White Cloud... I was once brainwashed into thinking I needed a 40+ yard turkey gun with super choke, Hevi-Shot loads, etc. just like everyone else. Then I realized the fun is in the close encounters, not in killing the first tom you see across a field. Besides, I've seen more guys miss the easy 15 yard shot because their gun is set up to kill at 50 yards. I still use an 870 for trips abroad where I have to fly, and I have that gun setup for perfect killing patterns at about 30 yards, with a max. range of 40. I haven't killed a tom past 35 yards in several years, and I find that 9 times out of ten, the only different between a 45 yard shot and a 20 yard shot is a few minutes, steady nerves and maybe one more soft cluck. :wink:
KyFlintlock... that is a GREAT looking tom you are hefting, and you definitely have a blackpowder smile on your face! :hatsoff:
Paul... hiding a beautful fowler under paint would be a moral crime, I'm sure. The "secret" is to kill the tom before he sees your gun. :grin:
I love turkey hunting. I am not bragging, but killing my turkeys with a 12ga. got to be a "given" and, while it was very enjoyable, it just didn't seem right to be filling my tags on day #1 and 2 of the season (although my friends always enjoyed the help after I was done. heehee). I love being in the turkey woods too much to end it on day 2. I thought about archery, but I just love guns too much and was not ready for that. Anyway, fate had me "guiding" a friend one day with his Brown Bess. I had never even seen a BP gun fired before then. I called a very nice tom into us and seeing him roll it in a cloud of white smoke really sparked something in me (pun not intended). He let me fire that Bess later that day, and I knew then and there I had found my answer.
My self-imposed limit with the fowler is 20 yards. I had a hunt last year where I called a flock of 3 toms and a few hens from several hundred yards away. After an hour, I had 3 toms strutting and gobbling in the woods with me, all within 40 yards. One tom finally started moving to seal the deal. I could have shot any one of them many times with a 12ga. as the toms were putting on their show. The one approaching tom stopped behind some brush at what I guessed as 23 yards. I decided as soon as he passed behind the next tree, that would be 21 yards and I would kill him there. Well, long story short he never made it any closer, and he eventually figured something wasn't right (I think the sun had moved and was shining right on me by the time he was in close). I paced off to where the tom was and it was exactly 23 yards, as I had guessed. Point is, I never fired the gun but I had a one hour adreneline rush and knew I had really accomplished something and yet still had my tag in my pocket and could look forward to doing that again the next day. The rewards of hunting turkeys with my flinter are great for me, and evertime I walk out of the woods with my flinter and a tom, I walk on air.
Greenmtnboy... I really like your outfit in that second photo. My friends think I'm nutz as it is just using a fowler. I'd love to see the looks on their faces if I ever got a fine outfit like you have on.
Re: the Temagami area... I know Ontario's turkeys are spreading further and further north. Temagami is in Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) #40, and there is no season that far north as of yet. You'll have to be south of North Bay to hunt turkeys. If you do want to hunt Ontario wild turkey, be aware you have to take a half day "turkey seminar" to qualify for your licese. Link to seminar dates/locations here:
http://www.ofah.org/Hunting/index.cfm?ID=12
If you have any other questions about hunting Ontario turkeys, please don't ever hesitate to contact me. I'd love to see another flintlock hunter add an Ontario Eastern to his list of accomplishments!
