Turkey Shoot/Match

[Slow Gin Ricky]

At our last match, there was a "Meat Shoot" being held at our club by the Shotgunners.   My buddy Sarge suggested we consider this for the future.  Can anyone suggest how to score the match so the winners are not just the top shooters?   Of course we want the best prize for the overall winner, but we would like to share the wealth er ah, meat!  I am hoping someone has done this before and can shed some light for us.

 

Thank you,

Slow Gin Ricky

Plymouth, MI  

[Cholla]

Generally, turkey shoots are done with a shotgun, with the club providing the shells. The closest BB to the X wins the prize. Sometimes, the club will disallow scopes or red dots and non-factory chokes.

[Creeker, SASS #43022]

Monkey in middle scoring - exact midpack shooter wins something.

 

Score predictions - closest to their predicted time wins something.

 

Misses lottery - pick a number out of a hat after the match 0,1,2,3,4 and the shooters matching that number of misses share in prizes.

 

Accessory lottery - place various accessory types in a hat (spurs, chaps, wild rag, vest, etc.) and the shooters wearing that accessory share in the prizes.

(might encourage more costuming as well).

 

[Cholla]

[Cholla]

Turkey Shoots 101

You’ve probably seen the signs as the leaves fall.  “Turkey Shoot”, they proclaim.  Indiana has a lot of them.  But most Hoosiers don’t have a clue what they are.  WildIndiana is here to give you the 411 on this Hoosier tradition.

A turkey shoot in many cases is just that, a shooting contest put on by a club or organization, to win a turkey.  In many cases the club also gives out hams, sausage, roasts, and other cuts of meat.  Occasionally they award cash prizes.

Before you feel defeated before even trying, a turkey shoot in ten-percent skill, ten-percent equipment, and eighty-percent luck, so anyone from beginner to veteran can win any game at any time.

While not all games are identical, they have some common rules:

·         Shotguns are used, generally 12-gauge, but often 16 and 20-guage are acceptable.

·         The range is usually twenty-five yards.

·         The target is usually a stationary paper card or plywood square.

·         The club supplies the ammunition.

·         The whole family has fun.

Here’s how most games are ran:

1.       Shooters pay the game fee of a few bucks and pick a numbered position on the range.

2.       The shooters receive a token or card with the game and positon number.

3.       An attendant places the targets on the range.

4.       When the game number is called, the shooters go to the firing line and stand at their numbered position.

5.       An attendant will travel down the line and give out one shotgun shell to each player.

6.       Once every player has their shell, the range officer calls the range “hot” and shooters fire at their corresponding marked card.

7.       When all shooters have fired, the range officer closes the range.  The shooters case or otherwise make their weapons safe.

8.       The cards are collected and scored in front of the shooters.

9.       The card with the pellet hole closest to the center X wins the round and the prize.

While a turkey shoot is mostly luck, there are some ways to tilt the odds in your favor.

·         Get familiar with your shotgun well before the shoot.  Learn to look down the shotgun barrel and get a good site picture.

·         Pattern your shotgun before attending a shooting match.  Shoot a target load at a large paper or cardboard target at 25-yards and find the center of the pellet pattern.  Use this information to adjust how you aim.  Open iron sights are usually allowed so if your shotgun has them, adjust them to bring the center of the pellet pattern to the target X.

·         Use a 12-guage over a 16 or 20-guage shotgun.  A 12-gauge shell hold more pellets, thus increases the chances of hitting the X.

·         Use a tighter choke such as a FULL or Turkey choke.  A tighter choke concentrates the pellet pattern into a smaller area, which gives you a better chance of hitting the X.

 

Some shoots have different classes and allow or not allow certain firearms or accessories in them. 

An open class may mean anything goes and folks often bring custom-built, turkey-shoot shotguns with ultra-long barrels, back-boring, and telescopic sights.

Smaller, local shoots may try to make it better for the “average Joe” to be competitive.  Often they are closed to anything but common factory barrels with no sighting aids, in other words, the same shotgun the owner uses for hunting.  A range officer may even check chokes with a gauge to make sure they aren’t too tight.

