Spring Turkey with Cast

[35 Whelen]

I haven't had the urge to spring turkey hunt in quite a few years, but for some reason got the urge a week or so ago. So, I grabbed the Rossi '92 .357 and stoked it with my CAS load; a 130 RNFP @ 835 fps and headed out north of the house about mid-morning today. I called for about 1 1/2 hours without a single gobble and wasn't paying too much attention, and was looking in the wrong direction, naturally, when I heard a cluck behind me. OOPS! About 6 jakes were watching me from 25 yds. or so. By the time I grabbed the rifle and got turned around they decided to leave, but I managed to get one:

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/image_zpsb73fa58f.jpg (http://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/image_zpsb73fa58f.jpg.html)

He'll be on the smoker tomorrow afternoon!

35W

[waksupi]

Good eats! One of the guys brought a smoked wild turkey to the shoot today, it was great!

[x101airborne]

Heck yeah!!! As long as he hasn't been eating pine nuts for several months, should be a winner!

[Brad Phillips]

Good job, it is just about time up here!

[Euan]

He looks great to me. Well Done.

[L Ross]

Nice job on the turkey and on the Rossi. Judging from the wood it looks as though you refinished it. Any tips?
I use the Magma 130 rnfp in mine with several different powders and on walk abouts I shoot milkweed pods, goldenrod galls and other small targets of opportunity. These little Rossi's are as accurate as a 22, only they hit harder.
Duke

[Springfield]

OK, I'll bite. What's wrong with eating pine nuts?

[35 Whelen]

Nope, that's the factory finish. I'd like to refinish it to get rid of that reddish look, but that's way down the list.

No pine nuts within many, many miles of here. But lots of grasshoppers, wild plums, mequite beans, etc.

[x101airborne]

OK, I'll bite. What's wrong with eating pine nuts?

The meat will taste like pitch. First turkey I ever killed was a jake in Kentucky (Land Between the Lakes) and was eating pine nuts all winter. Tasted so bad we had to throw it out and order Dominoes. That was pretty bad considering I have eaten camel.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

[smilie=s:

[superior]

This may sound silly, but what part of the turkey do you shoot for? I want to give it a try with my Rossi 45colt.

[35 Whelen]

In my pre-hunt dream, I pictured a gobbler in full strut and I would shoot him at the base of the neck. The ones I called up however were broadside so I shot mine high in the wing, above the breast. So the bullet entered between the breast and the spine.

[MT Gianni]

The edible pine nuts come from pinion pines. Flavor from others could be quite different.

[L Ross]

35 Whelen,
I'd be pleased if my Rossi's looked like that. I have a 44 wcf and a .357 that look like they used road tar for stain. I also have a saddle ring carbine .357 that was redone by a CAS shooter and it looks more like a Winchester.
I'll bet there is a big difference between pinon pine nuts and the seeds from regular pine cones. Now all Winter we watch the turkeys feeding where the manure spreader went, finding undigested corn, hmmmmm.

Duke

[Norbrat]

Judging from the wood it looks as though you refinished it. Any tips?



35 Whelen,
I'd be pleased if my Rossi's looked like that. I have a 44 wcf and a .357 that look like they used road tar for stain. I also have a saddle ring carbine .357 that was redone by a CAS shooter and it looks more like a Winchester.


Some discussion here on how mine came up.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?184095-Rossi-stock-Color-and-Scope-mount-Questions&highlight=

[country gent]

Last spring after Dad watched a small flock of turkeys feeding down his rows of field corn plucking the sprouts that had just broken ground he renamed them Rats with Wings. LOL.

[wallenba]

I'm surprised that rifle is allowed. Michigan only allows shotgun #4 and smaller, muzzle loaded shotgun or bow. Sounds like fun.

[WaywardSon]

I'm surprised that rifle is allowed. Michigan only allows shotgun #4 and smaller, muzzle loaded shotgun or bow. Sounds like fun.

I don't think there are too many states that allow the use of a rifle for turkey hunting. Wish Kentucky were one of them! I'd love to give that a try. Shotguns just don't interest me as much.

[35 Whelen]

They're legal here. I don't know why they aren't elsewhere. Doesn't make mush sense to me.

[Shooter]

Pistol and rifle legal in VA.
A hand gun Spring gobbler with a .25-20, or .32-20 Contender is on my bucket list.

[35 Whelen]

Pistol and rifle legal in VA.
A hand gun Spring gobbler with a .25-20, or .32-20 Contender is on my bucket list.

That'd be fun. I really wanted to get one with my Uberti 4 3/4" .44 Special, but I was really wanting some meat, so I went with the sure thing; the Rossi. If I get a chance to go again this weekend, I'll very likely use the Uberti.

[wallenba]

I don't think there are too many states that allow the use of a rifle for turkey hunting. Wish Kentucky were one of them! I'd love to give that a try. Shotguns just don't interest me as much.

Probably too much of a sure thing. Our turkey population is still being grown from reintroduction. A few years ago, I think the total state population was 200,000.

[Shooter]

Probably too much of a sure thing. Our turkey population is still being grown from reintroduction. A few years ago, I think the total state population was 200,000.

