Turkey RIFLE

WyoJeff

FNG
Joined
May 20, 2024
Messages
37
I know it's an impossible question, and please keep responses productive, but what is my best bet out of the box half inch at 50 accurate turkey rifle going to be?....love to stay at $500 for rifle
Into my mind turkey rifles start at 22 Magnum and end at 223.
Savage in hornet? Function but not pretty!
Remington 222?
Have a CZ 223 that is occasionally accurate enough.
 

wyosteve

WKR
Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
2,206
Years ago I loaded some reduced .243 loads that worked well on the Black Hills gobblers!
 

PistolPete

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Dec 6, 2019
Messages
280
CZ 457 in anything but 22 LR. I shoot em with my 457 Scout in 17 HM2 with a Whistle Pig barrel, does great.

I don't understand the guys who are against rifles for turkeys, but them sing the praises of TSS or the latest choke: "I can kill them at 60 yards! I can shoot a 410 for less recoil!" My 17 can do that, but better...
 

yfarm

WKR
Joined
Apr 24, 2018
Messages
643
Location
Arroyo City, Tx
While watching a flock of turkeys over the weekend 50 yds from my blind I had the same thought while holding a 223 with 77gr TMKs and a hyperion can, my conclusion was a 22mag with a can. Mainly to not disturb the deer and coyotes I was also hunting.
 

Taudisio

WKR
Joined
Jan 20, 2023
Messages
971
Location
Oregon
I know it's an impossible question, and please keep responses productive, but what is my best bet out of the box half inch at 50 accurate turkey rifle going to be?....love to stay at $500 for rifle
Into my mind turkey rifles start at 22 Magnum and end at 223.
Savage in hornet? Function but not pretty!
Remington 222?
Have a CZ 223 that is occasionally accurate enough.
End of search

IMG_0345.jpeg
Hit the eyeball I was aiming at-50 yards. Lots of little groups on paper and little squirrels killed well beyond 50 yards. If it were legal here, it would be my turkey gun and inside of 200 yards, headshots only.
 

Tmac

WKR
Joined
Mar 16, 2020
Messages
904
My 17 HMR’s would meet that accuracy standard. If you worry about the 17gr varmint bullet being enough, try the 20 gr small game bullet. Base of the neck when he’s facing you has worked well. Savage, Marlin and Ruger are what I have experience with.
 
OP
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WyoJeff

FNG
Joined
May 20, 2024
Messages
37
Yeah not worried about power so much We have a camp rule of headshots only.
Should probably just spend a bunch of time at the reloading bench with my CZ223 and find ",the right" load... but that's not as much fun as it used to be
 

Bubbadoyle

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Nov 6, 2022
Messages
124
I’ve taken a few with a 17 hornet and a 17 hmr. 17 hornet were all head shots. 17 hmr at sub 100 yards worked well shooting them in the middle of the back facing away. I was shooting the 17 gr v-max’s. When shooting them in the back the bullet never made it to the breast and put the turkeys down instantly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
OP
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WyoJeff

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Joined
May 20, 2024
Messages
37
very few folks around here use the 17's , worried about wind or just predjuduce against anything new im not sure
 

Taudisio

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Jan 20, 2023
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Location
Oregon
very few folks around here use the 17's , worried about wind or just predjuduce against anything new im not sure
Yea, I didn’t think about that Wy wind. The 17 gets pushed very easily. I don’t think you would notice it at 50 yards unless you had a 20+mph crosswind.
 

Mojave

WKR
Joined
Jun 13, 2019
Messages
2,261
Savage in a hornet.

That is all you need.

$500 is a hard line for a rifle like that.

Anschutz in 22 Hornet would be a nicer rifle. But they are $2000
 

NPBravo

FNG
Joined
Nov 3, 2024
Messages
4
I really, really want to explore the "turkey rifle" concept, keeping OP's 0.5"@50yrds, 22Mag - .223 parameters.

For the OP, I love gun shopping- hit up gunbroker and search for 22 Hornet rifles and please let us know if anything cool show up on your radar. There was a single-shot CZ, a Ruger No. 3, and a H&R Handi-Rifle that all looked neat. I don't know about their accuracy, though?

For the new guns, in addition to what has been suggested, I also see the Savages.

Personally, for a turkey rifle, without an unlimited budget, I would want from a performance end either a Ruger Precision Rimfire .22Magnum or a T/C Encore, or from a style end either a Browning Low Wall, or a Ruger No. 1.

Of course, I have a light-er weight 14.5" scoped AR that would do great job. ARs are always getting more affordable, and can be bought in parts over time. It's just not going to be a wood-and-steel style rifle.

I must admit I love the idea of the really high-end versions of this kind of rifle, like the pre64 Model 70s, Euro singles and doubles, all that.
 

circles

FNG
Joined
Jun 4, 2016
Messages
21
So here's a different direction for a turkey rifle. This past Spring I used a suppressed 30-30 single shot with a subsonic 190 gr hornady sub-X load, It didn't tear up the bird and I can use the same load for deer. It's an interesting project because I had to figure out the drops from 25 yards to 75 yards.
 
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