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Why do turkey hunters miss/wound their gobbler?

th88 said:
I just want to know what kind of loads and patterns folks are shooting to guarantee "not a flop". I always see folks mention this. I've killed more than most from all sorts of distances and am currently throwing 2.5oz of #8.5 TSS their way. Whether its 15 yards or 50, most still got some flop in them! From my experience, the ones that rarely flop, have been hit a bit lower with more pellets than I care for in the body.

But anyways, that always amuses me. Continue forth.
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The "Don't even flop" crowd are NEVER to be taken seriously ;)
 
Andy S. said:
.270 WSM, 3250 fps, 140 Accubond. Batting 100% thus far. 😆 Just kidding, but that is about the only load I could quickly think of that would exceed 715 #8 TSS pellets going downrange. That's a real payload. What gun/choke/exit diameter do you use with that much shell?
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870 max gobbler edition with the factory rem choke that came with it (.665 lead shot only). Tried the Rem-Choke rated for hevi-shot which is a bit more open, but it didn't perform as well. Also tried a fancy high dollar Indian Creek and the cheap factory choke outperformed it with multiple loads. Choke may blow out next shot, but i've been using it with HTL loads since 2008 and TSS since 2015.

Actually about to tinker with some 7x9 duplex loads to get the pellet count down some. Been shooting the current 2.5oz #8.5 handloads since 2015 and it does a fine job so ain't messed with it. But got a bit too many fliers for my liking. After 2 close calls with the dentist, I want fewer pellets and as few fliers as possible! I know, I know, #7 TSS is a waste. But my stubborn old man didn't realize that and bought 5lbs that we need to use up. So figured i'd throw an ounce or so in our handloads. I've played with straight 8s before and they hold tighter at 40 yards than the 8.5s. So hoping the 7s follow the same trend.
 
I was a young and dumb kid once maybe 13 or 14... I was set up in the middle of a tree that had fallen over in the woods and the right side was the rootwad and had a bunch of dirt lifted up, and the left side was the tree top. I had a gobbler come in on my right side, I was carrying my grandpas 12 gauge 870 wingmaster with a fixed extra full turkey choke barrel on it. The gobbler came around from the right and dropped down in a little ditch and came out and locked up in full strut and wouldn't come all the way around front of me. I decided to try and shoot him left handed, I knocked him down and he got up and flew away never to be seen again. It made me sick to my stomach to think about it. I knew I had put pellets into him, but I had shot him about 8 yards and tried to do it left handed because I was too impatient. I have never tried it since and have had some hang up on my offhand side like that. Usually I will wait them out and they will work in eventually.
 
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I installed Hi Vis sights and patterned my 870 today. I had to adjust windage and elevation and now it's dead on.
 

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scn said:
Once I center the gobbler's head in the circle,
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I always thought that was the #2 reason for missing right after failing to pattern your load. I really missed it with the "flinch"! Wow, must be withdraws from deer season all the confessions about flinching. Wow, I never imagined that many folks would have that issue. I guess I am just lucky to be a non-flincher. I do shoot a mossberg 835 ulti mag with 3.5's and sure as sunday it turns my shoulder 3 colors but I dont flinch. I shoot open sites and aim at the center of the exposed neck between the head and the body. I also shoot a Kikks GT choke and my cannon fodder holds real tight for about 25 yards then spreads over the next 25 to a point not really ethical before 60 yds. I shoot #5 Winchester rounds cause the 4's and 6's dont pattern well out of my gun. I learned to shoot a bow before I learned how to best shoot a shotgun and holding that form thru the shot and kill is to me critical and natural.
 
Thinking back on the birds I have missed:
Bought a new shotgun that shot high and I couldn't get it to come down and I just was gonna aim low. Of course in the heat of the moment I forgot. Sold that gun asap.

Shooting at them too far away.

One really stands out in my mind. Had a bird come in out of a pasture, crossed a ditch and a 10 yard stretch of woods and walked across the logging road I was sitting on. When he got in the center of the road I popped him. Flipped him over sideways and before I could even pump another shell in he was up and GONE.
Never did know exactly what I did wrong. I am assuming now, that I raised up to watch him die I guess.
 
clwg97 said:
I am a big fan of aiming for the waddles when they are fully stretched out standing up.
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Only place to aim IMO. Where the wattles meet the feathers. Now if he puts the ultimate slip on me and pops up at 10 yards (happens in the hardwoods), I quickly aim right above the beard if I am able to get on him and get a shot off. My entire pattern at that distance is the size of a baseball, so no room for error on my part.
 
woodsman04 said:
I put it in between the wattles and head, center of neck. Wattle shots can get a few more in the breast and also shave some beard.
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Similar here, but maybe aim point is closer to their chin, middle of neck.
I eat my birds, and don't want even one pellet in the breast.

If I can't get a good clean head shot, the bird gets to live another day.
I enjoy doing it this way, always looking forward to the next opportunity, valued more to me than killing a turkey with pellets in its breast.

I guess for those who don't eat their birds, doesn't matter how badly they shoot up the breast, and they certainly are giving themselves more opportunities to kill more turkeys.
 
cowhunter71 said:
We all "stone" one from time to time, but when you here googans say their rig produces no floppage on a regular basis, it is a sure sign you are dealing with a complete idiot :D
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A googan once told me that he knew he was dealing with a complete idiot because the guy didn't know the difference between here and hear.
 
The only miss I have ever had (and I say that in saying I haven't killed near as many birds as most of you have) was when I had 2 come up on me fast that I wasn't expecting. Had hunted all morning and about 9:30 swapped to the other side of my farm. Walked to edge of a field and hit my slate and they hammered within 100 yards in the woods. I crept through some tall CRP and kneeled down on my knees and they closed the distance fast. Stepped out at about 10 yards or less and I pulled to the left super bad. I felt it as soon as I shot and knew I'd messed up.

I have knocked down 1 that I didn't recover but he survived as I seen the pair out in the field the next day. It was on my buddy's property and we seen them from the road and crept in behind them through the woods. It was late in the evening and they had hens so no calling would have helped. His wife's grandfather was in the hospital and not doing good and he kept getting updated texts. They were moving slowly from right to left and about 60 yards out. He got a last text and he said we are going to have to leave. I decided to try to reach out and touch one with I think was Winchester Double X shells. Knocked it down for just a second then it went to instant flight mode. Ran out and searched but never found it and was glad to see it survived the next day.

I am comfortable to 60 yards with the loads I shoot now but haven't had to shoot one that far luckily. The last 6 birds I've killed have been 20 and under.
 
Out of close to 30 years and more kills than that I can say I only had 1 that didn't flop! Scared the bejesus out of me. It was pouring the rain and I walked up on the bird standing out in a field. It never moved except to collapse when I fired. Seriously thought I had shot someone's decoy for a min!
 

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