bigbore442001
50 Cal.
in the wee hours of the morning. As with many things the early bird catches the worm or in this case the turkey hunter catches the bird.
I downed some isotonix vitamin powder and a power bar for breakfast. Grabbed my large satchel which contains all of my hunting clothes and equipment. The arm of choice today would be my trusty old Thompson Center Black Mountain Magnum 12 gauge muzzleloading shotgun.
I worked on a load which consists of 2 ounces of no 5 or 6 shot over a 100 grain charge of Hodgdon's 777 in 2 F granulation all set off by a CCI musket cap. This gun patterns very well and for some reason I like the lightweight single shot. Grabbed my TC Black Mountain and day pack. Off through the woods I went .
I noticed a lot of deer tracks at the start of the trail. Hmm. That is a good sign for next September.
I walked uphill through the deciduous forest to a point where it opens up to reveal mature hardwoods bordering an ancient stone wall which marks the end of the property. On the other side are some bisecting pastures that have held birds in the past.
I sit down and make some yelps on a wooden box call. After doing one round of yelping I sat quietly. I find the woods to be a great place to contemplate life and pray. You can laugh if you want but it is where I conduct such matters.
It was around 8:00 AM that I heard a very distant gobble to the northeast of me. It was across the large pasture that I do not have permission to hunt. My plan is that I hope to call any bird in the pasture to the point where he crosses the stone wall. As soon as he steps across the wall he is mine. I make a series of yelps and purrs.
The calling is tough. We had a change in weather. Since Sunday we had a heat wave of sorts. Well in New England for the month of May it is a heat wave. The temperatures were in the mid 80's to touching 90 in some places along with elevated humidity levels. Last night a front passed and the temperature dropped thirty degrees and it was very windy.
So calling would be a great challenge. High winds and now about half way through the season.
Soon I see a bird. A loner walking southward towards me. I can't see what it is but now I see a hint of red. It must be a gobbler. It is about seventy five yards or so out in the pasture. I make some more calls but now it veers off to my right. Hmm. What is going on? I make some more calls and I can see through the open woods and into the field a bobbing head. Then I see another bird. I peer through the range finder and see that they are a pair of jakes. I see the short beard thus legal birds. I know some will pass but here in the northeast the success rates are very low so if you pass it up you may go home empty handed.
I make some more calls as well as put my mouth call in play.
Then of all things I see a large bird hop onto the stone wall. He is further north of me as I watch. A good fifty yards or more and well out of range for an ethical shot. I sit still. I am hoping my blow up decoy will elude them so they can come in for a shot.
Moments later I see three birds altogether. Three jakes are headed my way and will soon be in range of my muzzleloading shot gun.
All three birds came in silently. Not a sound out of them. One to my left, one right in the middle and one to the right and slightly uphill to me.
Soon the middle jake turns sideways and makes what sounds like a faint putt. Oh no. He sees something he doesn't like. I make a decision.
The jake to the right is standing tall with neck outstretched.I place the bead of the TC on the head. It is about a twenty five yard shot.
I had already cocked the hammer and waited patiently with my finger off the trigger until the right moment. The bird was in perfect view and I slowly touched off the trigger.
The gun went off instantly. The musket cap had complete ignition and the H777 burned perfectly. I saw the bird drop to the ground instantly. The two other birds took off.
I ran up to where the bird was and grabbed it. The bird wasn't completely dead and was thrashing about. Shortly I dispatched it and affixed a tag to the leg. I looked up to the sky and thanked God for the gift.
I was elated at taking a bird with my muzzleloader. Shortly I drove to my parent's home and told them about the hunt. Dad was excited to hear of my success and I wished he was there but could not make it.
As I type this I just finished filing the kill online as required as well as dressed out the bird. So we have fresh wild turkey in the freezer now. This evening I will have a fresh meal of turkey liver, heart and the gizzard. I don't like to waste anything.
I downed some isotonix vitamin powder and a power bar for breakfast. Grabbed my large satchel which contains all of my hunting clothes and equipment. The arm of choice today would be my trusty old Thompson Center Black Mountain Magnum 12 gauge muzzleloading shotgun.
I worked on a load which consists of 2 ounces of no 5 or 6 shot over a 100 grain charge of Hodgdon's 777 in 2 F granulation all set off by a CCI musket cap. This gun patterns very well and for some reason I like the lightweight single shot. Grabbed my TC Black Mountain and day pack. Off through the woods I went .
I noticed a lot of deer tracks at the start of the trail. Hmm. That is a good sign for next September.
I walked uphill through the deciduous forest to a point where it opens up to reveal mature hardwoods bordering an ancient stone wall which marks the end of the property. On the other side are some bisecting pastures that have held birds in the past.
I sit down and make some yelps on a wooden box call. After doing one round of yelping I sat quietly. I find the woods to be a great place to contemplate life and pray. You can laugh if you want but it is where I conduct such matters.
It was around 8:00 AM that I heard a very distant gobble to the northeast of me. It was across the large pasture that I do not have permission to hunt. My plan is that I hope to call any bird in the pasture to the point where he crosses the stone wall. As soon as he steps across the wall he is mine. I make a series of yelps and purrs.
The calling is tough. We had a change in weather. Since Sunday we had a heat wave of sorts. Well in New England for the month of May it is a heat wave. The temperatures were in the mid 80's to touching 90 in some places along with elevated humidity levels. Last night a front passed and the temperature dropped thirty degrees and it was very windy.
So calling would be a great challenge. High winds and now about half way through the season.
Soon I see a bird. A loner walking southward towards me. I can't see what it is but now I see a hint of red. It must be a gobbler. It is about seventy five yards or so out in the pasture. I make some more calls but now it veers off to my right. Hmm. What is going on? I make some more calls and I can see through the open woods and into the field a bobbing head. Then I see another bird. I peer through the range finder and see that they are a pair of jakes. I see the short beard thus legal birds. I know some will pass but here in the northeast the success rates are very low so if you pass it up you may go home empty handed.
I make some more calls as well as put my mouth call in play.
Then of all things I see a large bird hop onto the stone wall. He is further north of me as I watch. A good fifty yards or more and well out of range for an ethical shot. I sit still. I am hoping my blow up decoy will elude them so they can come in for a shot.
Moments later I see three birds altogether. Three jakes are headed my way and will soon be in range of my muzzleloading shot gun.
All three birds came in silently. Not a sound out of them. One to my left, one right in the middle and one to the right and slightly uphill to me.
Soon the middle jake turns sideways and makes what sounds like a faint putt. Oh no. He sees something he doesn't like. I make a decision.
The jake to the right is standing tall with neck outstretched.I place the bead of the TC on the head. It is about a twenty five yard shot.
I had already cocked the hammer and waited patiently with my finger off the trigger until the right moment. The bird was in perfect view and I slowly touched off the trigger.
The gun went off instantly. The musket cap had complete ignition and the H777 burned perfectly. I saw the bird drop to the ground instantly. The two other birds took off.
I ran up to where the bird was and grabbed it. The bird wasn't completely dead and was thrashing about. Shortly I dispatched it and affixed a tag to the leg. I looked up to the sky and thanked God for the gift.
I was elated at taking a bird with my muzzleloader. Shortly I drove to my parent's home and told them about the hunt. Dad was excited to hear of my success and I wished he was there but could not make it.
As I type this I just finished filing the kill online as required as well as dressed out the bird. So we have fresh wild turkey in the freezer now. This evening I will have a fresh meal of turkey liver, heart and the gizzard. I don't like to waste anything.
