Even more Experter

Where I finally caught up to my tumbling bird.

Hello, as expert I realize that I am long overdue for a post, so here is said post. Turkey season started on Monday and we live in a fairly turkey rich area so I decided to make a point of getting out to hunt these giant birds in my back yard.

I spent the last two evenings with my buddy Otis, scouting the area and calling for birds.  We heard a few gobbles but didn't see anything moving, it was less eventful than a slow day of duck hunting but it was nice to at least hear some birds.  On Tuesday night we watched a pack of turkeys roost for the night about a  mile up from my house at the base of a steep canyon and decided we'd head out in the a.m. and hunt them.  Otis got the call to work at 5 a.m. so I ended up heading out alone in the morning.





I hiked out to the base of the canyon hoping that the birds would still be in the trees, allowing me to get above them for the fly down.  Nope, they were already on the ground and spreading out when I got there.  I heard a few discouraging gobbles from a group way up the canyon leading me to believe I was never going to find birds, but I decided to keep moving up in case there were more around.  A few minutes later I noticed another pack of 3 turkey just across the draw from me and decided that I might be able to move on them if I hurried, as I made that decision two more birds walked uphill just 25 feet in front of me.  I froze and waited for them to pass, I couldn't make out if they were hens or toms.

This became a game of hide and seek,  they would continuously move uphill and I would follow just out of sight, which was normally within 40ft or so thanks to the steepness and sharpness of the ridge we were headed up.  I kept trying to call them in, they either didn't care or were all hens, because it didn't even make them pause.  At this point I had gone twice as far  up the hill as I ever thought I would, I always see turkey down low and it never occurred to me that they climb this high.  It was starting to seem that I might never get a shot, and that they all must be hens.

Suddenly this big tom came flying in from across the valley and glided down into the group I was following.  He puffed up like the giant birds you see in the thanksgiving day illustrations,  he was huge, I've never seen a bird strut like this.  There was no question now, I found a tom.  Calling wasn't working so I ducked around the ridge and climbed as fast as I could above the flock.  I stopped to get a line on the birds when he stepped out with a hen from behind some brush, perfect line up maybe 35 feet away.

I pulled up the rusty jammer and popped him right in the head, then he started to roll.  I was worried, I've done a lot of reading about turkeys and apparently they can take off on you after they're hit.  He was rolling down hill and then pushing his way through bushes,  it took me a minute to catch up and put another one in his head.  At this point there were no brains left, but he was still trying to get away, like a chicken with his head cut off.  That first shot had been plenty, they are just hard wired to run.

This thing was 20lbs, had an 8 1/4" beard and 15/16" talons.  If you decide to turkey hunt, buy a vest with the built in bird bag, he was a little too big and heavy to walk out with under my arm or over my shoulder.  Tomorrow we roast him, next week I might have to pick up another tag.