Home Forums Birds & Dogs Turkey Hunting 22 rifle for turkeys

My uncle hunted Turkeys with a 22 rifle and was good at it he shot them in the head . anyone else use a rim fire for turkeys?

Is it legal?

in pa. fall only

Rifles are legal in the hunting area I hunt in for the fall turkey season,

No rifles for turkey in NH at all. None in NY as well. Only two states I have any experience with. I'd love to be able to use either a 25-20 or a 32-20.

Most of my gobblers have been killed with a rifle.. No a .22 LR, but the Hornet, .222, .223, .22-250, .22-250AI, the Swift, .243, .25-35 & the .270.. That is the sporting method of killing a gobbler.. With the influence $ propaganda of the Wild Turkey Fed. Shotguns were pushed as the "sporting weapon"!!! Real sporting, shooting a bird on the ground with a shotgun..
I switched to a shotgun for several years when I was seriously hunting turkey.. The few gobblers I will hunt in the future will be killed with a rifle..
The old time turkey hunters said all that needs to be said on the matter. Henry Davis author of the great book THE AMERICAN WILD TURKEY, said since I hunt for sport rather than meat, I use a small bore rifle..(He preferred a Hornet or K-Hornet.
The great shotgunner, Major Charles Askins explained, killing a turkey with a shotgun, is nothing short of murder.. He preferred a small bore rifle.. I would suspect Longbeardking,s choice the .25-20 or 32-20.. Both out standing small game and turkey rifles..

No rifles might be a safety consideration in the heavily timbered and brushy eastern forest? There isn't anything wrong with calling an old gobbler close, making a good identification and then making a clean headshot with a shotgun. I could kill more birds with a rifle than with a shotgun in the early season before the vegetation greens up. After that it probably wouldn't matter. The hunt happens before the shooting starts.

If a rifle was legal I might use one. I hunt in the woods by calling so distance would likely be the same.

Not legal here. Would love to use my 10/22s.

That said, I did hit one in the head once with a 204 Ruger via 40gr V-max at 275ish yds.....

In Texas you can use both except on state owned land were you must use a shotgun.. I like using a shotgun. I like calling them.. I could kill a lot more with a rifle we see them out to 100 -200 yards all the time..

Im with WyoCoyo Hunter on this.The eastern turkey fanatics have rammed shotguns down our throats, and had it legislated in many places, including here for the spring season.
I can see no earthly reason for using a shotgun on a turkey. They have a head the size of a tennis ball-easy enough to hit with a rifle- can be called in close and ground sluiced. Not something you need a shotgun for.Judging by what I see the Bubbas doing on hunting shows, the wily wild turkey aint so wily that you need to hedge your bets with a spray gun.
That said a .22LR wouldn't be my first choice, but Id think a 17HMR would work well. Ive shot mine thus far with a .223

22wmr works like a charm.
Head or wing butts, right where the wing connects with the body.
No meat damage if shot there and they are drt.
Hornet would be good also.

AS already stated, not legal here in MI; if it was, I would have another use for my Marlin 883 in .22 magnum (if I could find ammo for it! :()

The reason shotguns are required for turkeys in many jurisdictions has nothing to do with it being required to kill a turkey and everything to do with safety. Turkey hunting is done while wearing full camo which makes other hunters hard to see. Shotguns limit the range of the shot thereby reducing the risk.

I understand that, but its like hunter safety orange laws....I don't have to like it....

Kinda worries me that some people would mistake even a camoed up person for a turkey, but I know it happens. The incidence with which it happens I don't think warrants the legislation.JMHO

When I was a kid in Montana, I shot a couple of wild turkeys with my .22. That was the easy part, the tough part was eating eating them after mom cooked them.

That is why I joined the Navy, to get a good meal.

W. Billo

Dude! Your own mom's cooking! I like them as much as any game but found they are dry and need to be cooked submerged in something, a mushroom/sherry sauce is my fave.

Or diesel fuel!

Wild turkey is one of our favorites.. With your tastes, navy food is your spot..

That is another thing, the older hunters didn't have camo, headnets, and a million other things to make them successful.. they were good hunters.. Both of the guys I mentioned killed turkey with shotguns.. Now people feel they need total camo. to be successful..