Before we close, here’s a few other tips to include all family members in the fun.  Generally a 20-gauge shotgun has less recoil than a 12-gauge and may be best to introduce new shooters to the sport.  A semi-automatic shotgun often feels softer to shoot over a pump or bolt-action shotgun.  Recoil sensitive shooters are less likely to get recoil shy when using them.

So, what are you waiting for?  The next time you see that flyer in the local market or see a sign pointing to a conservation club turkey shoot, get in the game and have fun.  And remember, it only takes one pellet to win the match, and it really could be you.

[Slow Gin Ricky]

1 hour ago, Creeker, SASS #43022 said:

Monkey in middle scoring - exact midpack shooter wins something.

 

Score predictions - closest to their predicted time wins something.

 

Misses lottery - pick a number out of a hat after the match 0,1,2,3,4 and the shooters matching that number of misses share in prizes.

 

Accessory lottery - place various accessory types in a hat (spurs, chaps, wild rag, vest, etc.) and the shooters wearing that accessory share in the prizes.

(might encourage more costuming as well).

 

Great info!   Thank you!

[Slow Gin Ricky]

49 minutes ago, Cholla said:

Turkey Shoots 101

You’ve probably seen the signs as the leaves fall.  “Turkey Shoot”, they proclaim.  Indiana has a lot of them.  But most Hoosiers don’t have a clue what they are.  WildIndiana is here to give you the 411 on this Hoosier tradition.

A turkey shoot in many cases is just that, a shooting contest put on by a club or organization, to win a turkey.  In many cases the club also gives out hams, sausage, roasts, and other cuts of meat.  Occasionally they award cash prizes.

Before you feel defeated before even trying, a turkey shoot in ten-percent skill, ten-percent equipment, and eighty-percent luck, so anyone from beginner to veteran can win any game at any time.

While not all games are identical, they have some common rules:

·         Shotguns are used, generally 12-gauge, but often 16 and 20-guage are acceptable.

·         The range is usually twenty-five yards.

·         The target is usually a stationary paper card or plywood square.

·         The club supplies the ammunition.

·         The whole family has fun.

Here’s how most games are ran:

1.       Shooters pay the game fee of a few bucks and pick a numbered position on the range.

2.       The shooters receive a token or card with the game and positon number.

3.       An attendant places the targets on the range.

4.       When the game number is called, the shooters go to the firing line and stand at their numbered position.

5.       An attendant will travel down the line and give out one shotgun shell to each player.

6.       Once every player has their shell, the range officer calls the range “hot” and shooters fire at their corresponding marked card.

7.       When all shooters have fired, the range officer closes the range.  The shooters case or otherwise make their weapons safe.

8.       The cards are collected and scored in front of the shooters.

9.       The card with the pellet hole closest to the center X wins the round and the prize.

While a turkey shoot is mostly luck, there are some ways to tilt the odds in your favor.

·         Get familiar with your shotgun well before the shoot.  Learn to look down the shotgun barrel and get a good site picture.

·         Pattern your shotgun before attending a shooting match.  Shoot a target load at a large paper or cardboard target at 25-yards and find the center of the pellet pattern.  Use this information to adjust how you aim.  Open iron sights are usually allowed so if your shotgun has them, adjust them to bring the center of the pellet pattern to the target X.

·         Use a 12-guage over a 16 or 20-guage shotgun.  A 12-gauge shell hold more pellets, thus increases the chances of hitting the X.

·         Use a tighter choke such as a FULL or Turkey choke.  A tighter choke concentrates the pellet pattern into a smaller area, which gives you a better chance of hitting the X.

 

Some shoots have different classes and allow or not allow certain firearms or accessories in them. 

An open class may mean anything goes and folks often bring custom-built, turkey-shoot shotguns with ultra-long barrels, back-boring, and telescopic sights.

