A “Dead” Turkey Can and Will Hurt You

Here’s a quick PSA for all turkey hunters: Do not grab a recently-shot turkey by the foot! I’ve been guilty of that myself, but it’s a really bad idea. Not only are wild turkeys pretty much impossible to hold onto by the foot, they can really mess you up.

This hunter shot a turkey, ran to it, and grabbed it by the foot. In its death throes, which can often be really intense, the gobbler’s sharp spur ripped into this guy’s hand and left him with a huge, deep, gaping wound between his fingers.

If you want to contain your bird to ensure it’s “sure-nuff” dead, chase that sucker down and step on its head. You can then use both hands to fold up its wildly-flapping wings so they’re against its body, and kneel on the tom’s body.

I had to do just that last week when I had the good fortune to slay an Eastern longbeard. Then I had to wring its neck as I knelt on it, before it would finally give up the ghost.

I grabbed my first longbeard by the foot and it took me for a bit of a ride! And I even latched onto one by the feet last year, foolishly thinking it was dead as a stone even though it hadn’t gone through the flipping and flopping routine which every turkey I’ve ever taken has performed before it can finally be pronounced dead.

So don’t do it. Watch this video to see why, but it might make your skin crawl.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.