In our part of the country, turkeys are considered "big game" as far as licensing goes. They fly primarily to roost in tall trees and to escape danger or cross rivers. Other than the above, they mostly walk or run. Shooting one in flight is to risk wounding and losing a great bird; they often can take body shots and escape only to die some distance away. It's hard to resist taking a shot at a flushing turkey, but the better practice is to avoid doing it. I have done it and regretted it. Years ago, a buddy got cocky with a large tom in front of him. He had the gun on the bird's head and said "you're a dead bird". The alert bird burst off the ground like a quail, hit top speed in a few wingbeats and flew up vertically as fast as a quail. My buddy got the bird on the third shot as it just about topped a Georgia pine. He hasn't repeated that mistake again.
