My son & I took a nice tom last week from about 10 yards away. My son's pellet hit the neck & passed clean through. He was shooting a P-rod in .22. The turkey didn't drop immediately so I hit it in the head with my rifle (Hatsan AT-44) and it dropped like a rock, again passing clean through. I've been using JSB ultra-shock heavies (25 grain wadcutter/HP) and have been very impressed with the penetration & damage vs a standard dome.
My son's shot wasn't the greatest but was still lethal. We were close to a neighboring property so I didn't want the bird to wander off & die somewhere else. So I'm glad to have been there to drop the bird for him. I've had less than desirable results with airguns in the past but I am now confident that I just needed to learn more about the equipment limitations.
For the P-rod, I'd say it's fantastic from 10-25 yards. For the Hatsan, it's more of a 15-40 yard rifle. I'm pretty sure the Hatsan could penetrate the chest cavity of a turkey if that's all I had. But a good head shot works best for a quick kill & an easy recovery.
My son's shot wasn't the greatest but was still lethal. We were close to a neighboring property so I didn't want the bird to wander off & die somewhere else. So I'm glad to have been there to drop the bird for him. I've had less than desirable results with airguns in the past but I am now confident that I just needed to learn more about the equipment limitations.
For the P-rod, I'd say it's fantastic from 10-25 yards. For the Hatsan, it's more of a 15-40 yard rifle. I'm pretty sure the Hatsan could penetrate the chest cavity of a turkey if that's all I had. But a good head shot works best for a quick kill & an easy recovery.