Bullets For Turkey

[mconwa951]

Ok so i know this is gonna be controversial and i am not meaning to ruffle feathers excuse the pun. I am going to be going on a deer hunt in SD this fall and the area i am going has lots of turkeys and it is legal in SD to take turkeys with a rifle. That being said i do not want to wast much meat and would try to pick shot carefully to aim through the side through the wings in hopes of not damaging the breasts if possible.
So i am trying to determine which bullet to use. I shoot a 300 wsm with 210 bergers for big game and am thinking maybe i should load up something a little lighter for the birds. Would a 150gr bonded bullet be better thinking hight velocity and and a tougher bullet might not expand so much in such a small animal.
Any thoughts or experience shooting a turkey would be helprul.
Thanks again guys
Mike

 

[Sully2]

Ok so i know this is gonna be controversial and i am not meaning to ruffle feathers excuse the pun. I am going to be going on a deer hunt in SD this fall and the area i am going has lots of turkeys and it is legal in SD to take turkeys with a rifle. That being said i do not want to wast much meat and would try to pick shot carefully to aim through the side through the wings in hopes of not damaging the breasts if possible.
So i am trying to determine which bullet to use. I shoot a 300 wsm with 210 bergers for big game and am thinking maybe i should load up something a little lighter for the birds. Would a 150gr bonded bullet be better thinking hight velocity and and a tougher bullet might not expand so much in such a small animal.
Any thoughts or experience shooting a turkey would be helprul.
Thanks again guys
Mike

Like a 222 with a 50 grain bullet.

Geeze

 

[SLOAN]

Take a ar15 60 gr vmax for turkey. an prarie dogs, yotes, jackrabitts.Be safe SLOANgun)

 

[The Surgeon]

I sometimes use a 17HMR.

 

[liltank]

I would use the 210 personally. At the speed its going and the soft tissue of the turkey, I would expect it to pass through with little damage. Just a thought. I know a guy that pegged one with an SMK (think big caliber) in a turkey and he states there was little damage. He was able to eat both breasts.

 

[mconwa951]

Hey Guys yeah i know i could use a smaller caliber and a different gun but i am thinking more of a target of oppurtunity so using the same gun not bring a different one along just for the turkeys.

 

[sp6x6]

I would just shoot them in the head, with whatever is handy, shot many grouse this way. there heads are pretty big, they move there head a lot, but if looking or listening the cock it to side and hold for bit.

 

[davewilson]

i've shot some turkeys with my 338...not pretty. last one with a 225 ttsx at 850. still not pretty

 

[the shotty]

I don't know about turkey but I shot a grouse this past season at 100 yards with my .260 and an accubond. I hit it in the lower neck at the very top of the breast bone thankfully it didn't hurt the breasts too bad but it blew the rest of the bird up good.

 

[bman73]

I have never had the opportunity to try it on turkey(none around here that i know of) but I do use a Hammond Game Getter for taking small game with a big bore rifle. It is a cartridge specific adapter that you load a cast bullet or lead ball of your caliber in one end and a Hilti blank in the other end. It is a match for your rifle so it feeds just like a normal round would, just make sure when you eject it you pick it up. I have shot a rabbit with it at just over 50 yards and had a complete pass through, I know its only a rabbit but keep in mind it is a 200 grain cast bullet in a 358 Norma mag being driven by a blank. Not too sure what is required to kill a turkey but with good shot placement and using the highest power blanks for concrete I would think that would be enough. As a bonus it is also very quiet, comparable to a door slamming with the heavy blanks and much quieter with the lower power loads. If any one is interested I can post pictures of it

 

[rscott5028]

Size is not so much an issue. But, I would not use a Berger or any hollow point.

Go with something bonded, soft point, etc. It's the massive expansion that'll do the most damage.

Stay away from FMJ also. Those will pass straight through and you may well not find your bird.

-- richard

 

[liltank]

Stay away from FMJ also. Those will pass straight through and you may well not find your bird.

-- richard

I hate it when I can't find my bird!!!

 

[Driftin]

I agree that a soft point would do the job and not create to much damage. I would use the same caliber for both deer and turkey if I was limited in gear.

Size is not so much an issue. But, I would not use a Berger or any hollow point.

Go with something bonded, soft point, etc. It's the massive expansion that'll do the most damage.

Stay away from FMJ also. Those will pass straight through and you may well not find your bird.

-- richard