Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

I am looking to get into turkey hunting (maybe in the spring) and am wondering if any experienced hunters here have advice on how to get started in Virginia. Would it be good for me to join a club to start? Right now I am just trying to learn all I can online. Really like http://www.nwtf.org/for_hunters/hunting_tactics.html. I'd also like to use my .22 rifle instead of a shotgun. Thanks!

There are several experienced turkey hunters here (I'm not one of them), but I think you are going to need a good shotgun. A .22 might just annoy the turkey more then hurt him

yea...
Would recomend a shotgun, as getting close to a turkey is tough...
and take a look at the nitro mag loads they use for those birds...

choked and significant for a reason

but good luck no matter what,
as if you get a turkey, you usually earn it and then some

thanks for the advice. if it's hard to bag a turkey that sounds more exciting. How do you all learn to gauge distance? I was shooting my rifle at 75 feet and it was really accurate but then at 30 feet the shot dropped an inch. So is it just practice or are there any tricks?

Turkeys are not that hard to kill, the big problem is getting them close. People say I'm gunned for overkill when I use a 3 1/2" .12ga but I use #6 shot. The main thing to do is pattern your gun using a head/neck turkey target stapled to a big piece of cardboard. The more you get into the head/neck area the better and the cardboard will show where the dense part of the pattern is hitting, that way you can adjust your hold on the sights. I wouldn't reccomend a .22LR because a turkey isn't going to hold still long enough for a head shot but I have killed a bunch with a .22 magnum using winchester 40 grain hollowpoints with a shot to the vitals in the body. Decoys can help get the birds attention from you. I shot a big gobbler this past spring when he attacked my jake decoy. Okay I shot the decoy too. You may want to watch some of the turkey hunts on the outdoor channel or get a dvd to see some of the tricks they use on TV.

Just letting you all know, it is illegal to hunt turkeys, in North Carolina, with a rifle. Someone with more knowledge about the laws in Virginia would be better than me. I want to shoot one with my Mach II honestly, however illegal it may be.

MuShuGordon wrote:Just letting you all know, it is illegal to hunt turkeys, in North Carolina, with a rifle. Someone with more knowledge about the laws in Virginia would be better than me. I want to shoot one with my Mach II honestly, however illegal it may be.

I thought we were talking about hunting in va. You can legally shoot one here with your mach 11 but with that itty bitty fast expanding bullet you'll probally end up feeding the buzzards.

One other thing Sweetpea. while buckshot is legal during the fall season during the spring you can't use any shot bigger than #2. I wouldn't reccomend buckshot either. Stop by wal mart and pick up a copy of the game regs back on the sporting goods counter. It has all the do's and don'ts of hunting.

Vahunter wrote: One other thing Sweetpea. while buckshot is legal during the fall season during the spring you can't use any shot bigger than #2. I wouldn't reccomend buckshot either. Stop by wal mart and pick up a copy of the game regs back on the sporting goods counter. It has all the do's and don'ts of hunting.

Thank you, will do! I've been watching turkey hunts and call demonstrations on youtube and it bothers me when some hunters dont immediately make sure the animal is dead. Some of these turkeys they haul around are still flapping. Are they like chickens in that they still move quite a bit after death?

I have picked up a turkey thinking he was dead and all of a sudden he'll start flapping his wings. I got spurred real good a couple of years ago that way. Yes it bothers me too when i think the bird is dead and all of a sudden he decides he isn't. I hate to see any animal suffer. When using a shotgun and put a load of #6's to the head/neck area it will normally put one down, for good.

If you want to make sure they're dead do like my granny used to do with chickens. Grab em by the head and give a few good slings and then crack them like a whip. She was a real pro. Not sure if that will work as well on a heavy bird like a turkey.

zephyp wrote:If you want to make sure they're dead do like my granny used to do with chickens. Grab em by the head and give a few good slings and then crack them like a whip. She was a real pro. Not sure if that will work as well on a heavy bird like a turkey.

Lol. I'm probably not strong enough to pop its head off with the swing n sling maneuver. My cousins used to do that with their chickens. Think I would just use one more round at close range.

Well, you dont have to pull their heads off - just break their necks. Then they cant do much flapping or anything else except maybe lose control of certain bodily functions...

Yep works great on a chicken but I don't think i'd try it on a 20 plus pound turkey. Good way to get spurred for sure.

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/HUNTING/re ... #legal-use

If you have anymore questions, this may answer it.

And the guy who said Mach 11, it is a Mach II (Roman Numeral for 2). Go pick you up one and you will love it.