I thought I would share a hunt from last fall. The story goes as follows:
Well, I decided to slip out this morning and take advantage of the cooler weather and see if I could bag a squirrel or two for my supper. I took along my CVA Gobbler 12 gauge black powder shotgun (a.k.a The Cheek Bone Buster) for the mornings hunt. The reason this gun is called the cheekbone buster is that it only weighs around 5 or so pounds and if you try to get aggressive with the load it can really put a hurtin' on you. I haven't used this gun in awhile so I thought this morning would be a nice time to take it out. Loaded with a reasonable game load, in this case, 1 oz. of #6 shot and equal volume of holy black, it makes for a very serviceable and comfortable load.
I slipped out into the woods and walked up a ridge to a nice stand of hickory trees. As I expected, the squirrels were there. They were still cutting hickory nuts like crazy. You could hear the light sound of hickory nut hulls raining down softly from the treetops. I hadn't been stationed at my tree for more than five minutes when the first squirrel appeared. The squirrel was sitting on a limb about 25 yards away making quick work of a hickory nut. I quietly slipped the hammer back to full cock, took aim and proceeded to completely miss the squirrel. I shot right over the top of him. I made a mental note to make sure I kept my cheek down and to keep the bead centered. Oh well, that's the way it goes. At least ignition was immediate and the gun fired perfectly. I quickly set about reloading and got ready for some more action.
As the morning progressed, I saw a fox squirrel within range that I decided to pass on. I had a couple of more opportunities at some smaller squirrels that I decided were just too small for me to shoot. It was a beautiful morning and I was having fun just relaxing in the woods. After about an hour or so, I slipped back down the hill toward the field from whence I entered the woods. Once I reached the bottom of the ridge, I paused for a few moments as I heard more squirrels cutting nuts. After about 10 minutes, I turned to head for home and then all of a sudden, I heard a commotion to my left. All I could hear were limbs breaking and wings flapping and to my surprise, a wild turkey hen exploded from the foliage and then landed on a limb about 30 yards away. Being an opportunistic hunter who is looking to put meat on the table, I couldn't pass on this gift. In a split second, I cocked the hammer, brought the gun up, put the bead on her and fired. Boom! The hen fell dead to the ground! In the words of Bear Claw Chris Lapp, "I nailed her clean!" What a morning and what an incredible gift. This is the first turkey I have harvested with a black powder shotgun. It may not have been the traditional way to harvest a wild turkey, but the hen was young and fat, and she would make great fare for my table.
The irony of the story is that just the previous night, I had finished eating the last of my wild turkey breast from the gobbler I had harvested in the Spring and was thinking to myself how delicious it was and how I wished I had more. Perhaps this was God's way of answering my prayer. I was truly thankful to the Good Lord for allowing me to harvest this beautiful creature. I cleaned the bird and quartered her into pieces and I have the backbone, thighs and legs bubbling away in the dutch oven. My plan is to slow cook the turkey pieces and make myself a delicious turkey soup for tonight's supper. Sometimes life can be really good.
Well, I decided to slip out this morning and take advantage of the cooler weather and see if I could bag a squirrel or two for my supper. I took along my CVA Gobbler 12 gauge black powder shotgun (a.k.a The Cheek Bone Buster) for the mornings hunt. The reason this gun is called the cheekbone buster is that it only weighs around 5 or so pounds and if you try to get aggressive with the load it can really put a hurtin' on you. I haven't used this gun in awhile so I thought this morning would be a nice time to take it out. Loaded with a reasonable game load, in this case, 1 oz. of #6 shot and equal volume of holy black, it makes for a very serviceable and comfortable load.
I slipped out into the woods and walked up a ridge to a nice stand of hickory trees. As I expected, the squirrels were there. They were still cutting hickory nuts like crazy. You could hear the light sound of hickory nut hulls raining down softly from the treetops. I hadn't been stationed at my tree for more than five minutes when the first squirrel appeared. The squirrel was sitting on a limb about 25 yards away making quick work of a hickory nut. I quietly slipped the hammer back to full cock, took aim and proceeded to completely miss the squirrel. I shot right over the top of him. I made a mental note to make sure I kept my cheek down and to keep the bead centered. Oh well, that's the way it goes. At least ignition was immediate and the gun fired perfectly. I quickly set about reloading and got ready for some more action.
As the morning progressed, I saw a fox squirrel within range that I decided to pass on. I had a couple of more opportunities at some smaller squirrels that I decided were just too small for me to shoot. It was a beautiful morning and I was having fun just relaxing in the woods. After about an hour or so, I slipped back down the hill toward the field from whence I entered the woods. Once I reached the bottom of the ridge, I paused for a few moments as I heard more squirrels cutting nuts. After about 10 minutes, I turned to head for home and then all of a sudden, I heard a commotion to my left. All I could hear were limbs breaking and wings flapping and to my surprise, a wild turkey hen exploded from the foliage and then landed on a limb about 30 yards away. Being an opportunistic hunter who is looking to put meat on the table, I couldn't pass on this gift. In a split second, I cocked the hammer, brought the gun up, put the bead on her and fired. Boom! The hen fell dead to the ground! In the words of Bear Claw Chris Lapp, "I nailed her clean!" What a morning and what an incredible gift. This is the first turkey I have harvested with a black powder shotgun. It may not have been the traditional way to harvest a wild turkey, but the hen was young and fat, and she would make great fare for my table.
The irony of the story is that just the previous night, I had finished eating the last of my wild turkey breast from the gobbler I had harvested in the Spring and was thinking to myself how delicious it was and how I wished I had more. Perhaps this was God's way of answering my prayer. I was truly thankful to the Good Lord for allowing me to harvest this beautiful creature. I cleaned the bird and quartered her into pieces and I have the backbone, thighs and legs bubbling away in the dutch oven. My plan is to slow cook the turkey pieces and make myself a delicious turkey soup for tonight's supper. Sometimes life can be really good.
