EDIT to simplify the question - for those of you who have successfully hunted wild turkeys with a PCP airgun, what has been your preferred ammo?
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Yep, this isn't my first time turkey hunting (hunted many with shotguns and a 30-30), but this is the first time that I've had a realistic chance at wild turkeys with an air rifle.Turkeys are near as tough to kill as a groundhog, but both require a well placed shot with an air rifle.
This groundhog never flinched at 87 yards with a .22 Zan 30.5 Gr slug perfectly placed from my FX Panthera.
Any of the combinations you mention will do their part if you do yours.
And decoys. We used to hunt them a 5 yards with archery gear and using a blind.here's my opinion, and keep in mind I have no exp. with airgunning turkeys. you should be taking head shots on turkey, in which case anything that will hit the mark is fine. knock down power and turkeys are 2 things that I've never seen go together. they are not tough. however, they will run with a body shot, and if you don't hit the right spot they will fly. use whatever gun/caliber you can put into a quarter at the distance you're hunting, also try a turkey call to bring them in closer.
My 35 cal smokes em everytime with a well placed body shot.here's my opinion, and keep in mind I have no exp. with airgunning turkeys. you should be taking head shots on turkey, in which case anything that will hit the mark is fine. knock down power and turkeys are 2 things that I've never seen go together. they are not tough. however, they will run with a body shot, and if you don't hit the right spot they will fly. use whatever gun/caliber you can put into a quarter at the distance you're hunting, also try a turkey call to bring them in closer.
Turkeys aren't invincible lol.Yep, this isn't my first time turkey hunting (hunted many with shotguns and a 30-30), but this is the first time that I've had a realistic chance at wild turkeys with an air rifle.
Head shot would be nice, but not realistic in the conditions this season at this range (if I were setup closer, it would be a different storey), so I'm going more for the base of the neck to ensure a solid impact. My thinking is this - the energy transfer is substantial with 50.15, but I'm just not confident the Hybrids are going to get the job done.
Yep, I'm about as good as one can be with friction and mouth calls. The jakes and hens out here are easy to call in, I can also make them stand in place for 2-3 mins when the conditions are right. The big toms are either fired up dominating one another or they're just totally M.I.A. I've only been here for a matter of months, but I'm dialed in to the big gaggle in the area. I know when ans where they roost, when they forage, where they forage, and their various calls / clucks / yelps. Shot a video of >70 of them walking rank and file this past winter:Seems like 90 yards is an awful long shot for a spring gobbler looking for love. Are you calling and using decoys?
Yep like they say - hit'm low, watch them go. Hit'm high, watch them die.the big issue is not many people know where to hit a turkey. a turkey has small vitals, and turkey can dead run. I've even had them try to dead fly, that's interesting if you've never seen it. turkeys are soft targets and their feathers are not that tough if you're hitting the right spot. look up where to hit a turkey with a bow and if you can hit those spots at 100 yds then use whatever you want.
also, throw out some grain or corn in a spot you want them to stop in, that will keep them busy for a few.
You're smart to question it. I have lost more birds than I care to count after hitting them HARD with a .308 Texan. If you don't shatter a leg, they'll fly. If you don't break a wing, they'll run. I hit a bird two years ago three times with a .30 JSAR Raptor. It stayed down after the first shot for minutes, then got up and ran. I hit it solid two more times but it's adrenaline carried it down into the underbrush and was lost.
Head shot or nothing with sub .35 cal guns. Guys will say different and that's fine, but my experience is that if you can't head shoot them with a non-big bore (and even a non-Texan pellet/slug shooter is hardly a big bore...just my opinion) then you need to wait or get them closer.