McHenry Sportsmen's Club

What is a Turkey Shoot

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A Turkey Shoot is an organized Trapshooting event.

First things first... There are no real live turkeys involved.

A Turkey Shoot is a trapshooting event hosted by many clubs usually close to Thanksgiving.

Frozen turkeys are awarded as prizes. The turkeys are normally taken home and are used as part of the winner's Thanksgiving dinner.

Turkeys left at the club may end up being eaten by hungry club members.

There are many chances to win a turkey. Normally, over fifty turkeys are awarded each day of the event. You can be the best shot in the club and not win one, and at the same time you can be a beginner and take home three turkeys.

Actual shoot format:

A turkey shoot is shot as a normal trap round, except instead of the normal twenty-five targets, you are presented with ten targets (two from each of the five trap stations). It is normally shot from the sixteen yard line, but does not have to be.

We have hosted rounds all the way back to the twenty-seven yard line and farther. (Distances other than sixteen yards are agreed on by the shooters involved in the round).

Target presentations are normally within the same specifications as those shot at ATA events. Again, they can be more difficult if that is what the shooters in the squad desire. It is not uncommon to shoot a turkey round from a WOBBLE trap.

Targets are normally orange dome, but again, they could be white, and in certain game variations, the white targets are very important.

A turkey squad consists of five (or more) shooters. Squads smaller than five shooters are not permitted.

Variations of the game:

There are many variations of this game. McHenry has tried many and has settled on the following two variations:

High Gun

Just what sounds like. The shooter that hits the most targets wins the turkey. If there are ties, the "winners" have to resolve the tie. The targets used are Orange Dome, (with the possibility of White targets sporadically presented). In High Gun, the white targets have no relevance, and are treated just like an Orange target. You shoot it, if you hit it, good, if you miss it, oh well.

White Bird

As in High Gun, you shoot whatever is presented to you. All that matters is how many WHITE Targets you hit. If you hit three White targets and miss everything else, and nobody on the squad hits more than two White Targets, you win (despite the fact you got a three out of ten and the guy next to you hit all ten targets).

White targets are inserted in the trap in random order. The "kid" pulling the round has no control over who gets a White target. You get what you get.

Resolution of ties

The squad can resolve ties any way they feel like it.

Simply decide who gets the turkey.

Flip a coin to decide.

Decide based on high gun score.

Normally, a shoot-off is the resolution of choice.

A shoot-off is a High Gun affair.

The squad leader decides where to start shooting off from.

The result is "sudden death". If you miss and the other guy hits, you are out.

The winner is the "last shooter standing".

The Final Word:

Turkey shoots are a lot of fun and go a long way to help the club who is hosting the event. Normally local clubs try to schedule the event so there are no conflicts and people can shoot the event at more than one club.

You and four other shooters can sign up for five turkey rounds and at the end give a turkey to each shooter. This has been done before and goes a long way toward a fun afternoon of shooting and a turkey to take home.

You do not have to be a member to shoot the event. We hope to see you at the McHenry Sportsmen's Club for this fine event.