Can you use two IR transistors and and IR LED to pan a turret?

You aren't going to know the answer to the question unless you've experimented with a similar project.

I have.
I used some very large area detectors, optical filters and a modulated source.
Mostly analogue electronics (747 op-amps).
The answer? Around 6 metres, to within about 10 degrees, which was good enough, but the slew rate of the servos was the main limiting factor.