A good friend of mine, Brian Peterson, and I went over to Kansas this week for their firearms opener on Wednesday. We have a mutual friend over there who own some acreage and has access to a bunch more. The weather wasn't ideal but the toms were talking all around us when we got out Wednesday morning.
I was toting around my custom-made 12 gauge flintlock smoothbore and Brian was using a 16 gauge caplock side-by-side that a feller had given him at a ranch in Texas that Brian hunts on. This was the first time that Brian had hunted with his gun and he was anxious to break it in right.
I killed this bird Wednesday afternoon after a 25 yard belly crawl in an open field. Ole Betsy worked her magic and I dropped him at 25 yards shooting from the prone position. He weighed a little over 20 pounds, had a 4 inch beard and half-inch spurs. I used 80 grains of FFF powder, 1 overpowder card, 1/2" lubed wad, 1 1/2 oz. #6 shot and one overshot card.
I called a bird in the first thing Wednesday morning and Brian shot it at about 10 steps. Unfortunately, there was a grape vine about 10 feet in front of Brian that took most of that load. The tom did go down but got up and ran off. Brian took chase but the tom had enough life in him to sail off the ridge we were on and land in the creek bottom below. We looked for him for a while but never came across him or any sign. We figured he was no worse for the wear. We were wrong.
Thurday morning we decided to go back to the same place. As we approached the creek bottom, I heard Brian say, "Uh oh" and then I see him point to a pile of turkey feathers. Yep, the trail was much easier to follow this time and we found what was left of Brian's bird after the coyotes had gotten done with him. Whether he was dead when they found him or not will remain a mystery. Ever the ethical sportsman, though, Brian said that that was his bird and his tag was filled. We gathered up the remains for a photo and then loaded up the truck to return home.
Wednesday was, no doubt, the best day of turkey hunting I have ever had! We were in birds all day long, heard gobbling all day long, called in several and I got to do it with a dear friend. Hopefully, we will be able to get back over there before the season closes the end of May.
For icing on the cake, I found these in the front yard when I got home yesterday. Life is good!
Darren
I was toting around my custom-made 12 gauge flintlock smoothbore and Brian was using a 16 gauge caplock side-by-side that a feller had given him at a ranch in Texas that Brian hunts on. This was the first time that Brian had hunted with his gun and he was anxious to break it in right.
I killed this bird Wednesday afternoon after a 25 yard belly crawl in an open field. Ole Betsy worked her magic and I dropped him at 25 yards shooting from the prone position. He weighed a little over 20 pounds, had a 4 inch beard and half-inch spurs. I used 80 grains of FFF powder, 1 overpowder card, 1/2" lubed wad, 1 1/2 oz. #6 shot and one overshot card.
I called a bird in the first thing Wednesday morning and Brian shot it at about 10 steps. Unfortunately, there was a grape vine about 10 feet in front of Brian that took most of that load. The tom did go down but got up and ran off. Brian took chase but the tom had enough life in him to sail off the ridge we were on and land in the creek bottom below. We looked for him for a while but never came across him or any sign. We figured he was no worse for the wear. We were wrong.
Thurday morning we decided to go back to the same place. As we approached the creek bottom, I heard Brian say, "Uh oh" and then I see him point to a pile of turkey feathers. Yep, the trail was much easier to follow this time and we found what was left of Brian's bird after the coyotes had gotten done with him. Whether he was dead when they found him or not will remain a mystery. Ever the ethical sportsman, though, Brian said that that was his bird and his tag was filled. We gathered up the remains for a photo and then loaded up the truck to return home.
Wednesday was, no doubt, the best day of turkey hunting I have ever had! We were in birds all day long, heard gobbling all day long, called in several and I got to do it with a dear friend. Hopefully, we will be able to get back over there before the season closes the end of May.
For icing on the cake, I found these in the front yard when I got home yesterday. Life is good!
Darren
