The weather has been wet, to say the least, here in southern Missouri but we got a break last Friday morning so I was chasing birds on our family farm. I spotted a tom strutting at the lower end of our middle field so I decided to put a stalk on him. Unfortunately, the rice paddy-like conditions had me change course several times so by the time I belly crawled the last 50 yards to my setup spot, the gobbler was nowhere to be found. I knew I hadn't spooked him so I thought I'd put some decoys out to see if I could lure him back.
I crossed to the east side of the field, put two hen decoys out around 20 yards on a high spot, and then crawled underneath a cedar tree. My flintlock was a soggy from being dragged through the muck and I dried it off the best I could. Finally, when I was satisfied with it, I picked the vent hole, wiped the pan one more time and poured in some 4F powder. I went through a series of calls and waited for something to happen.
After 20 minutes of nothing, I called again and was answered by a different gobbler directly in front of me. The only problem was that he was all the way on the other side of the field, across a creek, and up in the woods. The distance was about 300 yards by my reckoning; a fer piece for a turkey, especially with a creek in the way. I called again and he answered again. After doing this two more times, I thought to myself, "We'll see how badly you want it, big boy, if you cross that creek!"
Another 10 minutes passed and, to my surprise, I see the tom now in the field next to the fence on that side. He had flown across the creek - game on! I call in earnest to get his attention and he's looking around to see where the girls are. He finds his own high spot and goes into full strut to show off his stuff. This goes on for five minutes or so until I convince him that he needs to come find me.
Over the next ten minutes he meanders across the field looking for love. It isn't until he's about 60 yards away that he actually sees my decoys. Now he goes into strut again and begins shuffling towards the decoys.
I've had a lot of close calls this season but no dead birds so my heart is hammering as this tom is coming in. Maybe this time I will finally get to put a tag on something! He is now about 25 yards out in full strut facing me. I don't like that shot because I'm afraid he'll see me move so I am just hoping he'll turn sideways. When he finally does, I put the bead on his head and pull the trigger - POOF! A flash in the pan but no boom.
So now the bird is on full alert and I'm frantically reaching behind me trying to locate my priming flask so I can prime the pan again. I am rattled and the tom is leaving so I am having a hard time drawing a good bead. When I do pull the trigger the second time, I can barely see his head. The gun goes off this time and so does the turkey. He will live to gobble again.
I caught the entire saga on video and it can be seen here:
[youtube]hoyzBCoiI8w[/youtube]
The depth perception is misleading. The tom is only about 25 yards away.
After the event, I kicked myself a few times and thought about what I should have done differently. Then I realized that I had one heckuva hunt anyway. I made an animal do what was against his nature to do and basically got to count coup on him. Besides that, no one forced me to choose a flintlock to hunt with. I've got a perfectly good Benelli Nova in my gun cabinet that I could have been toting around but what's the fun in that?
So that's my latest turkey tale. It didn't end the way I had hoped but it wasn't a total loss. I've got one more week of season left. Maybe the turkey gods will smile on me yet!
Darren
I crossed to the east side of the field, put two hen decoys out around 20 yards on a high spot, and then crawled underneath a cedar tree. My flintlock was a soggy from being dragged through the muck and I dried it off the best I could. Finally, when I was satisfied with it, I picked the vent hole, wiped the pan one more time and poured in some 4F powder. I went through a series of calls and waited for something to happen.
After 20 minutes of nothing, I called again and was answered by a different gobbler directly in front of me. The only problem was that he was all the way on the other side of the field, across a creek, and up in the woods. The distance was about 300 yards by my reckoning; a fer piece for a turkey, especially with a creek in the way. I called again and he answered again. After doing this two more times, I thought to myself, "We'll see how badly you want it, big boy, if you cross that creek!"
Another 10 minutes passed and, to my surprise, I see the tom now in the field next to the fence on that side. He had flown across the creek - game on! I call in earnest to get his attention and he's looking around to see where the girls are. He finds his own high spot and goes into full strut to show off his stuff. This goes on for five minutes or so until I convince him that he needs to come find me.
Over the next ten minutes he meanders across the field looking for love. It isn't until he's about 60 yards away that he actually sees my decoys. Now he goes into strut again and begins shuffling towards the decoys.
I've had a lot of close calls this season but no dead birds so my heart is hammering as this tom is coming in. Maybe this time I will finally get to put a tag on something! He is now about 25 yards out in full strut facing me. I don't like that shot because I'm afraid he'll see me move so I am just hoping he'll turn sideways. When he finally does, I put the bead on his head and pull the trigger - POOF! A flash in the pan but no boom.
So now the bird is on full alert and I'm frantically reaching behind me trying to locate my priming flask so I can prime the pan again. I am rattled and the tom is leaving so I am having a hard time drawing a good bead. When I do pull the trigger the second time, I can barely see his head. The gun goes off this time and so does the turkey. He will live to gobble again.
I caught the entire saga on video and it can be seen here:
[youtube]hoyzBCoiI8w[/youtube]
The depth perception is misleading. The tom is only about 25 yards away.
After the event, I kicked myself a few times and thought about what I should have done differently. Then I realized that I had one heckuva hunt anyway. I made an animal do what was against his nature to do and basically got to count coup on him. Besides that, no one forced me to choose a flintlock to hunt with. I've got a perfectly good Benelli Nova in my gun cabinet that I could have been toting around but what's the fun in that?
So that's my latest turkey tale. It didn't end the way I had hoped but it wasn't a total loss. I've got one more week of season left. Maybe the turkey gods will smile on me yet!
Darren
But stay positive and enjoy the experiences.
