Home Forums Birds & Dogs Turkey Hunting I failed big-time today....

Yes, it was. It gave me confidence I'd nail him in the next few days, but it never happened.


My personal rule is 35 yards. The longest shots I've ever taken were 40 yards and 42 yards. The 42 yard shot I mis-estimated. I thought it was 35 yards.

I prefer them under 30, but will not hesitate to shoot at 35. The closest I've ever passed on one was 15-20 yards. I don't remember why.

If I had shot at every bird I thought was 40-50 yards away I would have a lot more beards and spurs in my collection, but I would also have some misses and some wounded birds. That, I don't want to do. Therefore I'm conservative in my shot selection.

Steve.

Where did you think this thread was about you? Don't patronize anyone here with your 'sorry' crap.

.224? The thought of chasing Toms with a scoped centerfire has so little appeal to me you couldn't talk me into it.

A gobbling Tom at 30 yards and I'm near cardiac arrest,

130 yards, The game hasn't even started yet.

I don't get the idea of not shooting to your guns limits.

First, I said he was 60-70 yards away, headed for a field. I don't know if he ever got to the field or not, and I never said I saw him in the field. If I had, I might have had a chance of calling him.

Second, a .224 pattern (or .177, or .244, or .257, or...) is illegal in many states, including where I hunt. With a shotgun I've only ever taken two shots beyond 35 yards, and usually I like them at 30. They fall down dead every time.

Besides, when I saw that bird at 60-70 yards, I don't think you could have shot him. He was one the move and I got only glimpses of him as he moved through the leafed-out vegetation.

But carry on.
Steve.

Where did you think this thread was about you? Don't patronize anyone here with your 'sorry' crap.

.224? The thought of chasing Toms with a scoped centerfire has so little appeal to me you couldn't talk me into it.

A gobbling Tom at 30 yards and I'm near cardiac arrest,

130 yards, The game hasn't even started yet.

Sorry, but 60-70 yards out in a field is a dead bird here. The pattern is .224" in diameter at the muzzle, 30 yards, or 130 yards.

Unless I feel like being completely humbled and I take the bow...

Here's the way I see it.

Many hunters can't judge distance, and all hunters can misjudge distance. I was once setting up on a gobbler just below me, and was ready to give my first call when... Ka-Boom! Someone shot below me. I stood up and walked to the edge of the hill and saw the guy throw his hat on the ground in disgust. I walked down to him and asked what happened. He said, "I don't know. He was within range but I guess I missed." I asked how far away he was. The guy said, "50 yards."

I don't know what kind of gun he had, but a lot can go wrong at 50 yards.
First, 50 yards is a pretty far distance for most shotguns that aren't specialized turkey guns.
Second, a 20% range estimation (easy for anyone to do) might mean bird judged to be at 50 yards was actually 60 yards away. I shot a bird last year that I thought was 35 yards away, and he was actually 42 yards -- a 20% mistake.
Third, something can be in the way that you don't see, and disrupt the pattern. I once shot a gobbler at 35 yards, and a 1½" sapling was nearly cut in half by the shotgun shell wad, and took a beating from the pellets. I was lucky enough made it through to kill the bird.
Fourth, your pattern on paper might tell your your gun's absolute limits under perfect circumstances, but hunting seldom offers perfect circumstances. If you twist your body to the weak side, you might not get the bird's head in the center of the pattern. That has happened to me more than once.

Bottom line is that when you get into the woods and call a gobbler in, a number of variables can turn a chip shot into a miss or a wounded bird. Hope that helps.

Steve.