Turkey shoot
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A turkey shoot is an opportunity for an individual or a party to very easily take advantage of a situation.
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.
A "turkey shoot" is also a shooting contest where 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, dating at least to the time of James Fenimore Cooper, were contests in which live turkeys were tied down in a pen and shot from 25-35 yards.[1] If the turkey died, the shooter received it as a prize. This gave rise to the military term (see below). Today, turkey shoots are still popular in rural America. The winner is chosen according to which target has a shot closest to its center cross-mark. This removes almost all luck from the contest, and allows every shooter an equal chance.
In military situations, a turkey shoot occurs when a group or team catch the enemy off-guard or out-gunned to the point of being unfair. Examples of famous military turkey shoots:
- Battle of the Crater — American Civil War
- Great Marianas Turkey Shoot — World War II, The Battle of the Philippine Sea
- Operation Mole Cricket 19 — 1982 Lebanon War
- Highway of Death — Gulf War
