hunted wva this last week and used my 222 sako to take a 20 pound 3year old with an 11" beard 1" spurs.
first time I have used a rifle for turkey.
used rem factory 50gr hp.
shot was at the base of the neck about 65yrds.

Congratulations!

I think a .221 or a .222 makes a very good Turkey gun, taking up the role that used to be played by the .22 Hornet & .218 Bee, both of which were pretty widely respected for turks.

In the East, and some of the Southwestern states, turkey hunting in the hardwoods is a tough sport, requiring passing-fair (high) skill on the part of the hunter. When I used to hunt turkeys in northern Arizona, I used an over O/U .12 gauge over .223. Never fired the 12 at a turkey though...just the .223.

Here in my part of Oregon these days, wild turkeys are a real PITA...they are everywhere. Motorists are hitting them about as commonly Easterners hit deer. Pretty much never make the 17 mile drive to town without seeing a few (or more) along the road pecking up grit. One day I heard what I thought were some Egyptian Geese (we have those too, as well as Canada, specklebellies, snows, Rosses, and others),down in the field below the house. Looked out the bedroom window and there were 63 turkeys, about 1/3 apparently toms, including a few real monsters. They were spread out out wing-to-wing, walking up the hill toward the house, feeding.

So, if I really wanted a turkey here, I could just drive a little faster in my driveway to the road. As it is, they are so common, it is no real sport for a resident to shoot them.

Some of the locals are finally making a business of guiding folks to turkey. Generally, they were charging $100 per bird last year. No turkey, no fee. Imagine it has gone up this year, what with the increases in fuel costs.

Anyway, congratulations again, and nice choice of rifles.

I have shot many, many turkeys with a 223 rifle.

I have also killed them with a, 222, 243, 308, 45/70, 350 Rem Mag, 375 H&H, 45 ACP semi-automatic handgun, 44 Mag revolver and rifle, 12ga, 20ga and 28ga shotguns.

I like to hunt them, and I like to eat them, especially the heart, liver and gizzard.

I shot seven one year in Texas with a short barreled .222.....this year I shot three with a .22 WMR using three shots.

The .22 WMR is a great turkey rifle where rifles are legal.

My all-time favorite turkey cartridge: the 5mm Remington Magnum with its 38 grain PLHP bullet at 2100 fps. It shot flat, was surgically accurate and did not destroy an excessive amount of meat.

Too bad Remington decided to throw this one overboard years ago. Ammo has recently become available from another source, but I am really not interested as it is a 30 grain offering.

Bobby, a friend of mine has a 5mm, he retired the rifle after they stopped making ammo for it.
the 222 did some damage to the top of one side of he breast and the gizzard was toast. I am going to load up some 40gr and see how good or bad the work.
I had thought about getting a combo 12ga and something in a 22 maybe a hornet.
the 204 or the 17hmr might be a good choice
Dave

The .222, handloaded with a Hornady 45 grain Hornet to about 1900 fps, works very well and behaves like a big-game bullet in that it expands slowly and leaves a clean wound channel. The .22 Mag with the Federal 50 grain JHP at 1600 fps works similarly.

Both the HMR and .204 are pretty destructive.

what powder do you use with that 45gr hornet load?
Dave

Dave-

In the .222 Remington, 9 grains of SR-4759 is what I used and got just over 1900 fps with the Hornady 45 grain Hornet. I used it for pelt hunting one season a few years ago, and it was extremely accurate. To boot, I could sight it in dead-on at 100 yards, and my full-house load would hit app. 1.75" high -- just perfect for my needs back then as I could switch between the two and never give trajectory much of a thought.

thanks, I have every thing in the cubbard for this load and will give it a try.
dave

Dave-

Let us know how it goes. I think you'll really like this load.

Bobby

The Fireball does just fine on turkeys.

hivelosity,

As a native Texan, I've taken far, far more turkeys with a rifle (fall or spring) than I ever will with a shotgun.

Like others, I'm a big fan of the .222 and .223 but I download them to a more sedate 2400 fps to minimize meat damage. Likewise with my buddy from my first hunting days, the .218 Bee.

