doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Got one of these coming Friday

John,
Congrats. I think I touched off 1, 3� round in the Companion, but, it would have been 45 seasons ago, when I weighed 112 lbs.

Never had the urge to do it again.

I don�t use the gun often, but, it is handy for snowshoe grouse hunting, an obscure form of hunting that burns a ton of calories, and has never rewarded me with an actual grouse, but, has given me some startling flushes when I snuck up on a grouse in a snow den, that rocketed out from between the tips of my snowshoes. Tough to get a shot off, but a thrill.

What is the deal with turkey hunters and single shots? Wouldn�t a double give you a fast second shot? I ask as a non turkey hunter.

Best,
Ted

mr.Ted didn't you know it was manly to turkey hunt with small guage single shots and fairy dust sized shot...

Very seldom does a second shot present itself spring turkey hunting but when it does he'll be wishing he had brought more than a child's gun to a turkey fight.

I�ve been hunting turkeys since1975 and I�ve never killed one wth a second or third shot. When you miss or wound with the first shot, subsequent shots are 99.9% worthless.
JR

JoE, you don�t need a cannon to kill a turkey unless you�re shooting them too far. Let that sink in a little before further bloviance.
JR

Ted,
Shooting at a turkey�s head while he�s leaving as fast as he can by foot or wing is foolish. Most of the time you miss spectacularly, but on occasion you actually hit him somewhere. Nothing sadder than watching a wounded gobbler go out of sight.
JR

If I was wanting to shoot turkeys real far I'd be shooing TSS like you are...now days in the woods I shoot a .710 choke #4 Winchester Longbeard ammo.


If I only had intentions to kill one turkey a year I guess I'd hunt with a single shot too.

Is killing one turkey a year worth the effort.

Just saying.

You are shooting a shotgun with a certain sized pattern that changes size according to the distance to your target.

How could you be so sure that any shot is a total miss because the turkey flushed, ran or flew away ?

I've killed hard hunted gobblers towards end of season that the breast meat was gangrene from being shot.

I called in and shot a gobbler on Moss Island on the Mississippi river one year at the shot he flew up through the giant cotton wood trees like a 747 leaving town. About 150 yards away I see this dark flash...I'm thinking he went down.
I marked a big tree in my head picked up my calls and about 200 yards away I found him shortly after I reached the tree. I had to hold the gun up a long time...I'm left handed and was twisted as far to the left as I could...about a 20 yd shot. Open hardwood bottom no blind no decoys.

Years ago hunting in Missouri I shot a gobbler at about 35 yds and he took about three steps and sailed down the side of what looked like Mt Everest. I was pretty sure I had hit him. There were other turkeys gobbling so I turned my attention...that didn't work out so I came back to the spot. Started down the steep ridge when I got where I thought he might have landed I stopped and started a grid search....about the second time I moved down I noticed a 12" knee high stump with just a faint cover of briars...lucky I had my gun ready he came out like a Kentucky race horse. I still wonder how I touched him with the .650 choke I was shooting.

The point I was trying to make was most every turkey you shoot at with a shotgun is hit some where with shot....even the spectacular misses.

Frank, sounds like you are an expert at wounding turkeys, and pretty much suck at shooting them cleanly. Why am I not surprised.

If you were a real manly turkey hunter, you would hunt them without a call. Anyone can call one in and whack it with a shotgun -well actually, you seem to have difficulties, but average hunter can.

I'm not going to pretend that I've killed as many turkeys as Frank, but I've killed enough to feel comfortable giving my two cents about wounding birds and follow-up shots. First of all, a single-shot gun has it's roots in hunting and not as a stunt gun. Ruger No. 1 has a serious following among big game hunters. With a single shot for turkeys, it takes discipline. Actually, it's the same discipline that should be exercised by all turkey hunters regardless of how many shells the gun holds. Don't shoot until you have a killing shot, both in distance and in the clear. Don't shoot at a bird flying away from you. Some hunters have a false, erroneous confidence in repeaters in taking a shot knowing it's marginal. I've heard enough rapid three shot volleys by others in a turkey woods to know the results. While there may have been others, I can think of one instance where it took follow-up shots by me to put one down for the count. It was a stupid shot with my former SBE; one that I shouldn't have taken. We all are guilty one time or another of Stupid Turkey Hunter Tricks. Another time, I shot out of shells at a bird with a three shot Moss. 835 shooting 3.5" Nitros that I had to kill barehanded. (The second and third shots didn't connect.) Got the bejeebers spurred out of me doing it. I had to run it down and jump on it and break its neck. No small feat with barehands. As for gauge, I had a bird run off after being shot at with a 10 ga. double. It was in range. I couldn't believe it wasn't stone dead after the shot. In disbelief, I went looking for it. I was about to give up on the edge of a marsh when to my left, I heard it flopping in a pine top and recovered it. It was 150 yards from where I first shot it. Point is, gauge of gun is no guarantee. With a heavy load and big gauge, recoil is such that it makes a second shot recovery all the more difficult. In hunting cover, which is most of what I hunt, a second shot is just not going to present itself. As for only killing one bird that comes in with others, that's how I've done it my career even with repeaters with one exception in Texas on Rios. I prefer to go back later in the season and call up his buddy. John, have a good time with the Henry. Are you going to shoot it off the bead, rifle sights or red dot? Gil

I'll use the bead, Gil. My eyes are still pretty good.
JR