Previously shot birds?

[Boll Weevil]

Seems like at least 1 of the birds I kill every spring has somebody else's pellets in him. Today's bird had a couple of healed over lead 4s in his leg. I shoot copper plated 6s so not hard to confirm that turkey caught pellets at some point in the past. Wild turkeys are survivors but we should all take care when closing the deal and do our level best to avoid peppering non-target birds with stray pellets or trying shots that are just too far or through lots of brush.

I never really thought about until today but to have 1 every year carrying shot seems excessive. Anyone else see this often?

 

[Bone Collector]

This exact thought crossed my mind while thinking about all the threads on here discussing the decline. I think it is a bunch of different things, and not just one, but this crossed my mind as I had not heard anyone mention it. I know animals are tough, but wonder how many birds are dying after being shot due to being hit but not good enough to ground them. What about the hens that are around that catch collateral damage?

 

[Levee Jumper]

I cringe when I hear people say I missed when a turkey is in a field at god knows what distance. FYI your likely shooting a truck hood pattern. Not that you would know since you likely haven't patterned your gun. You didn't miss..... smh :bash:

 

[Levee Jumper]

I know of 3 out of the last 15-20 that had been previously "missed" by someone that can't judge yardage.

 

[megalomaniac]

In years past, seems about 15 -20٪ of my kills have pellets from others. Just an anomaly I'm sure, but none of the 5 birds I've killed this year had been previously shot.

I killed one a couple decades ago that had a gangrenous wound in one breast from a broadhead.

The 3rd and 4th birds I killed back in 1992 had 22 rounds in their breasts.

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[TheLBLman]

The 3rd and 4th birds I killed back in 1992 had 22 rounds in their breasts.

:cry:
As in .22 rifle rounds or 22 shotgun pellet rounds?
Bad regardless.

A single shotshell pellet to the gut is a death sentence to a turkey?
Extent of breast wound depends on bird's ability to fight infection,
as well as the extra predation the smell of blood attracts.

Also, a turkey with a broken wing may run off, but will be more easily caught by predators.
One with a broken or injured leg "may" be able to fly, but will be more easily caught as well.

 

[TheLBLman]

I once killed a bird that didn't appear to have any injuries when I shot it, as he came in gobbling, spittin' & drumming.
Then I noticed he had very few feathers on his left wing (not broken), and about 40 #6 lead pellets embedded all over his left side, including several in gut. He also had over 100 embedded ticks (which quickly started letting go!). Believe he had been shot the day before, and would have died of infection or predation within days, yet he was still out aggressively seeking hens.

It's my thinking that most of the wounded birds die of their wounds, not same day, but within days.
Single pellet or two in breast, bird will likely survive.
But with all this long-range shooting, there's high probability of a single pellet to the lower rear (gut), and the shooter would likely presume a total miss as he watches the turkey fly or run off.

 

[PickettSFHunter]

I've killed several that way. One was so nasty I wouldn't eat it


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[Andy S.]

The 3rd and 4th birds I killed back in 1992 had 22 rounds in their breasts.

Pitiful, what State?

 

[megalomaniac]

That was here in TN back when I was in college.

This farm was on the drinking loop guys like to make after work, picking up a 6 pack, then drinking and road hunting before dark and going home.

A .22 rimfire in the thick part of the breast doesn't even phase them. Both were shot months or years before I killed them. Completely healed breast, all meat was fine after cutting out the .22 bullet. I bet they'd die for sure if hit further back near the tail of the breast. Not enough padding there before it makes it to the internal organs.

We got TWRA to put Timex on the farm, and that seemed to cut down on some of the road hunting after word got out.

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[Mike Belt]

Does TWRA have Timex turkeys?

 

[Andy S.]

That was here in TN back when I was in college.

Did you kill all 4 birds here in TN? You mention #3 and #4.

 

[megalomaniac]

That was here in TN back when I was in college.

Did you kill all 4 birds here in TN? You mention #3 and #4.

Lol, no. The limit was 2 back then. Those were the 3rd and 4th turkeys I've ever killed. No 1 and 2 came a couple years earlier in a different county.

In fact, I've never killed more than 2 birds per year until last year when i shot 3. I could limit out every year bc of the time I spend afield, but I just enjoy the hunt too much to ever tag out. I gave up on trying to manage turkeys in TN last year, so I removed my self imposed 2 bird limit on my farms and opened them up to killing whatever anyone wants.

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[Andy S.]

I was wondering how anyone killed 4 in TN in 1992, as we only killed 4k statewide in the spring. I killed my first turkey, a jake about that time. I paraded him around town like I had the winning Powerball lottery ticket. :tu:

 

[Newt]

Last year killed this turkey he seemed perfectly healthy gobbled spit n drummed the whole 9 yards. He was light 16 or 17 pound. When I skinned him out I was pretty shocked at the wound on his breast you could stick the blade of a fillet knife through both sides. Not sure if someone shot him with a bow or some kinda rifle

 

[Bone Collector]

Most of the ones I have killed on PP WMA have lead shot in them when i kill them. I don't shoot lead so it is easy to determine it isn't mine.

 

[Huntaholic]

I was wondering how anyone killed 4 in TN in 1992, as we only killed 4k statewide in the spring. I killed my first turkey, a jake about that time. I paraded him around town like I had the winning Powerball lottery ticket. :tu:

I did. If I remember correctly, the limit was 2 statewide and 2 WMA birds back then.

 

[Andy S.]

I was wondering how anyone killed 4 in TN in 1992, as we only killed 4k statewide in the spring. I killed my first turkey, a jake about that time. I paraded him around town like I had the winning Powerball lottery ticket. :tu:

I did. If I remember correctly, the limit was 2 statewide and 2 WMA birds back then.

Seems absurdly high for such few birds across the state.

 

[TheLBLman]

If I remember correctly, the limit was 2 statewide and 2 WMA birds back then.

Seems absurdly high for such few birds across the state.

Back in the 90's, and continuing until fairly recently,
it was pretty easy for any avid (and willing to travel) turkey hunter to gain the opportunity of 2 or more "bonus" birds on various WMA's across the State.

Most WMA's had a "quota" turkey hunt or two, and those birds were "bonus",
not counting against the statewide bag of two (later three, later four).

Also, some WMA's had non-quota turkey hunts where any birds killed on the WMA did not count towards the statewide bag.

Interestingly, seems 80% of the turkeys both then and now were typically killed by the same 20% of the avid accomplished hunters, year after year after year.
The avid accomplished ones typically kill all they can legally, regardless the population, regardless the limits.

On the other hand, the more average hunters may properly be labeled as "fair weather" and less enthused.
When they perceive more turkeys, they hunt more, kill a few more, but typically, those in this majority go years between killing "a" turkey.
When they perceive less turkeys, less opportunity, they may go once, and that's all they turkey hunt until the next year.

Actually, even though a minority of turkey hunters have been regularly killing 4 or more turkeys annually in Tennessee, if you run the numbers of total hunters hunting vs. total birds killed, the "average" TN turkey hunter goes years between kills. Despite all the "crutches" of decoys, longer-range shotguns, pop-up blinds, TN turkey hunters have a very low "average" kill rate (at least compared to say average deer hunters, duck hunters, etc.).

 

[Andy S.]

Early 90s, statewide spring kill was 2-4k birds, late 90s, more like 15k birds. Big difference, surely the regulations accounted for it, but maybe not.