Anyone hunt turkeys with a .32 caliber rifle?

Here in Pa, rifles are legal for fall turkeys. I wouldnt mind trying to get a gobbler with my .32. Just wondering if anyone uses their .32 for birds.

They are a little light for body shots, but would work for a head shot if you can hit it.

Here in Maine only shot is legal for turkeys. I did go out with a .40 a couple of times (in Virginia) but never got a shot.

Ditto. Not legal. I would want to punch them with more than that anyway given the choice of guns.

Sidney Smith said:

Here in Pa, rifles are legal for fall turkeys. I wouldnt mind trying to get a gobbler with my .32. Just wondering if anyone uses their .32 for birds.

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Back in the 80's I hunted turkey all the time with my CVA .32 half-stock plains rifle. The Turkeys were wary and I couldn't get close enough with a shotgun (back before turkey chokes). I hit them out to 50-75 yards or so with little damage to the meat.

Being a big fan of both the .32 and .36 I'd feel well armed if allowed to use either for turkey.

I've killed lots and lots of turkeys with a 22 WMR. It's legal in Texas. Hit em where the thigh connects to the body. A 32 rifle should be fine, just hit em in the innards, not the breast.

I saw a big tom that had flown off with its breast blown away from a 243. It was on public land and the hunter tracked it down and bagged it.

Dad's favorite Turkey gun was a 38 special carbine.

Built a copy of a Dreppert Lancaster for a guy years ago in .32. The first thing he lucked into was a fall turkey , when he was walking home on a logging road behind his home. Turkey stepped out on the road at 30 yds. . One shot offhand drilled the bird through center mass . Flopped a little and didn't run away. Thanksgiving dinner.............oldwood

I do use a 36 flintlock TVM Southern Poorboy.

I hope to find out this fall .32 cherokee 30 gr powder

Rifles not legal for turkeys in Arkansas, regardless of caliber.

Rifleman1776 said:

Rifles not legal for turkeys in Arkansas, regardless of caliber.

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Sadly, Maine is the same way.

hanshi said:

Sadly, Maine is the same way.

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Move to the Promised Land...aka Texas.

Rifles have never been legal where I’ve hunted turkeys. That said, if legal, I would not hesitate to use a 32 caliber muzzleloader on them. I use a swaged 1-1/2 buck that is a little harder than pure lead that gets good penetration, even over 12 grains of 3F Swiss, with performance similar to hotter 22RF loads. Might up the charge to 20 -30 grains, but no doubt in my mind it would drop a gobbler. Not related to muzzleloading, but I have shot high with a bow on a strutting Tom and got a few tail feather pieces for my effort. Comes down to shot placement.

As in most shooting endeavors, it's ALL ABOUT Shot Placement.

Yeah, I dont agree that a .32 is too light for a turkey. Id think the 45 grain ball would have plenty of power to kill a 20lb creature. Ive shot turkeys that went down for good with only a couple #6 pellets to the head and neck. Id imagine a .32 would completely pass through a bird at 30 yards using 20 grains or more of powder.

Eterry said:

Move to the Promised Land...aka Texas.

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"Promised Land," huh? Did you read SparkItOff's latest topic?

A lot of things seem great about Texas. But it is odd to me that a state that prides itself on freedom and liberty has so little public hunting opportunities. Too much "pay to play." Way too much feeder hunting from a blind, with the feeders loaded with chemical junk to increase antler size.

Question though, does anyone ever spot and stalk the feeders? Maybe try to still hunt around them and stalk an animal seen moving to or from the feeder?

Do it all the time Knock. Set up on a trail leading to feeding areas, whether that is a feeder, field, or red oak covered hillside. The fact that Texas has so much private land is rather a testament to “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness“. Please don’t group all ranches in Texas with those that breed for antler size, or use “chemicals” to alter natural growth. The vast majority of us very simply keep the population below carrying capacity and let the good ones grow up. However, if one does not like our state, that’s fine.

Yes I read it and replied several hours ago.
A little known fact is much of Texas was sold off to fund public education 140 odd years ago.

According to Google there's 8.5 million acres of public land in Texas. Im not sure where your from but that's a pretty big spread down here.

I've never been a fan of pen raised deer, I think the racks look terrible. But many states have large deer breeding programs.

I personally plant a few food plots, each under an acre, as well as 2 corn feeders. We have a small tract of land, but the owners of surrounding land don't hunt.

I also apply for draw hunts and hunt nearby BLM land.

Patrick Thomas said:

Do it all the time Knock. Set up on a trail leading to feeding areas, whether that is a feeder, field, or red oak covered hillside. The fact that Texas has so much private land is rather a testament to “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness“. Please don’t group all ranches in Texas with those that breed for antler size, or use “chemicals” to alter natural growth. The vast majority of us very simply keep the population below carrying capacity and let the good ones grow up. However, if one does not like our state, that’s fine.

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I wouldn't say I don't like your state. As I said, there is a lot to like about it.
There is a lot i don't like about my state, I will leave when I can. But, I can hunt any state forest and a whole bunch of other property the state has made arrangements to have open to hunting. As I write this I'm sitting in a treestand on water company property the state has arranged to be open to bow hunting only for deer. The lower part along the river will be stocked and open to pheasant hunting later this month.
No where do we have the massive amounts of acreage you have. But, I can hunt any of these areas and only pay for license and tags. I can take 4 deer archery, 2 either sex, 2 antlerless only. In some parts of the state one can get replacement antlerless tags. On public land I can take 1 either sex during the shotgun season and another 1 either sex during the muzzleloading season. Without having to concern myself with judging antlers or any of that nonsense.
Private land hunters do get some advantages here but I've not heard of anyone charging a lease to hunt their property.