410 and Turkey

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Stephen Hodges

While it seems “cool” to shoot a Turkey with such a small bore shotgun, care must be taken by the individual hunter to make sure that they are hunting ethically and only take very close shots. Here in New Hampshire (and in Maine also) it is illegal to hunt wild turkeys with anything smaller than a twenty gauge shotgun, and no shot smaller than #2. I personally think this is a well thought out regulation, aimed at assuring to the best of our ability, that we cleanly and as humainly as possible dispatch the bird. This question was brought up during my 13 tenure as a Fish and Game Commissioner here in NH and both the biologists and law enforcement divisions were in strict opposition to changing the regulation. I agreed.

"and no shot smaller than #2" in my opinion is 'archaic' and the result of ammo manufacturer's hype.

None the less, shooting a wild turkey with a .410 loaded with an adequate shot size to ensure a dense pattern and sufficient penetration to break bones within a reasonable distance is admirable.... and the farmer in this case did all that.

[Steve Hodges]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

"and no shot smaller than #2" in my opinion is 'archaic' and the result of ammo manufacturer's hype.

None the less, shooting a wild turkey with a .410 loaded with an adequate shot size to ensure a dense pattern and sufficient penetration to break bones within a reasonable distance is admirable.... and the farmer in this case did all that.

Dean, in this case I will respectfully disagree with you. And I edited my last post to reflect "no shot larger" rather than smaller. My error.