Calling a gobbler to within 100 yards is NEVER a sure thing. :-)

[35 Whelen]

Calling a gobbler to within 100 yards is NEVER a sure thing. :-)

Exactly. It's funny, I've lived in this part of the state for nearly 50 years. When I was a kids you NEVER saw a turkey in this part of the state. Now just about anywhere there is a creek or river with trees large enough for them to roost, you're going to find turkeys. I don't know what has made their population become so large down here.

[jaydub in wi]

I'm surprised that rifle is allowed. Michigan only allows shotgun #4 and smaller, muzzle loaded shotgun or bow. Sounds like fun.
Here in Wis that's the way it is too. Wish rifles and handguns were allowed. May need to take a trip south in a few years to try it out.

[tchepone]

Wallenba, Michigan....Pretty much the same here in Wisconsin. I envy you folks who can use rifle or handgun. A nice clean head shot is better than biting down on shot.

[OnHoPr]

35 Whelan,
What is your brining solution (or recipe)? Just for the heck of it also, how long would you smoke that jake for, or bird of a similar size like a fall hen and at what temps? In Texas I suppose you would be using mesquite, here in MI my preferrence is sugar maple.

[35 Whelen]

I didn't use a brining solution. I fileted the breast, cut off the legs and thighs and put him on the smoker. He smoked for 3 - 4 hours. Yes, I use mesquite as I literally have a lifetime supply on my property. I'm almost embarrased to say, but I use a Brinkman electric smoker. I scoffed at it when the wife brought it home, but it smokes meat flawlessly and at a very constant and fairly low temperatue, I'd say around 250°. I split small pieces of mesquite a lay them on the elements. This gives it good wood flavor through and through.

35W

[wallenba]

Calling a gobbler to within 100 yards is NEVER a sure thing. :-)

Much, much less of a sure thing with a shotgun yes, but I think I would have a lot more beards if I could use a small caliber rifle.

[Shooter]

Much, much less of a sure thing with a shotgun yes, but I think I would have a lot more beards if I could use a small caliber rifle.

You are right. There are Spring hunters that seldom call. They use varmint rifles with solids and trophy hunt at long range.
I rank them with guys who take tequilla on a date with the preacher's daughter. :-)
The thrill of foolin' the old tom in the Spring woods is the high for me.

If use correctly, a rifle or handgun causes less wounded birds, and a cleaner kill. Before coyotes were thick, I have found carcases with mangled beaks from shotgun pellets.

I have made my choice, I will hunt with a T/C Contender in .25-20 WCF with a 86 Gr. cast bullet from an old Ideal tool over 5 Gr. of Unique.
Wish me luck, I want to make that one perfect shot.

[OnHoPr]

Much, much less of a sure thing with a shotgun yes, but I think I would have a lot more beards if I could use a small caliber rifle.

Turkey hunting with a small cal rifle and cast sounds good and effective. Then the true reloading of the cast boolit to eat right up to the hole would really come into play. The actual calling aspects would not be as necessary or possibly as exciting. Then again in particular regions the population might decline, since the rifle has a distance advantage. More birds in the deep fryers, smokers, and ovens, yemmmm. I suppose there are the pros and cons.

[35 Whelen]

I normally use a shotgun, and have actually seen a bird or two get away from a charge of #4's. Several years ago I killed a big, old Tom on the first day of season. When I got him home and began cleaning him, I found LOTS of #6 shot embedded all over his body, evidently from the year before.

This hunt was not one for a trophy or thrill. You see, the older I get, the less that stuff matters to me. This hunt was strictly for meat and I wanted to get a bird the quickest and most efficient way possible. That said, it still takes skill with a call and a rifle. I may go again this weekend and if I do, it'll be for the same reason.

[L Ross]

Norbrat thanks for the link to the refinish thread.
As far as rifles allowed for turkeys, I imagine the problem is turkey hunters in full camo seated behind a life like turkey decoy, making life like turkey noises. Then imagine a rifle toting turkey sniper shooting through said decoy and into the camoed hunter. Yeah I know, we'd never do that but......there are some folks aint got the brains God gave a goose.

Duke

[Adam10mm]

I'm surprised that rifle is allowed. Michigan only allows shotgun #4 and smaller, muzzle loaded shotgun or bow. Sounds like fun.
They are figuring for hunter safety, is the excuse the DNR in Michigan and Wisconsin have said. Camo, ground level, etc. I could maybe see a compromise of public land rules as above and private land rifles are allowed, but the Do Nothing Right agency won't budge.

[reloader28]

I took my 357 pistol last year and after carrying that vs a shotgun, I dont know if I'll ever carry a shotgun again.
WOW that was nice.
I didnt get a shot since we didnt even see a turkey, but sure was nice to carry.
Here we can use 22mag and up.

[35 Whelen]

As a testament toughness of these birds, several years ago I was calling for one of my sons. I had no intentions of shooting one, but had my Security Six on my side loaded with wadcutters "just in case". As luck would have it, a Tom approached from my side making it impossible for my son to get a safe shot. So when he to within 15-20 yards and was broadside, I stuck one in him just behind the root of his left wing. Feathers flew, he jumped, retreated hastily and I never saw him again!

35W

[357maximum]

Good deal...and good job. They are like rodents once they are established.....keep killin em. I see them as a target that has some nice edible parts only. Yeah I have done the calling thing and I am either really gifted or we have some of the dumbest genes in our flocks around here. Now that the slobs can dump corn all over the woods again I predict their population will bounce right back to the annoying levels we had a few years back....yeah , yippy.