I've also used the .22 WMR and the .22 LR, but would gladly take the LR over the Mag based on my experience. Not a slap at the WMR per se, I just figure that if I'm going bigger than the .22 LR, I want to go bigger than the WMR.

Like the man said, "it's ALL good..."

Mark

Bobby thats a pretty good load shootin 3/4" 3 shot groups at 75 yards.
I will be leaving for wva and hope I get to try it out on a bird.

Any of the centerfire .22's loaded down below 3000 fps with a 55 grain FMJ make great turkey rounds. Lately, I've been using just enough Bluedot in a .223 to give about 2800 fps and it does fine. A .22 WMR is also a good turkey round, but you'll need to limit the range to something like 75 yards or under.

Shoot for the root of the wing and you'll damage little, if any, meat (a lot less than a turkey blasted with a 3 1/2 inch 12 gauge at 20 yards!)

Ruger 77-22H, 22 hornet is THE perfect rifle for turkeys, IMHO. Mine has a 1:14 twist, and I load a 55gr cast GC bullet about 1800fps.

Rich
DRSS
Knowledge not shared is knowledge lost...

I have some 55gr cast that i tried a few years back with my old barrel and did not have much luck. Ill have to give the new barrel a try and see how it does.

Dave-

I am glad the load is shooting well right off the bat. It's been pretty consistent in accuracy in a number of different rifles for folks in this area.

Good luck on the hunt -- and here's hoping we'll get to see some photos soon...

Got this one Saturday morning using the load I got from Bobby.
9" beard 3/4" spurs 18 1/2 pounds


http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/0283.JPG

I like the 22 L.R. best, but my 5 MM Rem is a pretty good Turkey rifle..accuracy is most important.

I have been culling turkeys the past few weeks using a hornet. Even at 200m it wacks 'em hard. But of course it can be loaded down as stated. I prefer taking them between the breast and the leg. I was using 55gr Hornady's at approx 2675 fps. A little destructive to say the least. Moreso than a 308 (at 200m). I saw a 22 WMR work pretty well out to 100m. A 17 HMR worked well too but less detructive than my hornet loads. A 223 was only a little more destructive at 200m than the hornet. I would not choose a 22lr on turkey. I saw too many just walk off as though nothing had happened although it does work sometimes.

For turkeys I use a Sako Finfire 22LR coupled with CCI Quick-Shock ammo. its 1640 fps segmented bullet, knocks em down.

quote:

Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:

Here in my part of Oregon these days, wild turkeys are a real PITA...they are everywhere. ..

Likewise in New Zealand. Had to cull a few (25) recently and the .223 is ideal. The others were using .22 RF Mags but by the time you pull up on the quad and have the gun out, the mob is usually a good 80yds away and disappearing fast. Need to be able to tip them over at 200yds and the RF Mag is pathetic by my observations past 100yds on big birds.


Chris-NZ

quote:

Originally posted by hivelosity:
... shot was at the base of the neck about 65yrds.

That's some pretty fine shooting!

Here in Pennsylvania we can only use shotgun for spring birds however in the fall season its either sex and rifles/handgun/bow or shotgun can be used, i have tried the 223 which was way too destructive. the 17hmr was a total disappointment with 3 shots 3 hits and zero recovered with the 17gr poly tips. Since then i have moved to the 22 hornet with 45gr HP and 12gr of Lil'Gun over a small pistol primer, accuracy is excellent from my t/c encore carbine and its tough to beat as a Fox or turkey gun at Pennsylvania ranges which was usually less than 100 yards. i have never chronygraphed this load but i do know it knocks down turkeys and doe'nt destroy alot of the edible parts. Just my 2 cents

If I am using a rifle which is probably going to be a scoped 22 or 5mm as I said in my above post then I will shoot them in the head or neck...

Some of the so called great turkey calibers mentioned will just about ruin a turkey for eating unless you use the head or neck shot, so you may as well use a 22 rf. the wing-butt shot with about any rifle is good but a lot easier said than done under field conditions IMO.

quote:

... the wing-butt shot with about any rifle is good but a lot easier said than done under field conditions ...

That's what I found. I lost a few legs but those legs that I did harvest turned out to be 'not quite a delicacy'. More like sinue strips!