Feel free to use a rifle if you wish, just let me know where you'll be so I don't set out my strutting decoy anywhere nearby.

barry

The reason you see more shotgun accidents then rifle accidents is because only 6% of Virginia turkey hunters use a rifle. (according to Gary Norman of the VDGIF)

The last spring gobbler death in Virginia that I can recall was from a rifle two to three years ago.

What ever you choose to use be careful and know what lies in front of your target and behind your target. With rifle users you need to know what is behind your target for a long ways off.

do you put that 22 250 on a tripod and wait till legal light and shoot em out of the tree at 200 yards? I wish all states would just make it shotgun only and no shooting birds on the roost. Then the ethics and legal aspects of the sport would line up. Sure people will still do it, but at least they will have to keep there mouth shut about it. Big bird i apologize i know you are right this just stirs me up so.

Dont worry barry...hunted long enough and hard enough to know the difference between the real thing and a decoy, and neway i kill all of mine by callin em in the same way u do...and the question of whats behind your target is always in the back of my mind, just make sure its in yours!!!! T.W. i guess you think since i hunt with a rifle that attomatically makes me a tresspasser, poacher, non sportsman, etc. haha... I love how ppl question the ethics of others in which they have never meet or hunted with...and accuse them of such things that they have nt the slightest clues about...maybe someday we should should all get together and go huntin then you can draw your own conclusions and actually know what ur talkin about!!!!

your right i apoligize, i shouldn't of made an implication that people who use rifles for turkeys are unethical. If you call em in and shoot em with a rifle and eat em then there is certainly nothing unethical about that. I hope you accept my apology. However i still would like to see em outlawed for turkeys, for reasons of safety and the "hunt", but i guess a traditional bowhunter would like to see compounds and crossbows outlawed, and on and on. I dont want to stir dissent up amongst hunters so i should have done as bigbird said and simply not replied.
sorry

again, nothing here against rifles. Just never used one b/c of the county I hunt in....can't use anything larger than a 22. And, it's so flat here, I wouldn't even use a 22. Anyways, I never make conclusions about someone just b/c of the gun they use. Sure, most of the poaching, illegal hunting, spot lighting is done with a rifle.......just b/c you can do it from the road across fields. But agree, that does not make every rifle hunter bad. Just that the rifle is the weapon of choice for most illegal activities. You can hunt with whatever you want, as long as it's done the right way.

I've been trying to stay away from this post.. but I can't help myself..

I'm curious how many Turkeys you have shot with your rifle that got away?? I know quite a few guys that hunt with rifles where I grew up and that is their choice and I don't like it, but it's their choice so I respect it.. they are all good guys and I like them all as people, I just never would Turkey hunt with them.. I've been ask a few times but I always respectfully decline and tell them when they stop hunting with a rifle then I will go with them..

but every year they tell me about shooting two or three turkeys with a rifle that get away.. just curious if they are just bad shots or is this common.. I think it must be common cause these guys consistently kill deer all the time with rifles.. I think the kill zone for a turkey with a rifle is pretty small and you must be really accurate to kill them cleanly .. So far this year I have heard of four different gobblers that were shot and got away with a rifle, including one that I heard before season came in and was planning on hunting, but he got shot at 80 yds with a rifle opening week and ran off never to be found.. also know of about 7 that were killed with rifles as well..

You never hear of that percentage getting crippled and getting away with a shotgun.. I just don't get it..

I'm just trying to understand the VDGIF hunting regulations and am a little confused where it says that it is "Unlawful to use or have in possession any shot larger than number 2 fine shot during spring gobbler season." I thought that this meant that rifles were not permitted in the Spring. Is it only talking about shotguns?

This is a easy one for me. I would rather go to the super market and buy a frozen one than kill a turkey with a rifle. I agree with earlier posts that turkey hunting should be up close and personal. If we all carried rifles and were good shots I believe that everyone on the board woould have gottena crack a a gobbler. Furthermore I do think it is called hunting not lets see how far we can shoot a turkey with a rifle and hope we get it. If you have never had the chance there is nothing like haveing a gobbler strutting and gobbling within 20 yds of your set up. It by far is the best experience that I can think of when thinking of hunting scenerios.

Just my thoughts,

Tom

Yes shotgun shot sizes......no Buckshot or the like is what they are saying.

Max -- thanks for clearing it up for me. It doesn't make any difference to me but I was just curious and couldn't figure out the logic of why buckshot was not legal if you could shoot them with a rifle.

After his death, Osama bin Laden didn’t go to heaven, but to a holding area.

There he was greeted by George Washington, who proceeded to slap him across the face and yell at him, “How dare you try to destroy the nation I helped conceive!â€

WVBOY....0!!! Maybe the reason some of the guys u know are wounding them IS because there shooting them past 40 yards!!!Huh, makes ya think dont it!! I have a family member who is without a doubt the best hunter i have ever encountered from over 30 states and that includes also guides and outfitters as well as some of the realtree boys (including the boss) and H.S. strut boys that i have had the pleasure to hunt with. He fills his tags every year and has never shot one past 40 yards, and probably in the last 30+ years of turkey hunting has wounded one or two birds!!! But you are right turkeys do have small kill zones expecially when one bullet is being shot at them, thats where marksmanship comes into play and being confident in your shot, but when your sending 100s of bbs at him in your shot window that will spread out to the size of a basketball or bigger depending on yardage....thats just pullin the trigger!!!!!

I'm confused.. is VAhunter the same person as Elk Addict?? Cause VAhunter said 70 yds or less not 40 ..

and I guess the guys I know are just bad shots then, cause they have told me some were within 20 yds and ran off, have a feeling they just got the bird in the scope and pulled the trigger without taking the time to aim for a kill shot accurately.. ..

I will stick with my shotgun even if you think it is just pulling the triggger.. I happen to think it makes you get them to 45 yds or less .. where if you have a rifle there is always the option/temptation to take that 100 yd or more shot, you say you won't do it and maybe you won't but I would not want the option .. If you really want to keep them at 40 yds or less hunt with a 22 magnum or hornet or 17 HMR instead of a 22-250 ...

Elk addict,
I should not have implied that you would shoot my decoys. SORRY!
Your choice of weapon is YOUR CHOICE.
If you call'em in under 40 yards and make clean kills, good for you.

My using a shotgun is not "just pulling the trigger." All of my shots are head/neck leaving much meat for the table. Plus with a shotgun I am not tempted to take a 50, 60 yard shot or longer just because the bird has hung up or decides to leave thus "winning the game" as I call it.
My goal as always is to get the bird 25-30 yards (like all 3 of my shots this spring), then I win the game.

Oh yeah, I would love to hear some of your stories concerning these "professional hunters."

barry