Smaller, local shoots may try to make it better for the “average Joe” to be competitive.  Often they are closed to anything but common factory barrels with no sighting aids, in other words, the same shotgun the owner uses for hunting.  A range officer may even check chokes with a gauge to make sure they aren’t too tight.

Before we close, here’s a few other tips to include all family members in the fun.  Generally a 20-gauge shotgun has less recoil than a 12-gauge and may be best to introduce new shooters to the sport.  A semi-automatic shotgun often feels softer to shoot over a pump or bolt-action shotgun.  Recoil sensitive shooters are less likely to get recoil shy when using them.

So, what are you waiting for?  The next time you see that flyer in the local market or see a sign pointing to a conservation club turkey shoot, get in the game and have fun.  And remember, it only takes one pellet to win the match, and it really could be you.

Actually, at our club it was a Trap meet held by the shotgun group.  We held our Cowboy Match on an adjacent range.  I appreciate the detailed response!  There are some items there that could apply to a CAS Match/Turkey Shoot.  Thank You!  

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

My club shot much like Cholla described.  I showed with a full choke Model 12 and a box of 12-gauge ammo loaded with #10 shot.  I won and the new shooter who borrowed my shotgun and ammo took 2nd place.  I won a 25-lb turkey that I donated to my church's holiday food drive.  The turkey went to a large, poor family who had no trouble consuming the large bird.

 

Shooting club-supplied ammo is a good idea as someone might come with #10 shot and have a big advantage.

[Chief Rick]

You ever watch the movie Sargeant York?  The shooter can use their main match cowboy rifle, regardless of caliber.  Shooter that gets closest to the "V" without cutting into the black wins.

 

If you don't want the winner to be one of the top shooters, hold a raffle.

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

Whoever kills the most turkeys wins?

Edited November 27 by H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619

[Cypress Sun]

Incorporate a stationary clay bird on a stand that needs to be shot with the pistol or rifle or shotgun during the course of a stage during the match. Hit the bird, get a ticket. Missing the bird is not a miss.

 

At the end of the match, during the announcement of the match scores, have a kid draw a ticket, or tickets depending upon how many "turkey's" are to be given away, with the winner of the drawing(s) being given a gift card (for a local grocer/store/whatever) worth $??? amount of money.

 

With the exception that the clay bird had to be hit to win, the winner(s) of the "turkey(s)" are completely random.

[Dusty Devil Dale]

Our club annually holds a "Turkey Shoot Cowboy Match".  It is like our regular monthly matches,  but we include some more difficult targets, like stationary/flying clay birds or longer rifle targets, which are no-miss-counted bonuses.  Each hit bonus target wins a raffle ticket for several turkeys or hams.  Each clean stage also gets the shooter one ticket, plus everyone gets a ticket for signing up. 

 

The issue has come up of a shooter simply blowing away rounds downrange on the bonuses to save match seconds, so we have had to assign a 1-sec time bonus for each hit bonus target, as well. 

 

 The match overall spirit needs to be more fun oriented and less  competitive than our other monthly matches.  Generally, we BBQ afterwards.   

[Slow Gin Ricky]

On 11/27/2024 at 4:30 PM, Dusty Devil Dale said:

Our club annually holds a "Turkey Shoot Cowboy Match".  It is like our regular monthly matches,  but we include some more difficult targets, like stationary/flying clay birds or longer rifle targets, which are no-miss-counted bonuses.  Each hit bonus target wins a raffle ticket for several turkeys or hams.  Each clean stage also gets the shooter one ticket, plus everyone gets a ticket for signing up. 

 

The issue has come up of a shooter simply blowing away rounds downrange on the bonuses to save match seconds, so we have had to assign a 1-sec time bonus for each hit bonus target, as well. 

 

 The match overall spirit needs to be more fun oriented and less  competitive than our other monthly matches.  Generally, we BBQ afterwards.   

Thanks Dale!  I appreciate the info and ideas!  I like the raffle idea too.  Gives everyone a chance to win.