried a shot at him and hes not coming back

 

[oldwood]

I realize the post infers using a smooth bore gun , however , a hunting buddy took his new .32 long rifle for a walk before supper. A dumb turkey stood still in front of him on a logging trail , at 32 steps. His PRball passed side to side under the wing pinions. The bird flopped a bit , and died. Sadly , the Pa.blame Comm. has outlawed he use of rifles for fall turkey season. Smooth longrifles are ok to us.

 

[Trigger]

I realize the post infers using a smooth bore gun , however , a hunting buddy took his new .32 long rifle for a walk before supper. A dumb turkey stood still in front of him on a logging trail , at 32 steps. His PRball passed side to side under the wing pinions. The bird flopped a bit , and died. Sadly , the Pa.blame Comm. has outlawed he use of rifles for fall turkey season. Smooth longrifles are ok to us.

Way back then it
I don't even know how many ways they could have shot turkeys with these things

You didn't waist shot... you would want to use one ball or just enough buck to get it.. some load like that. It would be fun

 

[azmntman]

I realize the post infers using a smooth bore gun , however , a hunting buddy took his new .32 long rifle for a walk before supper. A dumb turkey stood still in front of him on a logging trail , at 32 steps. His PRball passed side to side under the wing pinions. The bird flopped a bit , and died. Sadly , the Pa.blame Comm. has outlawed he use of rifles for fall turkey season. Smooth longrifles are ok to us.

AZ law mandates shotgun shooting shot (10 GA or smaller). We used to be able to use a rifle as small as .22 mag, they changed the law before I ever took a turkey

 

[azmntman]

I can't speak for anyone else, but I've not killed a turkey while it was running or flying.

My first tom, I rolled him and got up and ran like heck, no second shot. At about 100 yds he caught air, did a 180 and flying about 30 feet high came straight back towards me and my buddy (who was calling for me as I was a newbie) and at about 40 yards from us began descending! REALLY looked like he was gonna fly right up my nose. I had a barrel left and at about 10 -15 feet I fired from the hip and dropped him at my feet! I turned around and theres my buddy with a huge old branch holding it like a baseball bat and he says "I had yer back Homey". One of several insane (and 100% true) turkey stories. It seems, for me anyway, turkey hunts are aways super exciting!

 

[Trigger]

Lol... a nest like a squirrels or mouse would make.... stuff that down the shotgun

 

[waksupi]

5 hits is what most people go with for our min at max range.. we want them a little closer we hope, but you should know your max range...

one is a bb gun it's going to have to be right in there..

you might not get one in there good enough.. patten for pattern one to the next there not exactly the same every time. It's pattern

is 4 hits of #4... better than 6 number 6 .... or 8 number 7.5. Hits.

I believe it was Robert Rourke, African hunter, who said he was able to kill geese further with small shot, as it was more likely to put a pellet in the head.

 

[Trigger]

Ten gauge is best to build this nest in the muzzles i think.. go to the pet store get the stuff mice sleep in..

 

[Trigger]

I believe it was Robert Rourke, African hunter, who said he was able to kill geese further with small shot, as it was more likely to put a pellet in the head.

You wouldn't get it with larger probably and your throwing your pattern in front of those things.. yea i could see that..

I think a muzzloader Shotgun is better than modern and I really don't want to find out that my choke tube is obsolete but it might be

 

[Trigger]

I'm going with the mouse stuff. I was told that. I like it.. Overshot card base maybe 4 or 5. Skychief in front is something to try..

Being able to load it two three ways you would almost not want the IC barrel either.. just a double cyl... load one side hard card for spread. mouse load the second.

 

[waksupi]

You wouldn't get it with larger probably and your throwing your pattern in front of those things.. yea i could see that..

I think a muzzloader Shotgun is better than modern and I really don't want to find out that my choke tube is obsolete but it might be

When Larry O'Connel did the testing for the ammunition companies on lead alternatives for shot years ago, he said the 10 bore black powder shotgun would outreach any other. He was shooting a cartridge gun in the tests. I don't recall him saying what the choke and shot size were, but he did say it reliably killed geese at 80 yards.

 

[Wncman]

I was told by an old turkey hunter that every deer thinks a hunter is a tree. Turkeys think every tree is a hunter.
They are very weary about their surroundings once season opens

 

[Trigger]

When Larry O'Connel did the testing for the ammunition companies on lead alternatives for shot years ago, he said the 10 bore black powder shotgun would outreach any other. He was shooting a cartridge gun in the tests. I don't recall him saying what the choke and shot size were, but he did say it reliably killed geese at 80 yards.

