During approximately 1 year of experimental field use in Florida, 260 wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) were captured with alpha-chloralose, an oral anesthetic. Two grams of the powdered drug per cup of bait, used without regard for the amount consumed by each individual, proved to be the most effective dosage. Eight of the 87 turkeys captured with this dosage died. Heavier dosages resulted in greater mortality and lighter dosages often produced subeffective narcosis. A surgical technique is described which is capable of eliminating nearly all overdosage mortality by removal of excess bait from the crop soon after capture.