And many of us scratch our heads wondering what is sporting about calling in a bird, often over bait,during their mating season and ground sluicing it with a shotgun.
Its a cultural thing...
ingwe, your so right about shooting turkeys with a shotgun... 3.5 in. magnums no less.. If they used rifles, there would be few turkeys taken home... Major Askins was correct shooting a turkey with a shotgun is little short of murder.
The "ground sluicing" comment implies that the turkey should be taken on the wing like a pheasant. Wingshooting turkeys would result in a lot of wounded birds.
The safety aspects of using a shotgun during turkey season have been well covered. The entire idea of ethical hunting is a clean kill. I don't see how it would be more sporting if a less effective method of dispatch were used. At least with a shotgun you have to call the bird into close range.
