blackheel
Twelve Pointer
This may be a bit long but wanted to post after reading on here earlier this season about when a miss may not be a miss.
So yesterday morning I went to my first spot only to find someone set up where I had put some birds to roost (landowner miscommunications). I wished the two hunters good luck and I hustled out of there to another spot where I had seen a pair of toms Tuesday evening. Hustled in there and rapidly got set up. Was set up about 15 min before I heard the first gobble to the north about 700 yds. Bird gobbled twice and to my surprise, a tom uncorks a nice gobble 80 yds across the field edge from me. I can see him on the limb. He gobbles at my decoys and after about 20 minutes he sails down into the field, landing at 65 yards and breaks into strut. He struts, feeds a bit, and gobbles all the while closing the distance. This looks like it is going to be the textbook hunt that keeps us coming back for more!! At 23 yds he walks into the end of my gun barrel, eases out of strut, and I fire. To my surprise, there is a lot of white smoke, gun kicks like a son of a gun, and it appears the majority of the shot hit the dirt between me and the gobbler. Disgusted, I watch him fly about 50 yards to the corner of the field and slowly walk into the corner of the woods.
Now a few things - I know there was no barrel obstruction. Gun fired fine after that. Working to figure out what went on, so no need to dwell on that.
I got up just to make sure of the "clean miss" and primarily out of frustration. I found 4 cut feathers at the site of the shot which told me some pellets found their mark. I heard a hen so I ducked back for cover and wound up getting some great video of a hen fighting with one of my decoys. I decided to give it about 45 min and go look where that tom walked into the woods. I had my gun up and to my surprise, there he was 25 yds in the woods on a lane! His head color was that flush red. He got behind a bush before I could get on him and disappeared down the curvy path but not too quickly either. I honestly was surprised to see him. I found a small puddle of blood that deer hunters would have called 'good blood' between where I stood and where he was. Gave a quick look but didn't see the bird. Decided to back out and come back in a couple of hours.
Showed back up at 9 am and began searching. Couldn't pick up any sign but did use an app that I have on my phone to track where I had walked so I could be the most effective at covering the ground. I was looking in thick areas, looking for fresh tracks in the mud, and for a bird. After an hour and almost giving up, I flushed him at about 10 yards from where he was laying beside a standing tree between the raised roots. He started to run and I fired a shot at him which slowed him down. I had to do a little more to finish him. Looking at my track he was 115 yds where I had jumped him over 3 hours earlier. I had walked near him once before around the other side of this tree, which was not a big oak, and he had never moved. I said a thank you to the man upstairs! I have the bird iced down and I am going to clean him with my boys tonight (8 year old LOVES to help clean a turkey especially to dive into the craw) and I plan on really looking him over to figure out where those pellets hit to do the damage. He would not have survived and critters would have had a good meal.
I posted this not so textbook hunt as a reminder to ALWAYS give these animals the respect they are due. My buddy who got me permission to hunt the land said to me yesterday that I did a great job and most hunters would have chalked it up to a clean miss and never even gone to look in the corner of the field or even come back a few hours later and effectively recovered the tom. I hope he was wrong.
So yesterday morning I went to my first spot only to find someone set up where I had put some birds to roost (landowner miscommunications). I wished the two hunters good luck and I hustled out of there to another spot where I had seen a pair of toms Tuesday evening. Hustled in there and rapidly got set up. Was set up about 15 min before I heard the first gobble to the north about 700 yds. Bird gobbled twice and to my surprise, a tom uncorks a nice gobble 80 yds across the field edge from me. I can see him on the limb. He gobbles at my decoys and after about 20 minutes he sails down into the field, landing at 65 yards and breaks into strut. He struts, feeds a bit, and gobbles all the while closing the distance. This looks like it is going to be the textbook hunt that keeps us coming back for more!! At 23 yds he walks into the end of my gun barrel, eases out of strut, and I fire. To my surprise, there is a lot of white smoke, gun kicks like a son of a gun, and it appears the majority of the shot hit the dirt between me and the gobbler. Disgusted, I watch him fly about 50 yards to the corner of the field and slowly walk into the corner of the woods.
Now a few things - I know there was no barrel obstruction. Gun fired fine after that. Working to figure out what went on, so no need to dwell on that.
I got up just to make sure of the "clean miss" and primarily out of frustration. I found 4 cut feathers at the site of the shot which told me some pellets found their mark. I heard a hen so I ducked back for cover and wound up getting some great video of a hen fighting with one of my decoys. I decided to give it about 45 min and go look where that tom walked into the woods. I had my gun up and to my surprise, there he was 25 yds in the woods on a lane! His head color was that flush red. He got behind a bush before I could get on him and disappeared down the curvy path but not too quickly either. I honestly was surprised to see him. I found a small puddle of blood that deer hunters would have called 'good blood' between where I stood and where he was. Gave a quick look but didn't see the bird. Decided to back out and come back in a couple of hours.
Showed back up at 9 am and began searching. Couldn't pick up any sign but did use an app that I have on my phone to track where I had walked so I could be the most effective at covering the ground. I was looking in thick areas, looking for fresh tracks in the mud, and for a bird. After an hour and almost giving up, I flushed him at about 10 yards from where he was laying beside a standing tree between the raised roots. He started to run and I fired a shot at him which slowed him down. I had to do a little more to finish him. Looking at my track he was 115 yds where I had jumped him over 3 hours earlier. I had walked near him once before around the other side of this tree, which was not a big oak, and he had never moved. I said a thank you to the man upstairs! I have the bird iced down and I am going to clean him with my boys tonight (8 year old LOVES to help clean a turkey especially to dive into the craw) and I plan on really looking him over to figure out where those pellets hit to do the damage. He would not have survived and critters would have had a good meal.
I posted this not so textbook hunt as a reminder to ALWAYS give these animals the respect they are due. My buddy who got me permission to hunt the land said to me yesterday that I did a great job and most hunters would have chalked it up to a clean miss and never even gone to look in the corner of the field or even come back a few hours later and effectively recovered the tom. I hope he was wrong.
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