Could we please have some more hunting posts and less gunnery please? If I read another calibre related post I'll scream.

[This message has been edited by 1894 (edited 04-17-2002).]

So start one. I would be interested in reading about hunting in the British isles.

I second that, especially anything about Red Stag

1894, please stay tuned!

These subjects sort of run their course, and we are currently in the off-season, at least over here, with varmint season just getting underway. The guys are in the mood to get new rifles going, and to experiment with calibers, loads, etc., in anticipation of hunts to come. That's what the way the course of interest and conversation runs. A number of us are Americans, and we have a certain attitude about our guns that simply won't be denied, no matter what!

AD

Very well, 1894, how about discussing a "big game" species that is currently in season in much of the U. S.? That would be wild turkey.

Yes, I consider and treat turkey much as I would "big game", largely because if you hunt them the way I usually do, they are much more like hunting bull elk than like game birds. In most Texas counties, as in many other states, rifles are legal for turkeys. If you hunt them by "spot and stalk", rather than by calling (which is a fine and challenging sport also), they really do remind you of a bull elk in breeding season, calling its challenges and rounding up the females. Just as with elk, I listen for a "bugle" (gobble), then try to stalk within range without spooking the "bull" (gobbler) or the ever-present wary "cows" (hens).

Last weekend, while I accompanied him, my adult son took a gobbler this way on our Central Texas place. He used a Sako Deluxe .222 Magnum sporter with a 3-9X Leupold Compact shooting a Winchester 55grain FMJ over a charge of H335. The FMJ bullet causes little, if any, meat loss on turkeys. When we finally caught up with the gobbler, we were undetected, but because of the terrain, the only possible shot he presented was at 250 yards. My son put a FMJ square through the juncture of the wings and the back at this range, anchoring the bird and not even touching an ounce of breast meat. It was an exciting and rewarding hunt. And the turkey was a whole lot easier to pack out than an elk!

No offense to anyone who likes to call them in close to your camoflaged stand and knock them over with a shotgun -- I enjoy call hunting, too. But if you're a big game hunter who likes rifle shooting, you're missing something if you haven't tried turkeys with rifle and binoculars, stalking the prairies and forests.

Shooting full-grown turkeys with a .222? That .222 seems a bit too light to be sporting. One should use at least a .223, although a .224 would be even better.

Yes the 20 calibers are too light, before long there will be someone wondering what happens when you shoot one with a 577.....

Holy Cow the turkeys must be huge in Colorado.

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don't cuss farmers and ranchers with your mouth full

I have to agree, for discussing guns ( which I like to very much ) there are other forums. But sometimes its difficult to decide where to post, sometimes one wants to adress certain people. Sometimes threads turn to things which were not intended.

IMO there are more youngsters out there than might be recognised from what they argue sometimes. Perhaps this declares the "what caliber ... " threads.

Hermann

Sometimes you have to figure out what you need or don't need as far as caliber. Thats hunting too just the first step.

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don't cuss farmers and ranchers with your mouth full

Stonecreek,
Thank you for spelling out the sport of turkey hunting with a rifle. It's legal in Florida but where and who I hunt and guide with take a dim view of it. In Va we shot hens in the fall with shotguns/bows. I thought calling one with a pistol would be fun. I use a .17 rem for varmint work and it drops more coyotes/fox/groundhogs on the spot than my 22-250. I thought stalking turkeys would be a challenge.
Unfortunately, it seems that is a form of hunting utilized by "road hunters" and not looked favorably upon by landowners or other hunters. Of course these guys use automatics to hunt quail and I'm sure would fish for trout with nightcrawlers (just not done).
For the hunting end, though, we just wrapped up Osceola hunting. 38 hunters-31 gobblers-4 misses-1 pass. Not a bad season for the boys in South Fl.
J

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