They said it shot far depending on what you do and we waist to much shot..

Those old Italian agreed on nothing but they all agreed that ten gauge is the best...

They couldn't agree on who made the better nest the squirrels or mice

 

[Trigger]

Lol

They were all arguing about these modern guns and shot size to chokes. It's funny there Italian you know.

That argument. they all agreed for a headshot like that a woodcock load in the blackpowder gun would do it and the modern Shotgun was no good

I'm trying to get to the range this weekend. Wanting to try out 3 loads and see.. it's on my mind you know.

1... mice
2... squirrel
3... mice/squirrels

 

[Mike in FL]

I once shot a turkey that was crossing the trail I was on. There were others with him but he crossed alone. My 20 gauge bird gun was an unmentionable. #6 shot, modified bore. Killed him at 20 yards. I could not find where he was hit. Back then, turkeys had to be checked and tagged at a game checking station. A game warden was there and examined the bird and never found an injury of any kind. He said I was lucky to have got him. My point is I've never turkey hunted with a shotgun since. Give me a small bore ml any day. I'm for every hunter using what they want. But me, I don't want to be restricted by distance. Lots of shotgun hunters seem to be really concerned about their patterns, wanting very tight patterns. I get that but but I'd much rather skip the pattern and distance concerns and just go hunting. Call them in, get one in your sights, shoot it. My little brother hunted with a revolver for everything. He used the same principles used by shotgun hunters and was very successful, except he never had any camo clothing nor any modern equipment. He has long since stopped hunting all together. WOW, did I get off topic or what? Sorry.

 

[Trigger]

It's just a distance turkey gun choke shot thing... your OK off topic I think.

My Shotgun load might sound funny but it's better that way I think... the way they told it.

 

[Trigger]

The descriptions of what this load does..

Sails down the bore into the air like a stampeed of cattle down the street right for that birds head.

All the shot follows one in front of the other... it doesn't spread out.

I don't know... maybe it's a modified pattern and that's good? done right would you get full choke performance from a CB...

 

[Billy-by-gosh]

I once shot a turkey that was crossing the trail I was on. There were others with him but he crossed alone. My 20 gauge bird gun was an unmentionable. #6 shot, modified bore. Killed him at 20 yards. I could not find where he was hit. Back then, turkeys had to be checked and tagged at a game checking station. A game warden was there and examined the bird and never found an injury of any kind. He said I was lucky to have got him. My point is I've never turkey hunted with a shotgun since. Give me a small bore ml any day. I'm for every hunter using what they want. But me, I don't want to be restricted by distance. Lots of shotgun hunters seem to be really concerned about their patterns, wanting very tight patterns. I get that but but I'd much rather skip the pattern and distance concerns and just go hunting. Call them in, get one in your sights, shoot it. My little brother hunted with a revolver for everything. He used the same principles used by shotgun hunters and was very successful, except he never had any camo clothing nor any modern equipment. He has long since stopped hunting all together. WOW, did I get off topic or what? Sorry.

Ditto! Many years back, I did the same thing at about 35 yards. No blood or visible injuries until the coup de grace was applied. I did find the big old wad laying beside him however
Guess reasonable distance can have a miraculous dimesion as well

 

[new2bp]

The blinds I'm hunting out of have trees/bushes ranged appropriately, maybe a decoy set as a marker, etc no matter what kind of gun I'm toting when chasing turkey. Pattern the shotgun, determine your max distance and either become expert at judging it or do some measuring from your blind set up.

As to max range to kill a turkey? Well, rifles are legal here in Florida, so when October and ML season rolls around if I have a chance to chase a bird I'll be toting either a .45 or .50 percussion rifle...

I once shot a turkey that was crossing the trail I was on. There were others with him but he crossed alone. My 20 gauge bird gun was an unmentionable. #6 shot, modified bore. Killed him at 20 yards. I could not find where he was hit.

Took a bird already this year (got a few more days to get #2.... darn jobs!) using a 20ga modern thing w/ 2 3/4" 1oz #5 lead, pattern board showed I'd be good to at least 35 yards, I popped him at 25 yards and he just face planted, no flopping or anything. The other 2 birds I've shot in prior seasons with a 12ga with almost 2x as much shot flopped around quite a bit .... again, it is all about patterning your gun, knowing where it hits in relation to point of aim (this can be an issue, especially with doubles), and staying within the guns limits.