A turkey shoot is an opportunity for an individual or a party to take advantage of a situation with a significant degree of ease. The term likely originates from a method of hunting wild turkeys in which the hunter, coming upon a flock, intentionally scatters them. Once the flock is scattered, the hunter sets up and waits, as the scattered flock will return to that point individually, making them easy targets.

Sport usage

Besides a literal turkey hunt, the term "turkey shoot" may also refer to a shooting contest in which frozen turkeys are awarded as prizes. The shoot is most commonly held using shotguns aimed at paper targets about 25–35 yards away. Original turkey shoots, however, date at least to the time of James Fenimore Cooper and were contests in which live turkeys were tied down in a pen and shot from 25–35 yards. If the turkey died, the shooter received it as a prize. That gave rise to the military term (see below). Today, turkey shoots are still popular in the

rural United States Rural areas in the United States, often referred to as rural America, consists of approximately 97% of the United States' land area. An estimated 60 million people, or one-in-five residents (17.9% of the total U.S. population), live in rural Ame ...

. The winner is chosen according to which target has a shot closest to its center crossmark. Due to the random nature of the exact pattern of pellets that a shotgun shoots, that removes almost all skill from the contest and allows every shooter an equal chance. Another contest, depicted in the 1941

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...

film '' Sergeant York'', provided a caged turkey with a protective wall. Above the cage was a slot in which the turkey could raise its head. Single-shot rifles were used, and if the shooter was skilled and fast enough, the turkey was shot in the head, rewarding it to the shooter as his prize.

Military usage

In military situations, a turkey shoot occurs when a group or team catch the enemy off-guard or outgunned to the point of the battle being extremely lopsided, as in the following famous examples: *

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Frenc ...

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– Texas Revolution * Charge of the Light Brigade –

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* Battle of the Crater –

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Operation Mole Cricket 19 Operation Mole Cricket 19 ( he , מבצע ערצב-19, ''Mivtza ʻArtzav Tsha-Esreh'') was a suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) campaign launched by the Israeli Air Force (IAF) against Syrian targets on June 9, 1982, at the outset of the 1 ...

– 1982 Lebanon War * Highway of Death –

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

* Battle of Fallujah (2016) –

Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017) Iraqi civil war may refer to: * Iraqi–Kurdish conflict (1918–2003), wars and rebellions by Iraqi Kurds against the government ** First Iraqi–Kurdish War (1961–70) ** Second Iraqi–Kurdish War (1974–75) * 1991 Iraqi uprisings, rebellio ...

References

{{reflist English phrases Shooting sports

Sport usage

Military usage

See also

References